As you have learned from several of your readings, diagnosing psychiatric illnesses is not always an easy or
straightforward process. Multiple observations and assessment methods are often employed to reach a
diagnosis. This approach can include the use of standardized assessment instruments. This can aid you in
defining a treatment plan and choosing specific therapy modalities to use in the care of your clients.
Each week, you will identify a standardized assessment instrument or tool to measure the disorders about
which you will be reading. You will keep these instruments in the form of a “portfolio” that you can use in your
clinical practice to assess clients who present with a variety of symptoms.
Additionally, you will record specific components of the therapy modality we are learning for the week. This will
help solidify your new knowledge and allow you to make correlations between therapy modalities and to which
diagnoses they can be applied or when they can be utilized in practice.
Instructions
Instrument/Tool criteria:
For each assessment tool you select, you will identify an instrument and do the following:
Identify a scholarly, peer-reviewed article that addresses the use of the instrument.
Discuss if the instrument is appropriate for diagnosing the condition it is designed to assess or if the developers
of the instrument reported that the instrument is only part of a comprehensive assessment for the disorder.
Describe whether or not the instrument can be used to measure patient response to therapy/treatment.
Discuss the psychometrics/scoring of the instrument, including reliability and validity.
Discuss any limitations associated with the use of the instrument.
Therapy criteria:
Identify the therapy modality by name.
Identify the originator (creator) of the specific modality.
Identify a specific diagnosis or population this modality is especially helpful with.
Note specific focus, emphasis, and/or goals of this modality.
Instruments/Tools for diagnosis of (one instrument/tool for each diagnosis):