Formal and Informal Diagnostic Assessment
By this point in your fieldwork experience, you have likely completed a formal or informal diagnostic assessment of a client at your site or you have discussed possible diagnoses with your site supervisor.
For this discussion, identify a client from your site and address the following questions based on your diagnostic assessment:
- Describe your client’s presenting problem and concerns in no more than one paragraph. What initially brought your client to counseling?
- Describe your diagnostic impression of the client:
- What symptoms were most apparent in your client’s presentation?
- What was your impression of the DSM diagnosis or diagnoses that best fit for your client?
- Did your client meet the full criteria for the diagnosis? If not, what other diagnoses did you consider and what additional information did you need to obtain?
- Include the specific sociocultural factors you considered in your assessment of your client. Consider age, gender, and ethnicity in your post.
Your initial post and responses are expected to be substantive in nature and to reference the assigned readings, as well as other theoretical, empirical, or professional literature to support your views and writings. Cite and reference your sources using standard APA guidelines.