Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis Flashcards
Gathering information regarding people’s symptoms and the possible causes of these symptoms
ASSESSMENT
• A label for a set of symptoms that often occur together
• process of determining whether the particular problem afflicting the individual meets all criteria for a
psychological disorder
DIAGNOSIS
the systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in an individual presenting with a possible psychological disorder
CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
– Tools have been developed by clinicians to gather
information
Assessment Tools
•Accuracy of a test to measure what it is designed to measure
Validity
Based from face value, it can measure what it purports
to measure
FACE VALIDITY
Extent to which a test assesses all the important aspects of a phenomenon that it purports to measure
CONTENT VALIDITY
extent to which a test yields the same results as other, established measures of the same behavior, thoughts, or feelings (standard but long vs. brief, new)
CONCURRENT VALIDITY
•good at predicting how a person will think, act, or feel
in the future (IQ—success in school)
PREDICTIVE VALIDITY
•extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to
measure and not something else altogether
CONSTURCT VALIDITY
•Consistency of a test in measuring what it is supposed to measure
Reliability
Consistency of the test results over
time
TEST RETEST RELIABILITY
• Results on a similar version of the test are similar
ALTERNATE FORM RELIABILITY
Similarity in people’s answers
among different parts of the same
test
INTERNAL RELIABILITY
Interjudge Reliability
INTER RATER RELIABILITY
•A way to improve validity and reliability
Standardization
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
- CLINICAL INTERVIEW
- SYMPTOM QUESTIONNAIRES
- BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS AND SELF MONITORING
- PERSONALITY INVENTORIES
- INTELLIGENCE TESTS
- NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
- BRAIN IMAGING TECHNIQUES
- PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL TESTS & PHYSICAL -EXAMINATION
- PROJECTIVE TESTS
Much of the information is gathered through an initial interview
CLINICAL INTERVIEW
Person’s general functioning
MENTAL STATUS EXAM --Appearance and Behavior – Thought Processes • Speech – Mood and Affect – Intellectual Functioning • Memory and Attention – Orientation/Sensorium • Time, place, person, object
– Series of questions asked about a particular symptom that is currently experienced or experienced in the past
– format of the questions and the entire interview is standardized, and the clinician uses concrete criteria to score the person’s answers
Structured Interviews
- made up of questions phrased and tested to elicit useful information
SEMI STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
– have no systematic format
• “Tell me about yourself”
• Start from what is significant to the clinician
Unstructured Interviews
-Pays attention to the medical condition of the client which might cause the psychological problem
-Assessing If a medical condition or substance
abuse is merely coexisting or a casual one
• Rule out or manage conditions which are
exacerbating the condition of the client
– Eg. Hypothyroidism, brain tumor, panic attacks
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION By Physician – Neurodev – Neurologist – Psychiatrist
REMEMBER
Questionnaires can cover a wide variety of
symptoms representing several different disorders
Used for individuals who are not old enough
or skilled enough to report their problems and
experiences
– Individuals with special needs
– Individuals who are physically and psychologically
challenged
– Elders
– Young children
BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT
– to assess deficits in skills or ways of handling
situations
– looking for specific behaviors and what precedes
and follows these behaviors
Behavioral Observation
Advantage: not relying on self-reports
– Disadvantage: changing of behavior when
observed; different conclusions/observer
– relies on observer’s recollection
and interpretation of events
Informal