Beyond The Limitations Of Personal Bias
The Clinical Assessment Group (CAG) philosophy is firmly rooted in the conviction that sound clinical practice depends on robust clinical assessment. To uphold best practices and clinical objectivity in complex situations, a rigorous and systematic approach is essential; otherwise, any intervention or decision risks becoming mere guesswork. This isn’t just a theoretical belief; it’s the cornerstone of our practical approach to supporting behavioral health professionals, leaders, and organizations.
This strategy begins with the understanding that every individual—whether a client, clinician, supervisor, or employee—operates within a complicated web of internal and external influences. For clients, these influences may include personal history, environmental stressors, cultural background, and individual predispositions. For professionals, the factors expand to encompass personal values, implicit biases, theoretical orientations, and the organizational culture in which they operate. To be genuinely effective and ethical, we must acknowledge and actively work to understand these influences.
This commitment to understanding starts with self-assessment. A foundational process of introspection and evaluation is essential for all professionals. This isn’t a one-time exercise, but an ongoing commitment to identifying one’s implicit and explicit values and biases. These can shape perceptions, as can the cultural lens through which one views the world. With this preparation, professionals can begin to separate their own perspectives from the objective needs of a situation, thereby enhancing their capacity for empathy, fairness, and effective intervention.
CAG’s methodology is built on a framework of observation, evaluation, and planning. We emphasize that all significant behavioral health decisions, whether related to client care, supervisory strategies, or organizational policies, must be informed by a comprehensive and unbiased data-gathering process, rather than assumptions, emotional reactions, or incomplete information.
By systematically applying assessment principles, professionals move beyond subjective interpretations to make truly informed, ethical, and objective decisions. CAG is dedicated to elevating the standard of care and leadership within our professional sector. We champion objectivity not as a cold, detached process, but as the essential pathway to genuinely understanding human experience and providing responsive, equitable, and effective support. Our vision is a world where every clinical decision is grounded in insight, not intuition, ensuring that the critical work of behavioral health achieves its fullest potential.
CHRISTINA RENÉE LAVAIL, FOUNDING DIRECTOR
After thirteen years in the legal field, Renée’s interest in working directly with people drew her to pivot into a behavioral health career. After completing her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2008, she devoted another thirteen years to a leading community mental health agency, progressing from intern to therapist, to supervisor, and eventually served as Clinical Director.
As a therapist and supervisor, Renée focused on treating youth with problematic sexual behaviors. This Multi-Systemic Therapy was intensive, evidence-based, and involved the entire system impacted by the behavior. Some important takeaways from this experience are that:
- Our society does not acknowledge the importance of science-informed sexual education, and the necessity to educate our children about their bodies.
- Professionals such as therapists, probation officers, teachers, and judges often make decisions concerning sexually related behavior based on limited training and personal experience, not scientific data.
- Both the public and professionals often react with greater fear to sexually motivated acts than to other forms of aggressive or harmful behavior.
Recognizing the need for normalizing sexual health in New Mexico, Renée established the Clinical Assessment Group, dedicated to training professionals and providing the community with informed, medically accurate, and objective support for their sexual health concerns. CAG is the guiding organization for the Clinical Supervision Academy, Albuquerque Sex Therapy, and New Mexico Sexual Health. Each of these organizations focuses on support, mentorship, and training from informed, objective, and unbiased perspectives and is dedicated to leading from knowledge, never from fear.
Renée LaVail is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and an Approved Clinical Supervisor (both AASECT and New Mexico approved). She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Mexico, where she teaches graduate courses in Sexuality and Counseling & Professional Ethics.
