Showing how to weave assessment into all phases of therapy, this indispensable text and practitioner guide is reader friendly, straightforward, and practical. Specific strategies are provided for evaluating a wide range of clinical issues and concerns in adults, children and adolescents, families, and couples. The authors demonstrate ways to use interviewing and other techniques to understand both individual and relationship functioning, develop sound treatment plans, and monitor progress. Handy mnemonics help beginning family therapists remember what to include in assessments, and numerous case examples illustrate what the assessment principles look like in action with diverse clients. This book will be invaluable to family therapists, social workers, clinical psychologists, counselors, psychiatrists, and other professionals who work with families and couples; students in these fields. It also serves as a text in direct practice and therapy courses within family therapy, social work, clinical psychology, and counseling programs.