Lesson 3 - Clinical Assessment Flashcards
The systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in an individual presenting with a possible psychological disorder
Clinical Assessment
The process of determining whether the particular problem afflicting the individual meets all critera for a psychological disorder
Diagnosis
3 basic concepts that help determine the value of our assessment
Reliability
Validity
Standardization
The degree to which a measurement is consistent
Reliability
Carefully designing assessment devices and conducting research on them to ensure that 2 or more raters will get the same answer
Interrater reliability
The degree to which a technique measures what it is designed to measure
Validity
Comparing the results of an assessment measure under consideration with the result of others that are better known
Concurrent or descriptive validity
How well your assessment tells you what will happen in the future
Predictive validity
Application of certain standards to ensure consistency across different measurements
Standardization
Involves the systematic observation of an individual’s behavior. This type of observation occurs when any one person interacts with another
Mental status exam
Mental status exam category where the clinician notes any overt physical behaviors as well as the individual’s dress, general appearance, posture, and facial expression
Appearance and behavior
Mental status exam category where clinicians listen to a patient talk
Thought process
Mental status exam category that is the predominant feeling state of the individual and the feeling state accompanying what the individual says
Mood and Affect
Mental status exam category where clinicians make a rough estimate of others’ intellectual functioning just by talking to them
Intellectual Functioning
Mental status exam category that refers to our general awareness of our surroundings
Sensorium
Made up of questions that may have been carefully phrased and tested to elicit useful information in a consistent manner so that clinicians can be sure they have inquired about the most important aspects of particular disorders
Semistructured interviews
Using direct observation to assess formally an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior in specific situations or contexts
Behavioral assessment
Target behaviors are identified and observed with the goal of determining the factors that seem to influence them
Behavioral assessment
Observational assessments focuses on the ABC’s of Observation, these are:
Antecedents
Behavior
Consequences
Technique where people observe their own behavior to find patterns
Self-monitoring
Any time you observe how people behave, the mere fact of your presence may cause them to change their behavior
Reactivity
Include a variety of methods in which ambiguous stimuli, such as pictures of people or things, are presented to people who are asked to describe what they see
Projective tests
One of the early projective tests, includes 10 inkblot pictures that serve as the ambiguous stimuli
Rorschach inkblot test
Consists of a series of 31 cards. The tester presents the pictures and asks the person to tell a dramatic story about the picture.
Thematic Appreciation Test
Measure abilities in areas such as receptive and expressive language, attention and concentration, memory, motor skills, perceptual abilities, and learning in such a way that the clinician can make educated guesses about the person’s performance and the possible existence of brain impairment
Neuropsychological test
A fairly simple neuropsychological test often used with children is the Bender ____________
Visual-Motor Gestalt-Test
Taking increasingly accurate pictures of the structure and functions inside the brain
Neuroimaging
Developed in the early 1970’s, uses X-ray exposures of the brain from different angles. A computer then reconstructs pictures of the various slices of the brain
CT Scan
The patient’s head is placed in a magnetic field where radio signals are transmitted. These signals excite brain tissues
MRI
Subjects are injected with a tracer substance attached to radioactive isotopes, r group of atoms that react distinctively
PET Scan
Measurable changes in the nervous system that reflect emotional or physiological events. Measurement may be taken either directly from the brain or peripherally from other parts of the body.
Psychophysiological assessment
Measuring electrical activity in the head related to the firing of a specific group of neurons reveals brain wave activity
electroencephalogram
If we want to determine what is unique about an individual’s personality, cultural background, or circumstances, we use what is known as _____________
idiographic strategy
Taking advantage of the information already accumulated on a particular problem or disorder and determining a general class of problems to which the presenting problem belongs
Nomothetic Strategy
Here we assume every diagnosis has a clear underlying pathphysiological cause
Classical / Categorical Approach
We note the variety of cognitions, moods, and behaviors with which the patient presents and quantify them on a scale
Dimensional approach
Identifies certain essential characteristics of an entity so that you can classify it. Also allows certain nonessential variations that do not necessarily change the classification
Typical Approach
