AssessmentClassification1 - Classification 2.7.11...

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2/25/11
Clinical Assessment and
Classification
2.7.11

2/25/11
What exactly is
Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis?

Psychology assessment is…
 A procedure by which clinicians, using psychology
tests, observation, and interviews, develop a
summary of the client’s symptoms and problems

Clinical diagnosis is…
 The process by which a clinician arrives at a general
“summary classification" of the patient’s symptoms
by following a clearly defined system such as DSM –
IV-TR

2/25/11
The Basic Elements in Assessment

The goals of psychological assessments include:
 Identifying and describing symptoms
 Determining chronicity and severity of problems
 Potential causal factors

Personal resources/assets/capacities
 Predict the likely course of events (Prognosis)
 Establish baselines of behaviors
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Basic Elements of Assessment

Presenting problem:
 The client’s major symptoms and behavior
 Why did they walk in the door?

Why do we need to classify presenting problems?
 Insurance

Planning and managing appropriate treatment
 Other administrative reasons (reporting)

However, in many cases the diagnosis is not the most
important factor!

2/25/11
The Basic Elements in Assessment

Taking a social or behavioral inventory:
 The social context

Environmental demands

Stressors
 Personality factors*

Long-term personality characteristics

Patterns of behavior

Ultimate goal Bring all assessment
information together to describe the current
situation and establish some hypotheses for the
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Factors influencing assessment

The clinician’s orientation
 Certain assessment tools/techniques are more
conducive to certain orientations

Non-specific factors
 Trust/Rapport
 Motivation

Of the Client

Of the Clinician (what is the referral question?)

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Assessment of Physical Health

Many psychological problems have physical
components either as:
 Causal factors
 Symptom patterns

Therefore, it is often
important to include a
medical examination
in the psychological
assessment

Especially if
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Assessment of the Physical Organism

If organic brain damage is suspected,
neurological tests can aid in determining the site
and extent of organic brain disorder

The neurological examination may include
 Electroencephalogram (EEG)
 Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) scan

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan
 functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
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EEG

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Cat Scan

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PET Scan

Tracks glucose as it is metabolized by the brain
Normal Brain Brain affected
with Alzheimer's Disease