psych ch4

clinical assesment

systematic, evidence-based process used to understand a child’s emotional, behavioural, and cognitive difficulties, the factors contributing to them and the child’s strengths

emotional functioning

feelings, sadness, fears, anxiety

behavioural functioning

actions, school refusal, agression, withdrawal

cognitive functioning

thoughts, beliefs, attention, learning abilities

environmental factors

family, school, peers, stressful experiences, culture and resources

therapeutic alliance

trusting, nonjudgmental relationship between clinician and child

idiographic formulation

focuses on understanding one unique child or family and their individual circumstances

nomothetic formulation

focuses on general principles and patterns that apply to larger groups

chronological age

the child’s actual age

developmental age

the developmental level of their abilities and functioning

enuresis

repeated inability to control urination (more commonly reported in males)

relational agression

harming others through social relationships or status rather than direct physical violence (gossip, exclusion, verbal insults, damaging someone’s social status) (more commonly seen in girls)

acculturation

adaption to a majority culture in relation to one’s background culture

cultural syndrome

relatively consistent pattern of co-occurring symptoms associated with a particular cultural group or context (evil eye)

mal de ojo

evil eye - associated with symptoms such a crying, disturbed sleep and gastrointestinal complaints

cultural competence

knowledge and skills for working across cultural differences; understanding cultural practices and their possible relevance

cultural humility

emphasizes an ongoing attitude of curiosity, openness and self-reflection; recognizing one’s own biases and not assuming expertise about another person’s cultural experience

description and diagnosis

identify and describe symptoms, understand possible causes, and determine whether diagnostic criteria are met

clinical description

summarizes the child´s behaviours, thoughts, feelings and symptoms

taxonomic diagnosis

assigning a formal diagnostic category or classification into a diagnostic category (MDD in DSMV)

problem-solving analysis

investigating an individuals problems, possible causes, treatment options and outcomes - broader diagnostic investigation

prognosis

predictions about the childs future behaviour or functioning under specified conditions

case formulation

integrated understanding of the childs difficulties, contributing factors and strengths, used to guide intervention

normative information

knowledge of typical trand atypical development used to evaluate behaviour

treatment planning and evaluation

choosing interventions based on assessment and determining whether they are effective

age inappropriateness

is this behaviour unusual for the childs developmental stage?

severity

how intense, frequent or excessive are the symptoms?

pattern of symptoms

do several symptoms occur together in a meaningful pattern?

multimethod assessment approach

collecting information from different informants, across different settings, using a variety of assessment methods

clinical interview

flexible method of gathering information through conversation with the child/or people involved in the child’s life

unstructured interview

informal, flexible conversation that allows spontaneous exploration of the child unique experiences

semi-structured interview

predetermined questions with flexibility for follow-up which increases consistency and coverage of important symptoms

behavioural assessment

evaluates a child’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in specific situations to understand what contributed to the problems and how they might be changed

target behaviours

specific behaviours or concerns that assessment and intervention focus on

functional analysis

systematically examines antecedents, behaviours and consequences to identify factors that might cause or maintain a problem - abc model

antecedent, behaviour, consequence

ABC MODEL

global bahaviour checklists

assess a wide range of behaviours and concerns and provides a broad behavioural profile

problem-focused rating scales

focus on a particular disorder or area of functioning and provide more detailed information about a specific problem.

child behaviour checklist

measure of childhood emotional and behavioursal problems which allows clinicians to compare a childs score with a reference group and identify areas of concern

baseline data

information about the behaviour before an intervention happens

psychological test

a task or set of tasks administered under standardized conditions to measure an aspect of a child’s knowledge, abilities, skills or personality

standardisation

administering and scoring tests in a consistent manner so that results can be meaningfully compared

norm group

reference group against which an individualsde performance is compared

developmental test

assesses infants and young children to evaluate developmental progress, identify possible delays and determine whether further assessment is necessary

screening

identifying children who may be at risk and need a more comprehensive evaluation

cognitive testing

evaluates intellectual or cognitive abilities

achievement testing

evaluates acquired academic knowledge and skills

WISC-V

intelligence test used on children aged 6 to 16

verbal comprehension, visual spatial, fluid reasoning, working memory, processing speed

5 primary indexes of the WISC-V

verbal comprehension

verbal reasoning, concept formation and acquired knowledge

visual spatial

perception and organisation, visual spatial processing

fluid reasoning

solving new problems and recognising patterns

working memory

attention, concentration and mental control

processing speed

speed and accuracy in completing relatively routine cognitive tasks

full scale iq

FSIQ reflecting general intellectual functioning

WIAT-III

measures areas such as reading, writing, mathematics and oral languagep

projective test

explore possible underlying thoughts and feelings by presenting ambiguous stimuli, such as inkblots or pictures, and asking children to interpret them

personality tests

use structured questions or statements to assess clearly defined personality characteristics

neuropsychological assessment

examines relationships between brain functioning and measurable behaviour

classification

a system for organising psychological disorders into categories or dimensions and describing their relationships

diagnosis

assigning an individuals difficulties to a category within a classification system

categorical classification

asks whether someone meets the criteria for a disorder - classification into distinct diagnostic categories

dimensional classification

classification based on how much of a characteristic or symptom a person experiences

internalising behaviours

difficulties directed inward; anxiety, sadness, withdrawal and depressive symptoms

externalising behaviours

outwardly expressed difficulties; aggression, rule-breaking and disruptive behaviour

diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition, text revision

dsm-v-tr

specifier

additional information describing a disorder's presentation, associated features, course or severity

subtype/presentation

describes a particular presentation of the disorder

co-occuring features

indicates associated impairments or conditions

course/onset

describes when or how the disorder develops

severity

indicates how severe the disorder is

threshold problem

difficulties can be substantial even when they fall just below a categorical diagnostic threshold

research domain criteria/rdoc

a research initiative aims to understand mental disorder through dimensions of functioning and underlying biological mechanisms rather than relying exclusively on conventional diagnostic categories

stigma

negative attitudes and social relations associated with particular characteristics or labels

theoretical descriptive approach

an approach that describes symptoms without requiring a particular causal theory

intervention

strategies and practices designed to help children and families adapt more effectively to their current and future circumstances

prevention

aims to reduce the likelihood of future mental health difficulties t

treatment

aims to reduce or eliminate existing difficulties and improve adaptation

maintenance

aims to support continued treatment adherence and prevent relapse or recurrence

universal prevention

everyone, regardless of individual risk - social-emotional learning for students

selective prevention

groups with elevated risk factors - support programs for children exposed to adversity

indicated prevention

individuals showing early warning signs - early intervention for children with emerging emotional difficulties

cultural compatibility hypothesis

treatment is more likely to be effective when it is compatible with the cultural patterns of the child or family

surface structure changes

modify the more visible aspects of treatment

deep structure changes

address underlying cultural beliefs, values and practices

treatment goals

specify the desired changes that an intervention aims to achieve, helping clinicians select appropriate treatments and evaluate their success

psychodynamic treatment

unconscious and conscious conflicts contribute to difficulties

behavioural treatment

many problematic behaviours are learned and can be changed through learning principles

cognitive treatment

distorted or maladaptive thoughts contribute to emotional and behavioural difficulties

cognitive-behavioural treatment

psychological difficulties can be influenced by both maladaptive thinking patterns and learning or environmental experiences

client-centered

emphasizes the child's capacity for personal growth and adaptive functioning

family treatments

focus on the larger family system rather than viewing difficulties as residing exclusively within the child

neurobiological treatments

emphasize biological or neurological contributions to psychopathology

evidence based practice

integrating the best available scientific evidence with clinical expertise and the childs and familys preferences, choices and cultural context

evidence based treatments

specific interventions shown to be effective in controlled research for particular populations or concerns

best practice guidelines

recommendations intended to help clinicians and families select appropriate and effective treatments

scientifric approach

uses comprehensive reviews of research findings

expert-consensus approach

uses expert judgement to adress gaps or uncertainties in available evidence

treatment gap

a difference between the number of children who need mental health support and those who actually receive appropriate services

dissemination

spreading knowledge and information about evidence-based practices