CH 4 Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis

Question 1

4.1
Reliability

Answer 1

Measure of consistency, does the test yield consistent results over time (test-retest)

Question 2

4.1
Validity

Answer 2

Truth in advertising, does the test measure what it set out to measure

Question 3

4.1
Standardization

Answer 3

Standardized tests are administered, scored, and interpreted in a consistent manner

Question 4

4.2
Identify the basic elements of assessment

Answer 4

Goals: Identify and describe the individual’s symptoms, determine chronicity and severity, evaluate potential causal factors, explore the individual’s personal resources

Key elements: Obtain info about the presenting problem, personality characteristics, and social context

Question 5

4.3
Describe 3 sources of influence that can impact the assessment process

Answer 5

1. Cultural concerns, testing procedures should be adapted and validated for culturally diverse clients
2. Theoretical orientation of clinicians can influence what they ask and how they interpret responses/results
3. Level of trust, patient must trust clinician

Question 6

4.4
Explain the interview process

Answer 6

Structured (set questions) and unstructured (questions based on what the clinician sees fit) interviews

Question 7

4.4
Explain clinical observation

Answer 7

Involves the clinician’s development of an objective description of the person’s appearance and behavior including emotional responses and mental health symptoms

Question 8

4.4
Explain testing in psychosocial assessment

Answer 8

Include standardized stimuli for collecting behavior samples that can be compared with other individuals’ behavior via test norms (Intelligence and personality tests for example)

Projective vs. objective personality tests

Question 9

4.5
Describe the methods used for physical and neurological assessment

Answer 9

Physical: Rule out medical causes with a physican
Neuro: for suspected brain damage, MRI, PET, CT, EEG, fMRI

Question 10

4.6
Discuss how practitioners integrate assessment data and optimize decision-making in treatment planning

Answer 10

Clinicians in individual private practice interpret assessment data and integrate it into a working model for use in planning on their own

In clinical settings, teams work together with clinicians from different backgrounds/lines of thinking (psychiatrist, physician, etc.)

Question 11

4.7
Explain the approaches used to classify abnormal behavior

Answer 11

3 basic approaches: categorical, dimensional, prototypal

2 major classifications: DSM-5 by APA and ICD-11 by WHO

DSM is categorical and diagnostic