Assessments - Instrument Tools Flashcards
Dimensions of Stressful Events Rating Scale (DOSE)
CHILDREN
This instrument would be inappropriate for this client as it is specifically designed for children. The DOSE identifies characteristics specific to stressful/traumatic events.
Dissociative Subtype of PTSD Scale (DSPS)
Roger did not present with any dissociative symptoms. The DSPS is a 15-item measure that assesses lifetime and past-month (current) dissociative symptoms, including symptoms that meet the DSM-5 definition of the dissociative subtype of PTSD
The Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI)
This instrument is appropriate based on Roger’s most recent military experience. The TSI was developed to provide a comprehensive measurement instrument for assessing psychological trauma as a result of rape, spousal abuse, physical assault, combat, major accidents, and natural disasters. It also aims to capture the lasting impact of childhood abuse and other early traumatic events.
When Bad Things Happen Scale (WBTH)
CHILDREN
This instrument would be inappropriate for this client as it is specifically designed for children. The WBTH scale is a 95-item self-report inventory designed for children. The questions on this scale exactly parallel the questions in the Childhood PTSD Interview and can be used as a complement to the interview.
CAGE Questionnaire
SUBSTANCE ABUSE (SA) The fact that Roger drinks 3 beers a day could be indicative of an alcohol use problem and is worthy of further investigation. The CAGE Questionnaire, the name of which is an acronym of its four questions, is a widely used screening test for problem drinking and potential alcohol problems. The questionnaire takes less than one minute to administer and is often used in primary care or other general settings as a quick screening tool.
Brief Trauma Questionnaire (BTQ)
PTSD
The client’s current problems appear to have been the result of a significant traumatic event (combat), during which he witnessed a member of his unit being killed, the loss of his own life was a possibility, and he was actually knocked unconscious and remained in that state for approximately 24 hours. The BTQ was originally designed to assess traumatic exposure according to the DSM-IV but specifically asked only about Criterion A.1 (life threat/serious injury) because of the difficulty of accurately assessing A.2 (subjective response) in a brief self-report format. Criterion A.2 has been eliminated from the PTSD diagnostic criteria in DSM-5, so the BTQ provides a complete assessment of Criterion A.
EMDR
EMDR has proved to be effective in helping the client attain grounding in safety as he or she learns and practices ways of recognizing and labeling emotions, calming emotions, and slowing down in a controlled setting. The clinician monitors arousal and provides coaching and support for the calming process.
Systematic desensitization
This involves the pairing of relaxation with exposure to something the client reports as stressful. The client is taught to relax in response to the anxiety-producing situation, altering the previously paired response.
Guided imagery
Using the veteran’s own chosen images, you could assist Anne in building a “safe place” in her imagination, placing traumatic information in a visualized “container” to maintain control.
Deep breathing and relaxation training
This will help to lower the anxiety associated with PTSD.
SUD Recovery
SUBSTANCE ABUSE -MILITARY
This would be an excellent choice for the veteran who also has a substance use disorder, where alcohol or other drugs have served as self-medication and the result of heavy and repeated use has convinced the brain that these substances are necessary for survival. However, in this case there is no evidence of substance use.
Paradox
This technique involves cautioning the client to not follow through or encouraging the opposite behavior. If a client does not elect to follow through on a goal or intervention, the therapist might say, ‘It seems we may have rushed that plan. You are not ready for that, but it is still a forward step because we know other issues need to be addressed first.” This would not be particularly beneficial given Anne’s diagnosis.
Task setting
This Adlerian technique involves giving clients various tasks in their lives to assume responsibility for their own lives. This would not be particularly helpful with Anne’s diagnosis.
Congruence
This person-centered technique involves the therapist acting as a role model for the client, modeling the human struggle toward greater realness and a space where the “real self” and the “ideal self” are the same. This would not be particularly beneficial given Anne’s diagnosis.
Bibliotherapy
Literature concerning Anne’s condition would help to educate and empower her, as well as provide a sense of normalcy to what she is experiencing.
The Wechsler
This is an intelligence assessment.
AUDIT
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
screens positively for Alcohol Use Disorder.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-A - (MMPI-A)
TEENS
This tool is used with adolescents ages 14 to 18. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a psychometric test of personality and psychopathology. Mental health professionals use various versions of the MMPI to help develop treatment plans, to assist with differential diagnosis, or as part of a therapeutic assessment procedure. The MMPI-A is a version of the test designed for adolescents ages 14 to 18. The MMPI-A, released in 1992, was developed to improve measurement of personality, behavior difficulties, and psychopathology among adolescents.
House-Tree-Person Test - (HTP)
CHILDREN
This is a good projective test for children and would provide information related to Zoe’s intelligence and personality. The HTP is given to persons above the age of three and takes approximately 150 minutes to complete based on the subject’s level of mental functioning. During the first phase, the test-taker is asked to draw the house, tree, and person, and the test-giver asks questions about each picture. There are 60 questions in the original version as designed, but trained individuals may design their own questions or ask follow up questions. This first phase is typically done with a crayon, then during the second phase of HTP, the test-taker draws the same pictures with a pencil or pen. Again the administrator will ask similar questions about the drawings. Some mental health professionals only administer phase one or two and may change the writing instrument as desired.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - (MBTI)
VOCATIONAL
This is an adult assessment of career and relational patterns. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) Step I is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological type. It indicates your personality preferences in four dimensions:
- Where you focus your attention – Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)
- The way you take in information – Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
- How you make decisions – Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
- How you deal with the world – Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)
The four letters that make up your personality type can help you to understand yourself and your interactions with others.
CAGE Questionnaire
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Used to assess for alcohol use.
Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale - PANSS
This is used to assess those with Schizophrenia.
Brigance Inventory of Essential Skills
DD
This is used for assessing adult functioning capabilities of those with special needs. There is no indication that Charles has special needs.
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
The focus of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales is the measurement of the adaptive behaviors, including the ability to cope with environmental changes, to learn new everyday skills and to demonstrate independence.
NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3)
This is used with adults as an overall personality assessment, thus it is not appropriate for Timmy. The NEO-PI-3 is the updated version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) – the standard questionnaire of the Five-Factor Model (FFM). It is a comprehensive measure of the five major domains of personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) and the six facets that define each domain.
Columbia Mental Maturity Scale- CMMS
CHILDREN
This would be an excellent choice to assess Timmy’s ability to reason, particularly since this instrument requires no verbal response and only a minimal motor response. The Columbia Mental Maturity Scale (CMMS) is an individually-administered test yielding an estimate of the general reasoning ability of children aged 3 years 6 months through 9 years 11 months. It is designed to help educators select curriculum materials and learning tasks for children with special needs or for normal children. Because test items are of the classification type and require no verbal response and only a minimal motor response, the CMMS is suitable for use with children who have cerebral palsy or other brain damage, intellectual deficits, visual handicaps, speech impairment, hearing loss, or lack of English proficiency
House-Tree-Person Interrogation Form - HTP
This is a useful projective test for personality that would be useful for Timmy. The House-Tree-Person test (HTP) is a projective test designed to measure aspects of a person’s personality. The test can also be used to assess brain damage and general mental functioning.
Covi Anxiety Scale
Used as a way of measuring the severity of anxiety symptoms in clients, the Covi Anxiety Scale is relatively simple and uses three points, which are rated on a spectrum of 1-5 depending on the severity of the symptoms: 1 is not at all, 2 is somewhat, 3 is moderate, 4 is considerably, and 5 is very much.
Conners Rating Scales
CHILDREN
These scales are designed to assess for attention-deficit/hyperactivity and other related problems in children.
Denver Developmental Screening Test
CHILDREN
The Denver Developmental Screening Test (or Denver II) is an early childhood assessment tool.
