By having a clear accounting of the person’s symptoms and how they affect daily functioning, we can decide to what extent the individual is adversely affected. Assuming a treatment is needed, our second reason to engage in clinical assessment will be to determine what treatment will work best.
How do you decide on the best treatment?
A clinical psychologist you know says, "How do I decide on the best treatment? Simple—I make sure to read the most recent research studies in therapy, and follow their advice." The clinical psychologist you know is: unusual; most therapists base therapy decisions on something besides what they can read in research journals
What is it like being a clinical psychologist?
The clinical psychologist you know is: unusual; most therapists base therapy decisions on something besides what they can read in research journals A clinical psychologist you know says, "How do I decide on the best treatment?
Should I work with a psychologist I know?
Most psychologists agree that an important factor in determining whether or not to work with a particular psychologist, once that psychologist's credentials and competence are established, is your level of personal comfort with that psychologist. A good rapport with your psychologist is critical.
How do I find a psychologist for mental health issues?
To find a psychologist, ask your physician or another health professional. Call your local or state psychological association. Consult a local university or college department of psychology. Ask family and friends.
What do psychologists focus their treatment on?
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Counseling psychology is a similar discipline that focuses on emotional, social, vocational, and health-related outcomes in individuals who are considered psychologically healthy.
What do clinical psychologists do to treat others?
A clinical psychologist's goal is to help their client identify their psychological, emotional or behavioural issues and then assist the client by defining goals and a plan of action to help them achieve personal, social, educational and vocational development.
Which of the following is the best conclusion you can draw about the effectiveness of the various assessment techniques?
Which of the following is the BEST conclusion you could draw about the effectiveness of the various assessment techniques? When all is said and done, no technique stands out as superior. Therapies that have received clear research support are called: evidence-based.
Which is the test with the highest validity in identifying psychological disturbances?
Among the following, the test with the highest validity in identifying psychological disturbances is the: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Test.
What exactly does a clinical psychologist do?
Psychologists who provide clinical or counseling services assess and treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. They use the science of psychology to treat complex human problems and promote change. They also promote resilience and help people discover their strengths.
What is the main focus of clinical psychology?
Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behavior, and psychiatric problems.
What are the most commonly used psychological assessment procedures?
The most commonly used personality tests are the Rorschach, TAT, and MMPI. The assumptions underlying projective tests such as the Rorschach and TAT are that the standard set of stimuli are used as a screen to project material that cannot be obtained through a more structured approach.
What are two great methods for assessing your own level of positivity?
33 Tips on How to Have & Keep a Positive Mindset in Life and at WorkStart the day with positive affirmations (scroll down to see some example affirmations).Focus on the good things, however small they are.Find humor in bad situations.Turn failures into lessons—and learn from them!More items...•
How will you determine that test items is reliable and valid?
For an exam or an assessment to be considered reliable, it must exhibit consistent results. Deviations from data patterns and anomalous results or responses could be a sign that specific items on the exam are misleading or unreliable.
What is a MMPI psychological testing?
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a psychological test that assesses personality traits and psychopathology. It is primarily intended to test people who are suspected of having mental health or other clinical issues.
What does an MMPI show?
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is designed to assess an individual's state of mental health. The test items evaluate a number of different issues and can identify struggles in substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and personality disorders with a great degree of accuracy.
Which clinical therapist identified the three essential features of all forms of therapy?
According to clinical theorist Jerome Frank, all forms of therapy have three essential features: A sufferer who seeks relief from the healer.
What is clinical diagnosis?
Clinical diagnosis is the process of using assessment data to determine if the pattern of symptoms the person presents with is consistent with the diagnostic criteria for a specific mental disorder outlined in an established classification system such as the DSM-5 or I CD-10 (both will be described shortly). Any diagnosis should have clinical utility, meaning it aids the mental health professional in determining prognosis, the treatment plan, and possible outcomes of treatment (APA, 2013). Receiving a diagnosis does not necessarily mean the person requires treatment. This decision is made based upon how severe the symptoms are, level of distress caused by the symptoms, symptom salience such as expressing suicidal ideation, risks and benefits of treatment, disability, and other factors (APA, 2013). Likewise, a patient may not meet the full criteria for a diagnosis but require treatment nonetheless.
When was the DSM 5 published?
3.2.2.1. A brief history of the DSM. The DSM-5 was published in 2013 and took the place of the DSM IV-TR (TR means Text Revision; published in 2000), but the history of the DSM goes back to 1944 when the American Psychiatric Association published a predecessor of the DSM which was a “statistical classification of institutionalized mental patients” and “…was designed to improve communication about the types of patients cared for in these hospitals” (APA, 2013, p. 6). The DSM evolved through four major editions after World War II into a diagnostic classification system to be used psychiatrists and physicians, but also other mental health professionals. The Herculean task of revising the DSM began in 1999 when the APA embarked upon an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the DSM in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) Division of Mental Health, the World Psychiatric Association, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). This collaboration resulted in the publication of a monograph in 2002 called A Research Agenda for DSM-V. From 2003 to 2008, the APA, WHO, NIMH, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) convened 13 international DSM-5 research planning conferences “to review the world literature in specific diagnostic areas to prepare for revisions in developing both DSM-5 and the International Classification of Disease, 11th Revision (ICD-11)” (APA, 2013).
What are the three critical concepts of assessment?
The assessment process involves three critical concepts – reliability, validity, and standardization . Actually, these three are important to science in general. First, we want the assessment to be reliable or consistent. Outside of clinical assessment, when our car has an issue and we take it to the mechanic, we want to make sure that what one mechanic says is wrong with our car is the same as what another says, or even two others. If not, the measurement tools they use to assess cars are flawed. The same is true of a patient who is suffering from a mental disorder. If one mental health professional says the person suffers from major depressive disorder and another says the issue is borderline personality disorder, then there is an issue with the assessment tool being used (in this case, the DSM and more on that in a bit). Ensuring that two different raters are consistent in their assessment of patients is called interrater reliability. Another type of reliability occurs when a person takes a test one day, and then the same test on another day. We would expect the person’s answers to be consistent, which is called test-retest reliability. For example, let’s say the person takes the MMPI on Tuesday and then the same test on Friday. Unless something miraculous or tragic happened over the two days in between tests, the scores on the MMPI should be nearly identical to one another. What does identical mean? The score at test and the score at retest are correlated with one another. If the test is reliable, the correlation should be very high (remember, a correlation goes from -1.00 to +1.00, and positive means as one score goes up, so does the other, so the correlation for the two tests should be high on the positive side).
Can personality be assessed?
That said, personality cannot be directly assessed, and so you do not ever completely know the individual. 3.1.3.4. Neurological tests. Neurological tests are used to diagnose cognitive impairments caused by brain damage due to tumors, infections, or head injuries; or changes in brain activity.
Does receiving a diagnosis mean you need treatment?
Receiving a diagnosis does not necessarily mean the person requires treatment. This decision is made based upon how severe the symptoms are, level of distress caused by the symptoms, symptom salience such as expressing suicidal ideation, risks and benefits of treatment, disability, and other factors (APA, 2013).
What information is needed for a clinician to make a diagnosis?
A clinician can include three kinds of information in making a diagnosis: a diagnostic category, a severity rating for the disorder, and additional information about possibly relevant sociocultural factors. According to the DSM-5, a clinician is required to include:
What is the clinical interviewer's orientation?
MOST likely, that clinical interviewer's orientation is: humanistic. The term used to refer to the comprehensive view of the causes and the maintenance of a person's abnormal behavior that a psychologist develops is: the clinical picture.
What is clinical interview?
Clinical interviews are the preferred assessment technique of many practitioners. One particular strength of the interview process is: the chance to get a general sense of the client. A panel of psychologists and psychiatrists evaluates the test results and clinical interviews of a client in a sanity hearing.
Why have projective tests decreased in the past few decades?
The use of projective tests has decreased in the past few decades because projective tests often have: poor validity. If a clinician is about to interview someone who she knows has already been diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder, this knowledge could lead the clinician to respond with: observer bias.
Is the new assessment tool predictive validity?
validity. A new assessment tool does a good job of differentiating those who later will be depressed and those who will not be depressed, and it produces results similar to those of other tools measuring depression. Therefore, the new assessment tool has good: predictive validity.
What does a psychologist do?
Psychologists work with patients to change their feelings and attitudes and help them develop healthier, more effective patterns of behavior. Psychologists apply scientifically validated procedures to help people change their thoughts, emotions and behaviors.
Why is it important to match a psychologist?
The right match is important. Most psychologists agree that an important factor in determining whether or not to work with a particular psychologist, once that psychologist's credentials and competence are established, is your level of personal comfort with that psychologist. A good rapport with your psychologist is critical.
What can a psychologist do to help a woman with depression?
And the psychologist may help facilitate the process of grieving if her depression resulted from a loss . Medical problems may contribute to the symptoms the woman is experiencing. In such cases, medical and psychological interventions are called for to help individuals overcome their depression.
How long does it take to become a psychologist?
After graduation from college, psychologists spend an average of seven years in graduate education training and research before receiving a doctoral degree. As part of their professional training, they must complete a supervised clinical internship in a hospital or organized health setting and at least one year of post-doctoral supervised experience before they can practice independently in any health care arena. It's this combination of doctoral-level training and a clinical internship that distinguishes psychologists from many other mental health care providers.
What is a collaborative effort between an individual and a psychologist?
Psychotherapy is a collaborative effort between an individual and a psychologist. It provides a supportive environment to talk openly and confidentially about concerns and feelings.
What should I do when I start therapy?
As you begin therapy, you should establish clear goals with your psychologist. You might be trying to overcome feelings of hopelessness associated with depression or control a fear that is disrupting your daily life. Remember, certain goals require more time to reach than others.
How many people need help with their feelings?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 30 million Americans need help dealing with feelings and problems that seem beyond their control — problems with a marriage or relationship, a family situation or dealing ...