Chap 13

Clinical Psychology

Diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.

Counseling Psychology

Helps individuals with life problems such as stress, relationships, and career.

Purpose of Assessment

To determine if the client has a disorder, the diagnosis, and their level of functioning.

Common Tools for Assessment

Interviews, tests such as intelligence tests (e.g., WAIS), and personality tests (e.g., MMPI), and case history.

DSM-5

The manual used for diagnosing mental disorders, including symptoms criteria, risk factors, and comorbidity.

Incidence

The number of new cases of a disorder.

Prevalence

The total percentage of the population affected by a disorder.

Clinical Interview

A key method for gathering information about the client, involving observation of what is said, how it is said, and the client's behavior.

Types of Interviews

Structured, unstructured, and semi-structured interviews.

Mental Status Examination (MSE)

Screens functioning in areas such as appearance, behavior, memory, mood, thought content, and judgment.

Reliability in Psychometrics

The consistency of a measure, including inter-rater and test-retest reliability.

Validity in Psychometrics

The degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure, including criterion validity.

MCMI-IV

A psychological test used to assess personality disorders.

BDI-II

A psychological test used to measure depression severity.

Cultural Considerations

Factors such as language, values, identity, and acculturation that must be considered during assessment.

ADRESSING Model

A framework that includes Age, Disability, Religion, Ethnicity, Social status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, National origin, and Gender.

Addiction Assessment

Involves physical tests (urine/blood), interviews, and role-play tests.

Forensic Assessment

Used in legal settings to evaluate competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and custody decisions.

Duty to Warn

The clinician's responsibility to break confidentiality if a client poses a risk to self or others.

Suicide Assessment

Assessment of risk factors and plans related to suicide.

Competency

The ability to stand trial and make legal or medical decisions.

Criminal Responsibility

The assessment of whether an individual understood the wrongfulness of their actions.

Child Custody Evaluations

Assessments to determine the best interests of a child in custody disputes.

Signs of Child Abuse

Physical (bruises, burns), emotional (withdrawal, aggression), and neglect (poor hygiene, hunger).

Psychological Reports

Documents that include sections such as demographics, reason for referral, tests used, findings, recommendations, and summaries.

Barnum Effect

The tendency to see vague statements as personally applicable.