Chapter Four: Clinical Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Clinical Assessment

how and why does the client behave abnormally

assessment

the process of collecting and interpreting relevant information about a client or research participant

standardization

the process in which common steps are set up to be followed whenever a tool is administered

reliability

consistency of assessment measures

test-retest reliability

participants are tested on two occasions and the two scores are correlated

interrater reliability

different judges independently agree on how to score and interpret an assessment tool

validity

the tool accurately measures what its supposed to measure

face validity

a tool appears valid because it makes sense and seems reasonable

predictive validity

tools ability to predict future characteristics / behavior

concurrent validity

degree to which the measures gathered from one tool agree with the measures gathered from other assessment techniques

clinical interviews

face-to-face encounter

unstructured interview

clinician asks mostly open-ended questions

structured interview

clinicians ask prepared, specific questions

interview schedule

standard set of questions designed for all interviews

mental status exam

set of questions and observations that systematically evaluate the clients awareness, attention span, memory, etc

clinical tests

devices for gathering info about a few aspects of a persons psychological functioning

projective tests

clients interpret vague stimuli and project aspects of their personality into the task

Rorschach test

inkblots

Thematic Apperception test

people are shown black and white pictures and asked to make up a dramatic story about each card

sentence-completion tests

test-taker completes a series of unfinished sentences

personality inventories

individuals are asked to assess themselves

response inventories

tests designed to measure a persons responses in one specific area of functioning, such as affect, social skills, or cognitive processes

affective inventories

measures the severity of emotions like anxiety, depression, and anger

social skills inventories

respondents indicate how theyd react in a variety of social situations

cognitive inventories

reveal a persons typical thoughts and assumptions

polygraph / lie detector test

measures breathing, perspiration, and heart rate

neuroimaging techniques / brain scanning

neurological tests that provide images of brain structure or activity, such as CT scans, PET scans, and MRIs

neuropsychological test

detects brain impairment by measuring a persons cognitive, perceptual, and motor performances

intelligence tests

tests designed to measure a persons intellectual ability

naturalistic observation

clinicians observe clients in their everyday environments

analog observation

clinicians observe clients in an artificial setting

self-monitoring

clients are instructed to observe themselves

Diagnosis

a determination that a persons problems reflect a particular disorder

classification system

a list of disorders, along with descriptions of symptoms and guidelines for making appropriate diagnoses

categorical info

name of the distinct category indicated by the clients symptoms

dimensional info

rating of how severe a clients symptoms are and how dysfunctional the client is across various dimensions of personality and behavior

empirically supported treatment

therapy that has received clear research support for a particular disorder and has corresponding treatment guidelines

rapprochement movement

a movement to identify a set of common factors, or common strategies, that run through all successful therapies

psychopharmacologist

a psychiatrist who primarily prescribes medications

clinical assessment

used to determine whether, how, and why a person is behaving abnormally and how that person may be helped

psychophysiological test

measures physiological responses as possible indicators of psychological problems