Discussions are fundamental to shared learning, so please be sure to participate early and often! After you have completed the Reading, and without reviewing your classmate’s responses, post your initial response to the following Discussion. Your post should be at least 400 words in length and should extend the discussion of the group supported by your course materials and/or other appropriate resources. Refer to your Discussion Board Rubric in Course Resources for specific grading explanation.
The DSM-5 (2013) explains that for a person to be diagnosed with a mental illness, there has to be clinical significance that is evident in a disturbance in the individual’s cognitive, emotion regulation, or behavior. For this Assignment, you will be discussing elements of the diagnosing process.
To prepare for this week’s Discussion, review the following videos in addition to this week’s assigned Reading.
Duran, M. V. (2013). Mental status exam. Retrieved from http://www.cengage.com/custom/ems/psych/shared/video/player.html?video=mntal_status_exam_16392 Duran, M. V. (2013). Clinical assessment. Retrieved from http://www.cengage.com/custom/ems/psych/shared/video/player.html?video=clncal_assessmnt_16379 Diagnosing Clinical Significance
Proceed with this week’s Discussion by searching the Library or the internet for a screening instrument used in assessing mental health disorders. Select one of the case studies (accessible from the Course Resources page) and address the following questions and issues about diagnosing mental illness:
1. Explain what the purpose of a clinical assessment is.
2. Identify a commonly used instrument clinicians or psychologists use to screen for a particular disorder and why it would be used. Note, the DSM-5 is not a screening instrument. An instrument helps to identify if a patient is experiencing the symptoms listed in the DSM-5. An example of an instrument is the Beck Depression Inventory that screens for symptoms of major depressive disorder, or the PC-PTSD that is designed to screen for post-traumatic stress disorder.
3. During a clinical assessment, why would a clinician consider the level of severity of a patient’s symptoms?
