In the course of addressing the challenges of conducting assessment consultations in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, this book engages with many technical as well as theoretical issues. It includes chapters on the history of psychoanalytic approaches to assessing patients, assessments within a public health setting, the process of psychotherapeutic engagement, the special cases of trauma and serious disturbance, and research that may inform approaches to consultation - all with a firm grounding in clinical practice.Contributors: David Bell, Ruth Berkowitz, Antony Garelick, R. Peter Hobson, Raman Kapur, Birgit Kleeberg, Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Jane Milton, Matthew Patrick, Joanne Stubley.