The process of those with mental abnormalities go through is a series of steps. First is the clinical assessment by a licensed clinician, the next is diagnosis of their dysfunction, and the final step is to begin a treatment that works for the client. Unfortunately, not always do people seek help for their abnormal behaviors and go untreated, resulting in more severe cases of their problems. Often people who suffer are encouraged by family, friends, and peers to go through these steps to better themselves and their quality of life. When a client visits a therapist (or clinician), the therapist will learn as much as they possibly can about the client and their condition in order to a possible reason and solution to the abnormal behavior. This …show more content…
When using a particular type of assessment tool, it is imperative that clinicians follow the same procedures. standardizing a tool means setting up common steps to be followed whenever it is administered. Standardizing does not only apply to tools and procedures, but also the way the results are interpreted, this way they can understand what the results mean. Reliability ties into assessments because it refers to the consistency of the assessment measures. To have a good assessment tool means it will always yield similar results. Another requirement for a god assessment tool is validity: it must accurately measure what it is supposed to …show more content…
This is the stage where the clinician gathers basic background information to try and pinpoint the stimuli that triggers responses and their consequences. Cognitive interviews try to discover assumptions and interpretations that influence the person. Humanistic clinicians ask about the client's opinions of themselves, or a self-evaluation, self-concept, and values. Biological clinicians are geared to a more chemical aspect and look to for biological or brain dysfunction. Finally, sociocultural interviews try to gain information related to family, social, and cultural environments. A mental status exam is included in most structured interviews and consists of a set of questions and observations that systematically evaluate the client's awareness, an orientation pertaining to time and location, attention span, memory, judgement and insight, thought content and process, mood, and appearance. Nonetheless there are some limitations to these interviews, "because different clinicians can obtain different answers and draw different conclusions even when they ask the same questions of the same person, some researchers believe that interviewing should be discarded as a tool of clinical assessment"
As a result, I am learning how to assist clients without labeling the client and developing a proper diagnosis. Assessing client problems should happen throughout the counseling process. In the beginning, counselors get background information on their clients to help the counselor develop a diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Correct diagnosis of clients is vital to receive reimbursement from insurance companies for counseling services. Assessments help the counselor determine an appropriate treatment for the client. Assessments can help clients realize their strengths and weaknesses (Whiston, 2017). Helping the client understand their strengths can assist the client in building confidence, reach the clients counseling goal, and implement healthy choices in the client’s
These techniques include showing concern for clients through active listening and empathy, showing respect for and confidence in clients, focusing on client’s strong points and positive traits, resources, replacing discouraging thoughts with encouraging ones, and helping clients to develop a sense of humor about life. (Watts & Pietrzak,2000,p 443) Another method, as mentioned earlier is building a strong rapport with the client. Therapists use a variety of techniques to facilitate change in the client’s behavior. Therapists help clients to choose alternative behaviors to the behaviors that are maladaptive. The next method is getting the client to change how he or she views a situation. This is done inside and outside of counseling. Through this technique a client comes to realize their abilities and strengths. Last but not least, therapists help clients draw on their resources and strengths when faced with a situation that seems troublesome. (Watts & Pietrzak,2000,p
There are many types of mental illnesses that can affect a person’s ability to function on a level fit for society. Those illnesses affect people differently and to different extremes. Diagnosable mental disorders are changes in thinking, moods, or behaviors that can cause a rise in the risk of death and may cause distress, pain, or disability. More severe mental illnesses include three major illnesses: Schizophrenia, major depression, and manic depression. Schizophrenia is a brain ailment that causes a loss in the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. Many people who suffer from schizophrenia often hear voices that tell them to do different things. In some cases, the voices tell them to hurt themselves or other people. Other symptoms ma...
Many professionals are qualified and certified to help handle mental health disorders and they vary from a wide range of disciplines. All focus on helping the individual who is struggling with their mental health the professional help that they need and deserve. Many mental health professionals will initially do a biopsychosocial assessment of the person’s life in order to better gauge where the strengths lie in this person’s life and where underlying issues may be held. This assessment includes looking at the person from a biological viewpoint, a psychological viewpoint, and a social viewpoint. The biological perspective looks at a person’s medical needs, including neurological testing. The psychological standpoint focuses on a person’s psychological
There are wide ranges of social issues affecting mood, thinking, and behavior. What is considered normal in the United States of America, may perhaps not be normal to another. Being diagnose mentally ill requires train professionals to evaluate a person state of mind. Being normal in the United States of America is conforming to a standard, and standards can change within societal standards. Up to now the DSM-V shows the exact symptoms of mental disorders and thoroughly explains the type of illness. Yet abnormal behavior treatment is not the same, professionals who’ve master therapy skills should be aware that their knowledge has affect to client’s treatment. When clients interact amongst counselors, clients can explain their life experiences,
In the United States alone, 57.7 million individuals suffer from mental illness. These illnesses range anywhere from mood disorders to anxiety disorders or to personality disorders and so on (The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America). 18 to 25 year olds make up about 30% of these individuals alone (Survey Finds Many Living with Mental Illness Go Without Treatment). These individuals require care from medication to psychiatry or even to confinement. However, of these 57.7 million individuals with mental illness, studies have found that less than one in three of these individuals receive proper treatment (Studies Say Mental Illness Too Often Goes Untreated).
History shows that signs of mental illness and abnormal behavior have been documented as far back as the early Greeks however, it was not viewed the same as it is today. The mentally ill were previously referred to as mad, insane, lunatics, or maniacs. W.B. Maher and B.A. Maher (1985) note how many of the terms use had roots in old English words that meant emotionally deranged, hurt, unhealthy, or diseased. Although early explanations were not accurate, the characteristics of the mentally ill have remained the same and these characteristics are used to diagnose disorders to date. Cultural norms have always been used to assess and define abnormal behavior. Currently, we have a decent understanding of the correlates and influences of mental illness. Although we do not have complete knowledge, psychopathologists have better resources, technology, and overall research skills than those in ancient times.
Being a therapist is not only sitting in a chair listening to your clients’ problems all day. It is also not “reading-minds” as many people think and it is not giving advice or solving each clients’ issue. Therapists have many qualities that define the effectiveness of their treatment and their competence in the field. The important qualities that a therapist should have are empathic and great listening skills. In addition to, the therapist must be knowledge in their skills and in the different mental disorders in order to prevent a misdiagnosis. Furthermore, the therapist should have other qualities such as interpersonal skills and the ability to build rapport with the clients so they can feel secure and continue to come to therapy.
...counselor want to make sure that the counselor provides the best services possible. The retrieval of new information is valuable when trying to make a diagnosis. For a clinical and therapeutic plan to be developing the biographical information that the client provided, direct therapist observations, and data from specific psychological tests is what help to determine the treatment plan.
As humans when we are faced with any psychological or emotional problems, our initial thought is to turn to a therapist, doctor or any other health practitioners. Our initial thought when we are faced with problems regarding our health is to turn to a health professional because for ages that’s how it has been. When it comes to our health, health professionals nowadays do more harm than help. Many might disagree, but often patients are misdiagnosed with mental illnesses they do not have. Misdiagnosis occurs when a therapist or other health practitioners decide that a patient is suffering from a condition that he or she may not be suffering with. When misdiagnosed, patients are given unnecessary treatment, which could potentially
I don’t think I could just focus on a client’s problem and problematic behavior, and not try to help better them as a person. This is the type of therapy that is the warm and fuzzy type. I like to think as myself as very empathic person, and always try to put myself in other people’s shoes. I try
The clinical and statistical approaches have both proven to be successful methods in clinical psychology. Each approach has its pros and cons depending on the type of situation that is being dealt with. Clinical judgment can be a complex process because it requires a patient’s data which are composed of samples, observations, signs of underlying states and the clinician’s responses. According to Sundberg, Tyler and Taplin (1973) clinical interpretation may consist of 3 different levels: Level 1 deals with clinicians being familiar with certain experiences, and therefore, making a prediction based off of that. An example of this would be the SAT or GRE assessments. Level 2 is comprised of clinicians carefully observing a patient’s behaviors and coming up with a conclusion based off of the behavior characteristics that the patient displays. In level 3, based off of the individual’s determinants in a specific situation, the clinician seeks a consistent understanding. For example, blood responses on the Rorschach test can be a determinant of hidden aggression, which would then lead to future impulsive outbursts or losing control of oneself (Sundverg, Tyler and Taplin 1973). Although both the clinical and statistical approaches have proven to be beneficial, I believe that clinical psychologists should not rely more on statistical predictions and prepackaged treatments than clinical judgment and individual patients.
In the past, mental illness was taboo to discuss and there was fear surrounding the topic. However, remarkable strides have been made in figuring out the causes of the disease and weighing the most effective treatments specialized for each specific disease. According to the American Psychotic Association, “A mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.”
Mental illness is the condition that significantly impede with an individual’s emotional, cognitive or social abilities (Savy and Sawyer, 2009). According to (Savy and Sawyer, 2009) neurological, metabolic, genetic and psychological causes are contributing factors for various types of mental illness like depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse and progression of condition. An elaborate system known as DSM-IV-TR gives a classification system that acts to separate mental illness into diagnostic categories based on the description of symptoms of illness (Savy and Sawyer, 2009). The exact primarily causes of mental illness are complicated, however, it seems to occur in a psychologically and biologically prone individual, in the trigger of environmental and social stress (Elder, Evans and Nizette, 2007).
There should be a holistic approach to the treatment diagnosis and management of the people with mental illness. Such an approach should put into consideration the families of the people with mental illnesses and help them understand the issue. Once they understand, it is easier for them to welcome and help the individuals instead of sending them to institutions. To achieve prompt treatment, the mental health facilities and personnel need to be accessible and operate within the recommended standards.