Chapter 3: Clinical Diagnosis and Assessment

Question 1

Diagnosis

Answer 1

The identification of the nature of a disorder.

Question 2

Clinical assessment

Answer 2

The process of obtaining relevant information and making a judgment about mental illness based on the information.

Question 3

Diagnostic bias

Answer 3

A systematic error in diagnosis.

Question 4

Reliable

Answer 4

A property of classification systems ( or measures) that consistently produce the same result.

Question 5

Valid

Answer 5

A property of classification system (or measure) that actually characterize what they are suppose to characterize.

Question 6

Prognosis

Answer 6

The likely course and outcome of a disorder.

Question 7

Prevalence

Answer 7

The number of propel who have a disorder in a given period of time.

Question 8

Comorbidity

Answer 8

The presence of more than on disorder at the same time in a given patient.

Question 9

Clinical Psychologist

Answer 9

A mental health professional who has doctoral degree that requires several years of related coursework and several years of treating patients while receiving supervision from experienced clinicians.

Question 10

Counseling psychologist

Answer 10

A mental health professional who has either a Ph.D degree from a psychology program that focuses on counseling or an Ed.D degree from a school of education.

Question 11

Psychiatrist

Answer 11

A mental health professional who has an M.D. degree and has completed residency that focuses on mental disorders.

Question 12

Psychiatric nurse

Answer 12

A mental health professional who has an M.S.N. degree, plus a C.S. certificate in psychiatric nursing.

Question 13

Social worker

Answer 13

A mental health professional who has an M.S.W. degree and may have had training to provide psychotherapy to help individuals and families.

Question 14

Computerized axial tomography (CT)

Answer 14

A neuroimaging technique that uses X-rays to build a three-dimensional image CT or CAT scan) of the brain.

Question 15

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Answer 15

A neuroimaging technique that creates especially sharp images of the brain by measuring the magnetic properties of atoms in the brain.

Question 16

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Answer 16

A neuroimaging technique that measures blood flow (or energy consumption in the brain and requires introducing a very small amount of radioactive substance into the blood stream.

Question 17

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 17

A neuroimaging technique that uses MRI to obtain images of brain functioning, which reveal the extent to which different brain areas are activated during particular tasks.

Question 18

Neuropsychological testing

Answer 18

The employment of assessment techniques that use behavioral responses to test items in order to draw inferences about brain functioning.

Question 19

Clinical interview

Answer 19

A meeting between clinician and patient during which the clinician asks questions related to the patient’s symptoms and functioning.

Question 20

Malingering

Answer 20

Intentional false reporting of symptoms or exaggeration of existing symptoms, either for material gain or to avoid unwanted events.

Question 21

Factitious disorder

Answer 21

A psychological disorder marked by the false reporting or false reporting or inducing of medical or psychological symptoms in order to receive attention.

Question 22

Projective test

Answer 22

A tool for personality assessment in which the patient is present with ambigiuous stimuli (such as inkblots or stick figures) and is asked to make sense of and explain them.