Assessment and Diagnosis of the Psychiatric Patient

Whether you are treating patients for physical ailments or clients for mental health issues, the assessment process is an inextricable part of health care. To properly diagnose clients and develop treatment plans, you must have a strong foundation in assessment. This includes a working knowledge of assessments that are available to aid in the diagnosis, how to use these assessments, and how to select the most appropriate assessment based on a client’s presentation.
This week, as you explore the assessment and diagnosis of patients in mental health settings, you examine assessment tools, including their psychometric properties and appropriate uses.
ATTACHED FILE(S)
Required Readings
American Psychiatric Association. (2022).Section I: DSM-5 basics. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders(5th ed., text rev.).https://go.openathens.net/redirector/waldenu.edu?url=https://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.5555/appi.books.9780890425787.Section_1
Carlat, D. J. (2017). The psychiatric interview(4th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Chapter 34, Writing Up the Results of the Interview
Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2015). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry(11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Chapter 5, Examination and Diagnosis of the Psychiatric Patient
Chapter 6, Classification in Psychiatry
Chapter 31, Child Psychiatry (Sections 31.1 and 31.2 only)
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (1995). Practice parameters for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents. https://www.aacap.org/App_Themes/AACAP/docs/practice_parameters/psychiatric_assessment_practice_parameter.pdf
American Psychiatric Association. (2016). Practice guidelines for the psychiatric evaluation of adults(3rd ed.). https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.books.9780890426760
Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2017). Classification in psychiatry. In Kaplan and Sadock’s Concise Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry (4th ed., pp. 1–8). Wolters Kluwer.
Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2017). Psychiatric interview, history, and mental status examination. In Kaplan and Sadock’s Concise Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry (4th ed., pp. 9–15). Wolters Kluwer.
Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2017). Medical assessment and laboratory testing in psychiatry. In Kaplan and Sadock’s Concise Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry (4th ed., pp. 16–21). Wolters Kluwer.
THE QUESTION
1. Compare and contrast the psychometric properties of the following rating scales:
The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF),
St. Louis University Mental Status Exam and
PTSD checklist.
2. Explain when it is appropriate to use each rating scale with clients during the psychiatric interview.
3. Explain how each scale is helpful to a nurse practitioner’s psychiatric assessment. Support your approach with evidence-based literature.