Overview
As you have learned from several of your readings, diagnosing psychiatric illnesses is not always an easy or straightforward process. Multiple observations and assessment methods are often employed to reach a diagnosis. This approach can include the use of standardized assessment instruments. This can aid you in defining a treatment plan and choosing specific therapy modalities to use in the care of your clients.
Each week, you will identify a standardized assessment instrument or tool to measure the disorders about which you will be reading. You will keep these instruments in the form of a “portfolio” that you can use in your clinical practice to assess clients who present with a variety of symptoms.
Additionally, you will record specific components of the therapy modality we are learning for the week. This will help solidify your new knowledge and allow you to make correlations between therapy modalities and to which diagnoses they can be applied or when they can be utilized in practice.
Instructions
Instrument/Tool criteria:
For each assessment tool you select, you will identify an instrument and do the following:
• Identify a scholarly, peer-reviewed article that addresses the use of the instrument.
• Discuss if the instrument is appropriate for diagnosing the condition it is designed to assess or if the developers of the instrument reported that the instrument is only part of a comprehensive assessment for the disorder.
• Describe whether or not the instrument can be used to measure patient response to therapy/treatment.
• Discuss the psychometrics/scoring of the instrument, including reliability and validity.
• Discuss any limitations associated with the use of the instrument.
Therapy criteria:
• Identify the therapy modality by name.
• Identify the originator (creator) of the specific modality.
• Identify a specific diagnosis or population this modality is especially helpful with.
• Note specific focus, emphasis, and/or goals of this modality.
Instruments/Tools for diagnosis of (one instrument/tool for each diagnosis):
• Self-injurious behavior
• Suicide assessment (Everyone should choose the Gold Standard: CSSRS.)
Therapy modalities (define criteria for each modality):
• Existential therapy
• Gestalt therapy
Use the Portfolio Template Assessment Instruments (Word) and Portfolio Template Therapy Modalities (Word) to complete your portfolio assignments. Your information can be in bulleted format or just a couple sentences for each criterion listed above. However, you must use APA citations.
You are NOT required to write this in a paper format. Turn in one document for each of this week’s topics. (However, create a file on your desktop to compile your portfolio as you move through the term. This will ensure you can have easy access once you begin clinicals and practice.)
ALL criteria must be present to receive credit.
You may refer to the Assessment Instruments Student Example (Word) to assist you in preparing this assignment. Please refer to the Grading Rubric for details on how this activity will be graded.
