The three primary types of treatment settings for receiving mental health care or services are 1) hospital inpatient, 2) residential and 3) outpatient. In addition, some mental health care services are delivered via online and telecommunications technologies.
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What are the different types of mental health treatment settings?
The three primary types of treatment settings for receiving mental health care or services are 1) hospital inpatient, 2) residential and 3) outpatient. In addition, some mental health care services are delivered via online and telecommunications technologies. Hospital inpatient settings involve an overnight or longer stay in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric unit of a general hospital. …
What are the different types of psychological treatments?
There are several different modalities of treatment (): Individual therapy, family therapy, couples therapy, and group therapy are the most common. Therapy may occur (a) one-on-one between a therapist and client, or (b) in a group setting.
How do I set the stage for counseling or treatment?
Psychological treatment approaches for older adults include behavioral, brief psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, problem-solving, reminiscence, humanistic approaches or exercise (Edelstein et al., 2015). Psychotherapeutic interventions tend to be the recommended first line of treatment for older adults with mild depression.
What is goal setting in therapy?
Relaxation training has consistently been shown to assist and alleviate chronic pain, and the treatment of disorders exacerbated by stress. This may include: headaches, hypertension, insomnia, gastro-intestinal distress. COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY - seeks to alter habitual maladaptive thought patterns. Unrealistic expectations, wishful thinking, living in the past (or …
What are the different treatment types?
This article will provide an overview of the different types of therapy available.Cognitive-behavioral therapy. ... Dialectical behavior therapy. ... Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy. ... Exposure therapy. ... Interpersonal therapy. ... Mentalization-based therapy. ... Psychodynamic therapy. ... Animal-assisted therapy.More items...•
What are the 4 major types of psychological therapies?
To help you get familiar with the different therapeutic approaches, here's a quick guide to four of the most widely-practiced forms.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Psychodynamic Therapy.Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Humanistic/Experiential Therapy.
What are the three major approaches to treatments?
Perhaps the three main approaches are psychodynamic, humanistic and behavioural. Each of these has a different theory and ideas underpinning it, and the therapists and counsellors using each will approach problems and issues in different ways. These three main approaches each support a number of individual therapies.
What are the three 3 types of therapeutic modalities?
Treatment ModalitiesIndividual Therapy. The client meets alone with the therapist. ... Family Therapy. ... Group Therapy. ... Group therapy is offered when there are at least 4 clients who are interested and available to meet on a consistent basis.
What is treatment in psychology?
n. 1. the administration of appropriate measures (e.g., drugs, surgery, psychotherapy) that are designed to relieve a pathological condition.
How many different types of therapy are there?
There are more than fifty types of therapeutic approaches. Yet, only a few of them are common.
What are the three broad categories of treatment for psychological disorders?
There are many different types of treatment for psychological disorders, all of which fit into three broad types: insight therapies, behavior therapies, and biomedical therapies.
What are the different types of mental health therapy?
Popular Types of PsychotherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy. ... Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) ... Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) ... Exposure Therapy. ... Interpersonal Therapy. ... Mentalization-based Therapy. ... Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. ... Therapy Pets.
What is used as the main premise for treatment in humanistic therapy methods?
What is humanistic therapy? According to practitioners and proponents of humanistic therapy, the main premise of the person-centered therapy approach is on the subjective experience of the individual as the primary driver of behavior.
What are the 5 categories of modalities?
Physical therapists are trained in the therapeutic application of various basic physical agents that we call modalities. These agents are thermal [heat and cold], electrical, sound, light and mechanical, each briefly explained below.
What are modalities in psychology?
1. a particular therapeutic technique or process (e.g., psychodynamic). 2. a medium of sensation, such as vision or hearing.
What is the difference between modality and intervention?
During intervention, the OT practitioner considers both the medium and the method. Practitioners become skilled at selecting and using modalities to help clients reach their goals. Knowledge of modalities involves critically analyzing the research, and clinically evaluating outcomes in practice.
What type of psychology is therapy?
Counseling psychologists provide psychotherapy to people experiencing psychological disturbances, behavioral problems, emotional difficulties, stress, and related issues. These professionals share many commonalities with clinical psychologists.
What kind of therapy is best for anxiety?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective form of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders. Generally a short-term treatment, CBT focuses on teaching you specific skills to improve your symptoms and gradually return to the activities you've avoided because of anxiety.
What is group therapy?
Group therapy can be defined as a meeting of two or more people with a common therapeutic purpose or to achieve a common goal (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1999). There are a few different approaches or modalities that group formats can use: 1 Process-sensitive groups are directed by analytical theory. This format examines the unconscious processes of the group as a whole and helps individuals see themselves more clearly. The group as a whole views healing as an extension of the individuals within the group. 2 A directive approach provides structured goals and therapist-directed interventions that help individuals change in desired ways. It is commonly used by alcohol and drug counselors. 3 Heterogeneous groups include members who have a variety of diagnoses or mental health issues. The diverse make-up creates more complexity and provides opportunities for a range of relationships, which can benefit group members. 4 Homogeneous groups, on the other hand, include group members with similar issues, goals, and backgrounds. These groups create a sense of cohesion and safety much more quickly, which may be useful in time-limited group interventions.
How is rational behavior therapy similar to CBT?
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is similar to CBT in that it helps clients identify negative or destructive thoughts and emotions. They can then actively challenge thoughts and replace them with more rational and realistic ones.
What is the purpose of dialectical behavior therapy?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a form of CBT that aims to give people skills to regulate emotions, improve relationships, handle stress, and live mindfully.
What are the different types of therapy?
Other types of modalities include somatic experiences, art therapy, play therapy, drama therapy, family therapy, yoga therapy, sand-tray therapy, and imago therapy just to name a few.
What is experiential therapy?
Humanistic/Experiential Therapy focuses on an individual’s nature rather than the collection of behaviors that make up a psychological category. It involves a holistic approach to emphasize the whole person and their ability to grow, heal, and find self-actualization through self-exploration.
What is cognitive behavioral therapy?
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy ( CBT) is an evidence-based treatment founded on the premise that our thoughts control our emotions and behavior (National Institute of Mental Health, 2021).
How many sessions are there in PTSD?
It includes 12–18 sessions that address traumatic events and resolve PTSD symptoms, and it has been shown to be particularly helpful for children and adolescents (Cohen, Mannarino, & Deblinger, 2006).
What is intake therapy?
An intake is the therapist’s first meeting with the client. The therapist gathers specific information to address the client’s immediate needs, such as the presenting problem, the client’s support system, and insurance status. The therapist informs the client about confidentiality, fees, and what to expect in treatment. Confidentiality means the therapist cannot disclose confidential communications to any third party unless mandated or permitted by law to do so. During the intake, the therapist and client will work together to discuss treatment goals. Then a treatment plan will be formulated, usually with specific measurable objectives. Also, the therapist and client will discuss how treatment success will be measured and the estimated length of treatment. There are several different modalities of treatment ( [link] ): Individual therapy, family therapy, couples therapy, and group therapy are the most common.
What is confidential communication in therapy?
Confidentiality means the therapist cannot disclose confidential communications to any third party unless mandated or permitted by law to do so.
How long does it take to meet with a client in individual therapy?
In individual therapy, also known as individual psychotherapy or individual counseling, the client and clinician meet one-on-one (usually from 45 minutes to 1 hour). These meetings typically occur weekly or every other week, and sessions are conducted in a confidential and caring environment ( [link] ).
What is the most common treatment for a syphilis disorder?
Summary. There are several modalities of treatment: individual therapy, group therapy, couples therapy, and family therapy are the most common. In an individual therapy session, a client works one-on-one with a trained therapist.
What is structural family therapy?
In structural family therapy, the therapist examines and discusses the boundaries and structure of the family: who makes the rules, who sleeps in the bed with whom, how decisions are made, and what are the boundaries within the family.
Why is group therapy important?
Group treatment for this population is considered to have several benefits: Group treatment is more economical than individual , couples, or family therapy . Sexual abusers often feel more comfortable admitting and discussing their offenses in a treatment group where others are modeling openness.
How many people meet in group therapy?
In group therapy, usually 5–10 people meet with a trained therapist to discuss a common issue such as divorce, grief, an eating disorder, substance abuse, or anger management. (credit: Cory Zanker)
What is the treatment of neuropathic pain?
Psychological treatment of neuropathic pain is emerging as an important component of interdisciplinary approaches to the management of this complex problem. Following a brief consideration of the biospsychosocial model of pain and relevant psychological theories, the chapter reviews common standardized assessment approaches that can be employed to design effective treatment plans for neuropathic pain and to evaluate their effectiveness. This is followed by consideration of a range of psychological and behavioral treatment approaches. This review focuses on self-regulatory approaches such as relaxation, biofeedback, and hypnosis and cognitive and behavioral approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and exercise. These therapeutic approaches are described, as is the empirical evidence supporting their efficacy for the management of neuropathic pain. The chapter concludes with discussion of additional roles of psychologists in the management of neuropathy and neuropathic pain especially related to management of mental health comorbidities and health-risk behaviors.
How many sessions of psychodynamic therapy are there?
This treatment focuses on interpersonal relationships and unconscious processes to treat depressed mood in approximately 20 sessions. The goals of treatment can be single or two-fold: (1) symptom reduction; and (2) personality change by decreasing vulnerability and increasing long-term resilience.
What is the treatment for mTBI?
Psychological treatment typically includes education, reassurance, teaching of anxiety reduction techniques, and cognitive-behavioral therapy to target and modify cognitive biases and misattribution. Psychotherapy can also be useful in identifying psychosocial factors contributing to symptom presentation and the teaching of specific coping skills for dealing with psychosocial pressure.38 Early after mTBI, psychological treatment may help protect against developing PCS. One meta-analysis determined that patients who receive brief psychological treatment after mTBI have a significantly reduced incidence of persisting PCS compared to patients who receive standard acute care alone. 24 Efficacy data are lacking once PCS is established (i.e., if symptoms persist for >3 months), but physicians often include psychologist referral in their treatment plan. 24 In these authors' opinion, referral to a neuropsychologist or psychologist with expertise in PCS is indicated when there is failure to respond to initial treatments, worsening stress, deterioration in function, or significant impairment in vocational or social function. More information on psychological treatment after mTBI can be found in Chapter 5.
How to treat PG?
Psychological treatment strategies have used cognitive, behavioral, and motivational approaches in the treatment of individuals with PG. Behavioral strategies include isolating gambling triggers and developing non-gambling sources to compete with reinforcers associated with gambling.6 Cognitive strategies include increased awareness techniques and cognitive restructuring. 6 One study 147 suggested that cognitive treatment (corrective cognition) can significantly decrease PG, with 88% of treated participants having greater perception of control over their gambling problem. This study emphasized that gambling outcomes are based on random events that cannot be controlled, and that correcting these erroneous perceptions by gamblers can constitute an important component of treatment. Earlier findings 148 suggested that when a gambler's erroneous perceptions and understanding of randomness were corrected, the motivation to gamble significantly decreased. In another study, 29 men with PG were randomly assigned to treatment or to a wait-list control group where treatment consisted of cognitive correction of erroneous perceptions about gambling, problem solving and social skills training, and relapse prevention. There were significant gains realized on all outcome measures from 6- to 12-month analyses. 149 In the latter two studies, treatment discontinuation was high, only data on those participants completing the study was reported, and despite manualized treatment sessions, no rigorous analysis of therapist competence was undertaken. 6
What is Imaginal Desensitization?
Imaginal desensitization (ID) has been compared to treatment with other behavioral procedures. In this technique, participants are taught relaxation methods and instructed to imagine experiencing and resisting gambling triggers. In an initial study, 20 compulsive gamblers who were followed for 1 year were randomly allocated, half to receive aversion-relief therapy and half to receive ID. Compared with those who received aversion-relief, gamblers receiving ID reported a significantly greater reduction in gambling urges and behaviors, and showed significant reductions in trait and state anxiety. 152,6 In a subsequent larger study of PG (n = 120, 60 patients per group, procedures administered over 1 week), 153 26/33 who received ID reported control or cessation of gambling compared with 16/30 who received other behavioral procedures, a difference that reached statistical significance.
How to treat agoraphobia with panic disorder?
There is a consensus that in the typical case of agoraphobia with panic disorder treatment should proceed employing all of these techniques in sequence, beginning with self-paced exposure in vivo. Experts argue that, because it is not associated with deleterious side-effects or complications from withdrawal, psychological treatment should be used first, and pharmacological treatment brought in as necessary subsequently.
What is the treatment for borderline personality disorder?
A specific form of psychological treatment, dialectic behaviour therapy ( DBT), is used to treat borderline personality disorder.
What is the procedure used to suggest one change their experience of sensation, perception, thoughts, or behaviors?
HYPNOSIS - A procedure therapists use to suggest one change their experience of sensation, perception, thoughts, or behaviors. Hypnosis can be used to treat chronic pain, depression, anxiety, phobias, stress, habit disorders (e.g. gambling, smoking, etc.), gastro-intestinal disorders, post-operative recovery, nausea, and many other conditions.
What does psychotherapy help clients with?
Psychologists that use this theory today help clients to interpret his/her unconscious wishes and motives and the conflict that one feels. This can assist the client in alleviating his/her symptoms and helping the client have a greater understanding of his/her self.
What is a therapist for couples?
This therapy provides a safe place where couples can talk and work through their issues. The therapist can help the couple develop new, better, and more efficient ways of communicating and conflict resolution . The therapist can also intervene to help the couple see and respect each other's point of view.
What is interpersonal therapy?
INTERPERSONAL THERAPY (IPT) - Used to treat depression and other conditions as well as to improve interpersonal relationships. This treatment modality focuses on interpersonal disputes/conflicts, transitions that one may be facing, an well as grief that extends beyond normal bereavement period.
What is existential therapy?
EXISTENTIAL THERAPY - Originally rooted in existential philosophy, this therapy focuses on understanding one's existence in terms of his/her conscious experience. Another key aspect of existential therapy is helping clients to establish meaning in his/her life. One's freedom is thought to arise from making choices and an existential psychologist can help one determine if he/she is making healthy or unhealthy choices. By examining one's choices, one also has the responsibility to take a particular direction in his/her life.
What is CAT therapy?
ANALYTIC - Cognitive analytic therapy ( CAT) is a system of treatment in which the therapist helps the patient to understand why things have gone wrong in the past and explores how to make sure that they don’t go wrong in the future. In simple terms, what it seeks to do is to apply the step-by-step pragmatism of cognitive therapy to some ...
What is psychoanalytic therapy?
PSYCHOANALYTIC THERAPY - is the personality theory and psychotherapeutic approach pioneered by Sigmund Freud. Freud is known as the father of psychoanalysis. However, today psychoanalytic therapy differs from the Classical Freudian style. Psychologists that use this theory today help clients to interpret his/her unconscious wishes and motives and the conflict that one feels. This can assist the client in alleviating his/her symptoms and helping the client have a greater understanding of his/her self. The approach emphasizes making the unconscious conscious and thereby giving the individual choices in life rather than being at the whim of unknown forces within themselves. Most practice theories today however still at times use or focus on free association, defense mechanisms, resistance, interpretations of dreams, fantasies, and unconscious motives.
How long should a psychotherapist see patients?
When the psychotherapist sees patients one after the other, it would not be feasible to do so if a full hour is used. 10 minutes between sessions should be enough for the therapist to prepare his mind for the next patient, write some quick notes, drink some water, etc.
Why is it important to establish and maintain a psychotherapy setting?
The psychotherapy setting is very much linked to boundaries, and it is the therapist’s responsibility to establish and maintain it, so that the patient can be free to explore their internal world and learn more about themselves, thus developing the areas they need help with in life.
How does psychotherapy work?
This is because a major aspect of how psychotherapy work lies on forming a strong and intense relationship with the therapist. The dynamics, feelings and other things the patient need help with will be lived out and worked through in the context of the therapeutic relationship.
What is the most important aspect of psychotherapy?
But as it is, everything that is brought and experienced in psychotherapy can be understood, thought about and worked through, in the hope that it will help the patient handle things that will inevitably happen in life. Communications: another important aspect in the psychotherapy setting involves the communications between therapist and patient.
How long is a psychoanalytic session?
Duration of sessions: with the exception of the initial consultation, when a bit more time may be needed for the first meeting, the duration of a psychoanalytic psychotherapy session is usually 50 minutes.
How often do psychotherapists take breaks?
Breaks: holidays, pauses and breaks are also part of the psychotherapy process. Therapists do take breaks several times a year, which in the therapeutic relationship will bring out important dynamics to be experienced and thought about.
Why is it important to keep the room as constant as possible?
It is also important to keep the set up of the room as constant as possible, for instance, not changing furniture around too often, as the constancy of the setting promotes a sense of continuity, which in itself reflects on the psychotherapy work. So the space in where the sessions happen ought to echo the psychotherapy experience ...
How to avoid burnout in counseling?
Counseling burnout is a real issue, especially for those in the mental health field. Counselors and therapists need to practice good self-care to avoid counseling burnout. Maintaining that work-life balance is not easy, especially for counselors and therapists.
How to track achievements in life?
All great achievements in life start with an idea. Using a workbook to track those ideas is a smart thing to do. A goal-setting workbook can help someone: Create and track simple goals. Create a plan of action for those goals. Keep track of what they have accomplished in life.
Why do we set goals in therapy?
Setting goals can also give the therapist a better grasp of client growth as they proceed with therapy. According to the Grief Recovery Center, studies show that those who set useful goals during their therapy sessions typically experience less stress and anxiety overall as a result of being able to concentrate better.
Why use a goal setting worksheet?
Using a Goal Setting Workbook. A goal-setting workbook may very well be the perfect tool for helping someone achieve his or her goals and dreams. Using a workbook allows one to track their progress and get things down on paper. A workbook also allows one to get clear on their visions, goals, and dreams.
What is the job of a counselor?
As a counselor, it is your job to set expectations with your clients. There are many different perceptions of what a counselor can do and what someone can expect from the counseling experience.
Why is setting goals important?
Image via pxhere. Goal setting is important for those who want to improve their life. Setting goals helps you remain accountable for the things you want to achieve. Goal setting is even more important for those in counseling and therapy. Not knowing how to properly set up goals can often lead to failure. There are many great techniques ...
How to establish values and goals?
One of the easiest ways to establish your values and goals is to make them SMART goals. SMART goals help give the client focus and direction while providing a robust plan for change. Setting a SMART goal is a great way to set a goal with a clearly defined focus.
What is a therapist's toolbox?
It is common for therapists to develop an eclectic toolbox of skills that draw from multiple approaches. These often include techniques from major therapy types such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or psychodynamic therapy. Some types of therapy are designed to treat particular mental health conditions: For example, ...
What is psychodynamic therapy?
Psychodynamic approaches to therapy encompass a focus on better understanding oneself and examining inner conflicts as a way to alleviate distress and improve relationships and other aspects of one’s life.
What is cognitive behavioral therapy?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) involves challenging the negative and irrational thoughts that lead to dysfunctional behaviors and perpetuate distress. Therapists trained in CBT aim to help clients learn and practice ways of dealing with negative automatic thought patterns in more adaptive ways. CBT has been empirically studied for decades, and there is experimental evidence to support its use in the treatment of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and other conditions. A number of specialized forms of CBT target particular conditions (such as CBT-I, for insomnia).
What is effective therapy?
Effective approaches to therapy are thought to share “common factors” —such as a therapist who treats the client with empathy, a rapport between the therapist and client (sometimes referred to as a therapeutic alliance), and agreement about the goals of therapy. For many kinds of distress, different types of therapy may have remarkably similar ...
What is marriage and family therapy?
Marriage and family therapy addresses the behaviors of two or more people and the relationships between them. These forms of therapy include combined sessions with both people in a couple or all participating family members, but can involve one-on-one sessions between each individual and the therapist as well.
Why should barbers be taught?
Teaching barbers to provide mental health support for Black men and other men of color could provide a major boost to communities in need.
How many stages of ideological conviction are there in conspiracy theory?
When addressing conspiracy theory beliefs in therapy, interventions can be matched to five stages of ideological conviction.
Why is summarising important?
Summarising is an important way for the clinician to gather together what has already been said, make sure that the client has been understood correctly, and prepare the client to move on. Summarising is putting together a group of reflections.
What is the act of the clinician thinking about his or her observations about the client and what the client has communicated?
Processing is the act of the clinician thinking about his or her observations about the client and what the client has communicated.
What is active listening?
Active listening by the clinician encourages the client to share information by providing verbal and nonverbal expressions of interest.
What is interpreter in psychology?
Interpreting is the clinician’s explanation of the client’s issues after observing the client’s behaviour, listening to the client and considering other sources of information.
What is probing in counseling?
Probing is the counsellor’s use of a question to direct the client’s attention to explore his or her situation in greater depth.
What is the act of communicating information to the client that includes providing feedback and emotional support, addressing issues of concern,
Responding is the act of communicating information to the client that includes providing feedback and emotional support, addressing issues of concern, and teaching skills.
What does "attending" mean?
Attending is expressing awareness and interest in what the client is communicating both verbally and nonverbally.
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).
Why are some disorders not included in the main body of the APA?
Additionally, some disorders were not included within the main body of the document because they did not have the scientific evidence to support their widespread clinical use, but were included in Section III under “Conditions for Further Study” to “highlight the evolution and direction of scientific advances in these areas to stimulate further research” (APA, 2013).
When was the DSM revised?
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).
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 two types of observation?
3.1.3.1. Observation. In Section 1.5.2.1 we talked about two types of observation – naturalistic, or observing the person or animal in their environment, and laboratory, or observing the organism in a more controlled or artificial setting where the experimenter can use sophisticated equipment and videotape the session to examine it at a later time. One-way mirrors can also be used. A limitation of this method is that the process of recording a behavior causes the behavior to change, called reactivity. Have you ever noticed someone staring at you while you sat and ate your lunch? If you have, what did you do? Did you change your behavior? Did you become self-conscious? Likely yes, and this is an example of reactivity. Another issue is that the behavior made in one situation may not be made in other situations, such as your significant other only acting out at the football game and not at home. This form of validity is called cross-sectional validity. We also need our raters to observe and record behavior in the same way or to have high inter-rater reliability.
What is predictive validity?
Predictive validity is when a tool accurately predicts what will happen in the future. Let’s say we want to tell if a high school student will do well in college. We might create a national exam to test needed skills and call it something like the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). We would have high school students take it by their senior year and then wait until they are in college for a few years and see how they are doing. If they did well on the SAT, we would expect that at that point, they should be doing well in college. If so, then the SAT accurately predicts college success. The same would be true of a test such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and its ability to predict graduate school performance.
How does a mental health professional assess a client?
For a mental health professional to be able to effectively help treat a client and know that the treatment selected worked (or is working), he/she first must engage in the clinical assessment of the client, or collecting information and drawing conclusions through the use of observation, psychological tests, neurological tests, and interviews to determine the person’s problem and the presenting symptoms. This collection of information involves learning about the client’s skills, abilities, personality characteristics, cognitive and emotional functioning, the social context in terms of environmental stressors that are faced, and cultural factors particular to them such as their language or ethnicity. Clinical assessment is not just conducted at the beginning of the process of seeking help but throughout the process. Why is that?
