W2: Diagnosis & Assessment Flashcards
What are three things that are typical in a psychological practice
Working with clients
Record keeping
Peer consultation this makes you reflect on your practice and get different perspectives
Who do psychologists have to be registered with
AHPRA
What is the therapeutic process
Assessment
Case formulation and goalsetting
Intervention planning
Implementing the intervention and monitoring it
Review and case closure
Explain the initial interview
It is an effective way of obtaining information about clients that builds a foundation for subsequent sessions
What kind of information do you want to get from the initial interview
Identifying information about the client such as forms
Information about the presenting problem and the history related to it
Past and current coping what works and what hasn’t worked for them
Past and current treatments or therapies have they seen someone before
Educational and employment history
Health and medical history
Social and developmental history
Family history
Risk assessment are they suicidal
What are the goals are they motivated
In an initial interview does the sequence in which you obtain Information important
Yes it is you need to begin with the least threatening topics saving the more sensitive topics until the end of the session
As the session progressed as a greater degree of rapport will be established making it easier for the client to reveal personal information to the clinician
What counselling skills should you make good use of
Active listening skills Empathetic highlights and reflections Prompts and probes to keep the conversation going - these can be non-verbal Summaries Non-verbal communication skills (SOLER)
When can summaries be really powerful
When you include things from the previous sessions
What is the mental status examination
It is a brief organised interview that assesses the clients emotional, intellectual and neurological functioning
The clinician will assess the clients appearance and behaviour, speech, mood and affect, the form and content of their thoughts, perception, cognition, insight
What is a semistructured interview
They have a designated questioning protocol to follow but it also allows the clinician some flexibility in asking or phrasing the questions – this is more sophisticated than an unstructured interview because of the standard protocol
This allows the clinician to make clinical diagnosis
What are collateral reports
They include information collected from others such as significant others, teachers, medical practitioners, court documents, information from other professionals involved in the care of the client
Why is diagnosis considered a Categorical construct
You are the meet the criteria for a disorder or you do not
What are the advantages of a diagnosis
It helps client to understand what is going on with them -Normalises symptoms for a client
It helps to inform a treatment - Finding appropriate interventions
What are the disadvantages to diagnosis
Not everyone fits into a diagnostic category a lot of people have distressing symptoms but they do not meet criteria for diagnosis
They made them think perhaps they are not bad enough to get a diagnosis which is invalidating
There is stigma and stereotypes around certain mental disorders which can be distressing for the client if they are labelled or what we call diagnosed
What can culture influence in mental illness
Risk factors for developing a disorder, types of symptoms experienced, their willingness to seek help and the availability of treatment
The measures developed for one culture are not necessarily relevant for another
Cultural bias can lead to minimising or exaggerating psychological problems
