Assessment & Diagnosis, Stress & Mental Health Flashcards
Basic Elements in Assessment
- major symptoms client is presenting
- clinical knowledge of disorders & treatment options available
- Cultural competence
Assessments should assess…
- behavioral history
- intellectual functioning
- personality characteristics
- environmental pressures
- Resources
Assessment of the physical organism
- physical
- neurological exam (EEG, fMRI, CAT)
- neuropsychological exam
what is a neuropsychological exam?
detect extent/location of brain damage/dysfunction using cognitive, perceptual, and motor performance
Interviews (Psychosocial Assessment)
can be structured with predetermined questions (more reliable) or unstructured no predetermined questions (difficult to compare to other clients)
Types of assessment
- Medical (physical & brain scans)
- interviews (structured or not)
- Observation (direct, self-monitoring, rating scales)
- Psychological tests
- Personality tests
Several factors to consider in evaluation
- cultural bias in the instrument or clinician
- theoretical orientation
- underemphasis on the external situation
- insufficient validation
- inaccurate data
the aim of a projective personality test is to…
assess the way a patient perceives ambiguous stimuli
What is true about reliability and validity?
Valid tests are usually reliable
The 6 key factors of stressors are…
- The severity
- It’s chronicity
- timing
- How closely it affects our own lives
- How expected it is
- How controllable it is
Validity of a test
measures what it is designed to measure
Reliability of test
whether results can be reproduced under the same conditions
Treatment for stress
- emotional disclosure
- Biofeedback
- Relaxation & Medication
- Reframing tress as challenge
Adjustment Disorder
significant behavioral or emotional impairment in response to a stressor (onset 3 months of the stressor)
stressors ex: death of a loved one, going away to college, divorce
PTSD criteria
- Significant distress and impairment
- Reexperiencing trauma (flashbacks)
- avoidance of stimuli associated w/ trauma
- state of alert
- negative mood
must last one month consecutively