Clinical Assessment and
Diagnosis
Chapter 3
Abnormal Psychology
Clinical Assessment

Protocols used for evaluation and
measurement

Assessing/diagnosing psychological
disorders
Getting Started

What brings the client to the provider?

Discussion of the presenting problem
and the client’s history
Concepts in Assessment

Reliability: the consistency of measurement

Validity: does it measure what it is meant to
measure?

Standardization: comparing individuals with
similar persons; asking questions in a
consistent manner
The Clinical Interview





Current and past
behavior
Emotions and
attitudes
A detailed history
The presenting
problem
Significant life events

Childhood
information and
family history
 Sexual development
 Religious
beliefs/cultural
background
 Educational history
The Mental Status Exam

1. Appearance and Behavior- motor behavior,
movements

2. Thought process- rate/flow of speech;
coherence; any evidence of delusions/hallucinations?

3. Mood and Affect- what is the mood and is it
consistent? What is affect like and is it appropriate?
The Mental Status Exam

Intellectual functioning: vocabulary, use
of language; general sense of cognitive
abilities

Sensorium: Awareness of immediate
surroundings; Oriented x3? (Person, place,
time)
Issues to Consider

Is the client presenting the central
issues? Are there other issues the client
sees as unimportant?

Establishing rapport

Confidentiality: Scope and limitations
Other Clinical Interviews

Interviews or instruments specific to a
particular disorder or concern: to learn
the specific symptoms and their severity

Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule- questions
specific to compulsions and obsessions

Eating Disorder interviews/scales
Physical Exam

Physical problems may mimic psychological
disorders

Thyroid issues

Brain lesions/tumors

Dementia

Drug induced conditions
Behavioral Assessments

Observing the client in specific contexts,
in real life settings or simulated situations

Asking others to fill out behavior
“checklists”

Often used with children: school and home
visits
Self-Monitoring

Clients may be asked to keep a log of
their thoughts/behaviors

When the behaviors occur in private

To note frequency, severity, and “triggers”;
for self-reflection
Overview of Psychological Tests

Projective Tests

Personality Inventories

Intelligence Tests

Neuropsychological Tests
Projective Tests

Client “projects” thoughts and feelings- to
reveal unconscious thoughts

Rorschach (ink blot test)

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Critique: limited reliability/validity; not directly linked
to the process of diagnosis
Personality Inventories

Comparing an individual’s score with the
pattern of responses of those with
diagnosed psychological conditions

MMPI: Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory

567 true/false questions
MMPI

Sample Questions:
I often think I’m being followed
 I am often happy for no reason
 Sometimes I get so mad I want to swear
 I sometimes throw up after meals
 Evil spirits possess me at times

MMPI: Scales

Clinical Scales:
 1: Hypochondriasis
 2: Depression
 3: Hysteria (Conversion)
 4: Psychopathic Deviant
 5: Masculinity/Femininity
 6: Paranoia
 7: Psychastenia (Anxiety)
 8: Schizophrenia
 9: Hypomania
 0: Social Introversion

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
Lie Scale;
Infrequency Scale (to detect
random answers);
Defensiveness Scale
MMPI

Results in a “code type”

Looking at answers left blank

Excellent reliability, good validity
Neuropsychological Tests

Neuroimaging

CAT scans/MRI: to assess brain damage
and to look at the structures of the brain

PET scans: the functioning/activity of the
brain

EEG: brain waves
Issues in Diagnosis

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

Reliability/Validity

Some diagnoses have greater
reliability/validity than others

Personality Disorders tend to have lower
reliability
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

I and II were not widely used; lacked
precision, were unscientific, and had little
reliability

DSM III: 1980: more atheoretical; more
precise descriptions; reliability/validity
studies
Axes 1-5

Five “Axes” or Dimensions
Axis I: The Disorder
 Axis 2: Personality Disorder/MR
 Axis 3: Medical Conditions
 Axis 4: Problems: Psychosocial &
Environmental
 Axis 5: Global Assessment of Functioning
(Scale)

Critique of the DSM

Culturally sensitive?

Stigma of labels

“Fuzzy” categories and co-morbidity

Categories based more on history than
current science? (Kraeplin’s dichotomy)
DSM-V

In progress

Various workgroups: clinicians and
researchers

Revisions/new additions