Chapter 4 Flashcards
The DSM uses a categorical approach, where disorders are defined by specific criteria, and individuals either meet the criteria or they do not. This contrasts with a dimensional approach, which would view disorders as existing on a continuum, rather than distinct categories.
- disorders in the DSM/ICD are defined categorically, diagnostic criteria provided for each disorder, dimensional approach- assumes a number of independent dimensions or traits exist and that all children possess these
Categorical vs. Dimensional Systems:
Classification refers to the process of organizing and categorizing ways of differentiating among various psychological issues. This is reflected in the use of nosologies, which are efforts to classify psychiatric disorders into descriptive categories.
- Diagnosis is the process of identifying a specific disorder based on a pattern of symptoms. A diagnosis may include identifying the specific category of disorder from a classification system as well as considering additional information about the individual.
Classification vs. Diagnosis:
The meaning of children’s social behavior is influenced by cultural beliefs and values, and that children express mental health concerns differently across cultures. For example, shyness is viewed differently in Western and Japanese cultures. Also, definitions of psychopathology must take into account a child’s level of competence, which varies across cultures/ethnicities. This implies that treatment approaches should be adapted to consider the cultural context of the client.
Cultural Considerations in Treatment Approach:
Gathering information about a child’s past development.
Developmental History:
include providing a way to organize and express the complex features associated with patterns of behavior. Also, diagnosis can aid clinicians and researchers to describe and understand mental health concerns and to treat or prevent them.
Diagnosis: Pros
include that diagnostic terms may be used as labels to describe people rather than just behavior. Also, diagnoses are based on a medical model that can locate the disorder “in” the child, ignoring the environment. Concerns that diagnostic categories may not fully capture the uniqueness of each individual, since individuals with the same disorder can express it differently.
Diagnosis: Cons
Gathering information about the mental health and other relevant history of family members.
Family History:
Address issues within the family system that impact a child’s mental health
Family Treatment:
An idiographic approach focuses on the individual and their unique experiences, rather than generalizing to a larger group.
Idiographic Assessment Approach:
Using multiple measures of the same construct, multiple informants, and multiple settings to get a comprehensive understanding of a child’s functioning
Multimethod Assessment Approach:
The counterpart to an idiographic approach, in which the focus is on establishing general principles or laws that apply to a population, rather than focusing on the individual.
Nomothetic Assessment Approach:
The dominant form of treatment between 1930 and 1950, which are based on psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory emphasizes that personality and mental health outcomes have many roots and that early childhood experiences are critical. Psychodynamic treatment would focus on exploring these unconscious roots of mental health concerns.
Psychodynamic Treatment:
One type of assessment method used to measure cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning.
Psychological Testing:
The use of assessments to identify individuals who may be at risk for a disorder.
Screening:
Efficacy refers to whether the treatment can produce change under controlled conditions, such as in a lab. Effectiveness refers to whether the treatment works in actual practice. This implies that determining treatment effectiveness requires assessing how well it works in real-world settings.
Treatment Effectiveness:
are usually conducted with the parents and child separately or in a
family interview, and they help establish a therapeutic
relationship with the child and family. They are also
extremely useful in obtaining basic information about
existing concerns as viewed by the child and family
members and in pinpointing directions for further
inquiry.
Clinical Interview
An electro-physiological measure of brain functioning whereby electrodes are taped to the surface of the subject’s scalp to record the electrical activity of the brain. These recordings are sensitive to changes in state
and emotionality, thereby making them particularly useful for studying social and emotional processes.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
present the child with ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots or pictures of people, and the child is asked to describe what they see. The hypothesis is
that the child will “project” their own personality—
unconscious fears, needs, and inner conflicts—onto the test
Projective tests
a series of standardized tests that assess how well the brain functions. It can help identify issues with mental functions, such as learning, memory, attention, and language. It can also help determine how brain injuries or diseases affect emotions, behavior, and thinking abilities
Neuropsychological testing
approaches view child psychopathology as the result of social or environmental circumstances that are imposed on the child and interfere with their basic capacity for personal growth and adaptive functioning. The interference causes the child to experience a loss or impairment in self-esteem and emotional well-being, resulting in even further mental health concerns. The therapist relates to the child in an empathic
way, providing unconditional, nonjudgmental, and
genuine acceptance of the child as an individual, often
through the use of play activities with younger children and verbal interaction with older youths
Client-centered treatment:
a type of psychotherapy that helps people change their thinking and behavior to manage mental health issues
Cognitive behavioral treatment:
