The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-IV Presentation
Introduction
The MCMI-IV is the advancement of MCMI-III and the widely used model by clinicians when identifying clients who require intensive evaluation. According to (Millon & Grossman, 2013), the MCMI-IV reports give an in-depth evaluation and assessment of symptom and personality dynamics, and involves action-oriented suggestions for counseling management. As a thoroughly modernized model, the MCMI-IV is an accurate integration of empirical and theoretical methodologies, and provides counselors with precise understanding of an individual’s level of personality functioning (Groth-Marnat & Wright, 2016).
MCMI-IV: What it means?
According to (Millon & Grossman, 2013), the MCMI-IV is used by clinicians to assess adult people for personality and psychopathology. In clinical settings, the MCMI-IV instrument includes a 195 self-report item (195 true/false items) which help clinicians assess and diagnose disorders from patients using the actual base rate data (Groth-Marnat & Wright, 2016). The MCMI-IV differs from other inventories in that it makes use of actuarial base rate data, based on actuarial research, and relevant to the DSM-5 disorder diagnostic criteria.
MCMI-IV: What it means? Cont’d
Appropriate for patients aged eighteen (18) or older, the MCMI-IV model uses 195 item self-report, in which Grossman Facet Scales are featured to guide clinicians in identifying the presenting domains and symptoms in a client’s personality (Millon & Grossman, 2013). To complete the self-report test, individuals take 25 to 30 minutes, and the scores become interpreted in terms of adult inpatient and outpatient clinical samples.
What MCMI-IV Measures
In a clinical setting, the MCMI-IV instrument is used to measure both psychopathology and personality disorders for adult people (18 years and above) who seek for counseling, therapy, or treatment (Millon & Grossman, 2013). To measure these disorders, the MCMI-IV uses base rate scores; higher base rate scores indicates a significant psychopathology or personality illness in a patient that require prompt response and vice versa.
What MCMI-IV Measures Cont’d
Typically, MCMI-IV reports/results are computer generated (Groth-Marnat & Wright, 2016). This narrative helps clinicians to integrate a client’s symptomatic and personality features and present the results in a manner similar to the reported advanced by psychologists (Millon, 2011). Features such as presenting clinical syndromes, disturbance severity, psychosocial stressors, basic personality pathology, and counseling implications are adequately measured by the aid of MCMI-IV.
Usefulness of MCMI-IV Scores
According to (Groth-Marnat & Wright, 2016), MCMI-IV scores serves the clinicians with information necessary for diagnosis and treatment planning. With the help of MCMI-IV results, counselors can determine the treatment approach which most suits the patient for fast recovery. In the U.S., MCMI-IV is approved by the counselor licensure centers for use in outpatient therapy, college counseling, and other health facilities where patients come to seek for help.
Features of MCMI-IV
The main features which differentiate MCMI-IV from other instruments are the age range of patients it measures (18 and older; but not exceeding 65 years), the 25 to 30 minutes completion time required, the interpretive and profile report options, and the updated/standardized norms (1547 males and females) it considers when doing clinical evaluation for patients with a wide variety of disorders and diagnoses (Millon, 2011).
MCMI-IV Scores
According to (Millon, 2011), the MCMI-IV encompasses of 25 scales: clinical personality patterns (dependent, schizoid, sadistic, melancholic, turbulent, avoidant, compulsive, masochistic, histrionic, negativistic, antisocial, and narcissistic); severe personality pathology scales (borderline, paranoid, schizotypal); clinical syndrome scales (bipolar, anxiety, persistent depression, drug dependence, alcohol dependence, PTSD, and somatoform); and severe clinical syndrome scales (major depression, schizophrenia spectrum, and delusional disorder).
Legal and Ethical Requirements
The law requires that psychologists, clinicians, and other mental health professionals first acquire the appropriate education, training, and supervised experience in order to quality to administer, interpret, and report MCMI-IV results (Groth-Marnat & Wright, 2016). Section F of the ACA Code of Ethics, in collaboration with states Counselor Licensure Boards, requires that counselor acquire the necessary supervised experience, training, and education in the field of psychology in order to use the MCMI-IV instrument (American Counseling Association, 2015). Also, before administering the MCMI-IV, clinicians must discuss confidentiality limits with the patient, and ensure that the purpose for its use is clearly stated to the patient.
Intake and Treatment Planning Process
Potential Treatment Strategies
References
- American Counseling Association. (2015). 2015 ACA Code of Ethics. Washington, DC: Author.
- Craig, R. J. (2013). The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory: A clinical research information synthesis. Minnesota: Routledge.
- Groth-Marnat, G., & Wright, J. A. (2016). Handbook of pyschological assessment (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
- Millon, T. (2011). The millon personality group. Advancing Personality Theory and Assessment, 5-17.
- Millon, T., & Grossman, S. (2013). Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-IV. Boston: Pearson.