Assessing and Diagnosing Mental Illness Don’t worry, I’ve already diagnosed everyone in this class...

Does your neighbour have Major Depressive Disorder? You can pick a different disorder if you want... Write down 10 questions you would want to know before diagnosing them We will see if your questions include everything that we are going to talk about today!

Frank Has Problems Frank is young, serious, and anxious Lets clinically assess him: a clinical assessment is the systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in an individual presenting with a possible psychological disorder We will start with a clinical interview

Mental Status Exam This is a preliminary test of a client’s judgement, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state. Often it is conducted in the initial interview. Want to know their: ◦ 1.Appearance and behavior ◦ 2. Thought processes and speech ◦ 3. Mood and affect ◦ 4. Intellectual functioning ◦ 5. Sensorium

Physical Exam Many problems presenting as disorders of behavior, cognition, or mood, can have a relationship to a toxic state This toxic state could be caused by bad food, the wrong medicine, drugs, or the onset of a serious medical condition (such as a brain tumor)

Behavioral Assessment Directly observe an individual’s behavior and ask them about their thoughts and feelings Target Behaviors are identified, and the goal is to determine what is causing or influencing them Uses the ABC’s of Observation ◦ Antecedents ◦ Behavior ◦ Consequences

Psychological Testing Must be reliable and valid. What does this mean? Includes: ◦ Intelligence testing ◦ Neuropsychological testing ◦ Neurobiological procedures ◦ Personality inventories ◦ Projective Tests

Projective Testing Using psychoanalysis, these test give ambiguous stimuli to clients in belief that their responses will reveal their unconcsious conflicts Examples include the Rorschach Ink Blot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test Are these tests reliable?

Rorschach Ink Blot Test

Thematic Apperception Test

Personality Inventories These are self-report questionnaires that assess personal traits Example: NEO-PI-R, which measures the Big 5 personality traits: ◦ Openness to experience – (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious). ◦ Conscientiousness – (efficient/organized vs. easy- going/careless). ◦ Extraversion – (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved). ◦ Agreeableness – (friendly/compassionate vs. cold/unkind). ◦ Neuroticism – (sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident).

Personality Inventories Example: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory II (MMPI-2) Measures your degree of anxiety, fears, obsessiveness, depression, health concerns, hallucinations and delusions, anger, cynicism, antisocial practices, Type A vs. B, self- esteerm, social discomfort, family problems, work interference, and negative treatment indicators The test is almost 600 questions, many of them repetitive

Intelligence Testing They can predict your academic success Your IQ is not your intelligence! Your IQ is your score, or intelligence quotient on one test-the Stanford-Binet Test There is also the Wechsler Intelligence Test ◦ Verbal scales ◦ Performance scales

Intelligence Tests What kinds of intelligence are there? What kinds of things should intelligence be measuring? Attention span Perception Memory Reasoning Verbal comprehension

Neuropsychological Tests Done when there is expected brain damage Take a long time to complete Measure language, attention and concentration, memory, motor skills, perceptual abilities, and abstraction Ex. Tactile Performance Test-the test taker places wooden blocks in a certain form while blindfolded (this tests learning and memory skills)

Neuroimaging Pictures of the brain using CAT scans or MRI-these show us structures If you want to know about the function, you use a PET scan. This measures activity of the brain

Homework Complete a personality test similar to one developed by Jung and Briggs. This test will measure you on 4 different things. You will get a 4 letter score. Mine is ENFJ You can click on further links to learn about yourself, and what kinds of careers will be best for you! Personality Test Link Write your 4 letter score in your journal and answer 3 questions: ◦ 1. What does your 4 letters mean? ◦ 2. Read the description about yourself. What parts do you agree with? What parts do you disagree with? ◦ 3. Do you think this is a phony test or a reliable test? Why?