Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis - Abnormal Psychology - Lecture Slides, Slides of Abnormal Psychology

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 Assessing Psychological Disorder (systematic

evaluation and measurement of

psychological, biological, and social factors)

 Diagnosing Psychological Disorders

(the process of determining whether the

particular problem afflicting the individual

meets all the criteria for a psychological

disorder according to the DSM-IV-TR)

 The Clinical Interview

◦ Unstructured interviews ◦ Semistructured interviews ◦ The Mental Status Exam (careful observation of behavior)  Y-Steve  Appearance and behavior (overt behavior, posture, expressions)  Thought processes (rate, continuity and content of speech)  Mood and affect (current and predominant feeling of the individual)  Intellectual functioning (type of vocabulary, use of metaphors and abstractions)  Sensorium (orientation in time, place and person)

 Physical examination

◦ Psychological disorders associated with medical conditions (e.g. thyroid gland – overactive results in anxiety, underactive results in depression)

 Behavioral assessment

◦ To assess formally an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior in specific situations or contexts

 Neuropsychological testing

◦ Measuring language abilities, attention, memory,

perception, motor skills, learning and abstraction

to detect possible brain dysfunction

◦ Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery

◦ Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery

 Neuroimaging

◦ Structural (computerized axial tomography (CAT),

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI))

◦ Functional (measuring metabolic changes (PET,

fMRI))

 Some concepts

◦ classification (assignment into categories) ◦ taxonomy (system fo classification in science) ◦ nosology (naming system for medical and psychological phenomena)

 Approaches to classification

◦ classical categorical approach (clear-cut differences, different cause) ◦ dimensional approach (continuum) ◦ prototypical approach (defining, essential characteristics)

 Prototypical approach (used in DSM-IV)

◦ System for categorizing disorders using both

essential, defining characteristics and a range of

variation on other characteristics  B-Diagnosis

◦ Criteria for Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

 recurring unexpected panic attacks  one or more of the following during the month after a panic attack: (1) persistent worry about having an additional attack; (2) worry about the implications of an attack; (3) a significant change in behavior related to the attack  anxiety about being in places or social situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing, such as being in a crowd, travelling on a bus, or waiting in line