Butcher, Cha 14: Clinical Assessment with Women

Question 1

_____ can cause over, under, and mis-diagnosis.

Answer 1

Bias

Question 2

The sex of a clinician _____ make a difference with bias.

Answer 2

Does not

Question 3

Clinical diagnosis may be responding to _____.

Answer 3

Stereotypes

Question 4

One controversy in diagnosis is making _____ parts of a person’s life into pathology.

Answer 4

Normal parts (ex, PMS now in DSM-V)

Question 5

What are the suggested areas for clinical assessment in women?

Answer 5

• Abuse and Trauma
• Care-taking responsibilities
• Health status
• Substance use
• Gender-role messages
• Relationship beliefs
• Previous therapy
• Communication
• Attribution style
• Ability to self-nurture
• Career/Employment concerns
• Resource assessment
• Ego strength

Question 6

What aspects of abuse and trauma should be considered?

Answer 6

• Sexual, physical, emotional

- Messages received about what abuse is, how to manage it

Question 7

What aspects of care-taking responsibilities should be considered?

Answer 7

• Can be very susceptible to depression from taking care of children, parents, spouses, whomever (age, disability, medical issue)

Question 8

What aspects of health status should be considered?

Answer 8

• Eating issues, sexual or reproductive issues, significant health issues, medication
• Can cause client to be overwhelmed, especially when it happens at same time as other issues
• Always ask clients what medications they are on and what for; side effects can affect the person

Question 9

What aspects of substance use should be considered?

Answer 9

Prescribed and anything else (remind of confidentiality), find out what the street names are for anything they are taking

Question 10

What aspects of gender-role messages should be considered?

Answer 10

• What client believes their role as a woman or man is and how comfortable with it
• There’s no specific question, you just need to pay attention

Question 11

What aspects of relationship beliefs should be considered?

Answer 11

The quality of their relationships

Question 12

What aspects of previous therapy should be considered?

Answer 12

• Find out their experiences, type, and what was useful for them
• Readiness to be involved in treatment: have to assess whether they’re ready for the counseling relationship; some just want to talk, don’t want help; people change at their own pace (frustrating for us)

Question 13

What aspects of communication should be considered?

Answer 13

• Help people develop social skills
• Assertion vs aggression: A lot of issues will be related to assertion (telling people what you think, feel at the time you feel as though you need to)
• Aggression issues as well, but not as much as assertion

Question 14

What aspects of attribution style should be considered?

Answer 14

• What does a person attribute the good and bad in their life to?
• To themselves, to others? Blame themselves or blame others
• Cognitive distortion (both males and females): constantly blame themselves
• The goal is to get person to connect what they feel, with what they say, with how they act

Question 15

What aspects of career and employment concerns should be considered?

Answer 15

Enjoyment of work, lack thereof

Question 16

What aspects of the ability to self-nurture should be considered?

Answer 16

• Self-care, the ability to take care of yourself
• Does client take time for themselves, can they, are they willing to?
• Taking time away from responsibilities
• Healthier diets, exercise, good relationships

Question 17

What aspects of the resource assessment should be considered?

Answer 17

Financial independence

Question 18

What aspects of ego strength should be considered?

Answer 18

• How strong a core a person has, applies to women and men
• Intangible, no specific questions, no formula, but clinicians should still look for that core so they can understand how resilient or fragile a person is
• Can take a while to really be certain
• Be careful about misinterpreting this strength