CNL 523 Topic 5 Assignment
Why is it important for counselors and other behavioral health professionals to become familiar with the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? How can use of the DSM’s cross-cutting symptom measures aid counselors in clinical diagnosing?
Therapists and other healthcare professionals need to familiarize themselves with the use of the DSM tool for purposes of mental disorders diagnosis. The DSM tool is used to diagnose a wide range of disorders, including and not limited to depression, PTSD, stress, dementia, schizophrenia, and other disorders (Emily, 2014). Understanding the DSM-5 helps therapists and clinicians to identify additional areas of inquiry whose impact is significant on a patient’s prognosis and treatment. Besides, this tool provides a common language for counselors to engage their patients in full respect to cultural diversity and concerns (CFI). Also, it lays down a strong framework that allows consistent, valid, and reliable administration of tests for psychiatric diagnosis. According to (Emily, 2014), the DSM-5 Level 1 cross-cutting symptom measure enables counselors and other behavioral health professionals to assess the mental health domains that are important across all psychiatric diagnoses. Thus, all counselors must be aware of the DSM-5 tool and how to use it in psychiatric disorders diagnosis.
Define the following assessments and provide an example when each should be used:
- Forensic assessment
- Therapeutic assessment
- Psychological assessment
- Personality assessment
Forensic assessment: Forensic assessment refers to the provision of psychiatric, medical, or psychological assessment to aid the court in its deliberations (Fritscher, 2020). For example, when a psychologist is recruited to answer a specific legal question due to competency and experience.
Therapeutic assessment: A short-term intervention whereby clinicians administer traditional psychological tests collaboratively with a client to assist them in gaining a better self-awareness and find solutions to their problems (Fritscher, 2020). For example, clients experiencing partner abuse, this approach helps them understand their intimate relationships better.
Psychological assessment: Refers to the testing process that combines various techniques to help a counselor reach some hypothesis about a client and their personality, behavior, or capabilities (Fritscher, 2020). For example, beck depression inventory assessment.
Personality assessment: This is an intervention in psychology that encompasses the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the empirically supported measures of personality styles and traits (Fritscher, 2020). For example, personality tests during an interview to determine an individual’s way of handling a problem.
References
Emily, K. (2014). DSM-5 cross-cutting symptom measures: A step towards the future of psychiatric care? World Psychiatry, 13(3), 314.
Fritscher, L. (2020). Advantages and Disadvantages of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual. VerywellMind, 2-7.