5361 THE CASE OF ALICIA- ANOREXIA 
U9-Final Assignment: The Case of Alicia Flor Chavez
COUN5106 - Assessment Tests and Measures
December 13, 2014
Lynn Jones Ph.D.
Unit 9- Final Assignment Diagnosing potential Anorexia nervosa is not always easy, and Alicia’s case, based on information given and her representation, is not clear cut. Researchers argue that the diagnosis has to be done carefully and potential ambiguities have to be resolved (Baer & Blais, 2010). For example, some researchers have argued that one criterion, such as a fear of being fat, can decrease significantly when the person actually loses some weight (Surgenor & Maguire, 2013). For reasons like this, selecting the primary question, namely whether or not the patient has Anorexia nervosa, is extremely important. As it was mentioned above, Alicia’s case is not evident or clear cut, hence the therapist needs to use the comprehensive assessment tool to determine whether Alicia can indeed be diagnosed with Anorexia nervosa. There are numerous ways to assess if Anorexia nervosa is suspected. In general, self-reported questionnaires are used separate from or along with comprehensive interviews. It has been argued that in clinical settings comprehensive interviews might not be especially useful as they take a long time, require additional specialized training, and could benefit research purposes more than clinical purposes (Baer & Blais, 2010). Hence, for the purpose of this project two self-report assessment tools will be used: Eating Attitude Test and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). These two assessment tools vary and could be especially useful for Alicia’s case. The Eating Attitude is a somewhat fast test that is an invaluable tool to fast screening when Anorexia nervosa is suspected (Garner & Garfinkel, 1979). The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is useful to access psychopathology and risk factors associated with Anorexia nervosa (Hilbert et al., 2007). So in a sense, the
COUN5106 - Assessment Tests and Measures
December 13, 2014
Lynn Jones Ph.D.
Unit 9- Final Assignment Diagnosing potential Anorexia nervosa is not always easy, and Alicia’s case, based on information given and her representation, is not clear cut. Researchers argue that the diagnosis has to be done carefully and potential ambiguities have to be resolved (Baer & Blais, 2010). For example, some researchers have argued that one criterion, such as a fear of being fat, can decrease significantly when the person actually loses some weight (Surgenor & Maguire, 2013). For reasons like this, selecting the primary question, namely whether or not the patient has Anorexia nervosa, is extremely important. As it was mentioned above, Alicia’s case is not evident or clear cut, hence the therapist needs to use the comprehensive assessment tool to determine whether Alicia can indeed be diagnosed with Anorexia nervosa. There are numerous ways to assess if Anorexia nervosa is suspected. In general, self-reported questionnaires are used separate from or along with comprehensive interviews. It has been argued that in clinical settings comprehensive interviews might not be especially useful as they take a long time, require additional specialized training, and could benefit research purposes more than clinical purposes (Baer & Blais, 2010). Hence, for the purpose of this project two self-report assessment tools will be used: Eating Attitude Test and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). These two assessment tools vary and could be especially useful for Alicia’s case. The Eating Attitude is a somewhat fast test that is an invaluable tool to fast screening when Anorexia nervosa is suspected (Garner & Garfinkel, 1979). The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is useful to access psychopathology and risk factors associated with Anorexia nervosa (Hilbert et al., 2007). So in a sense, the
References: American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics. American Counseling Association. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). DSM 5. American Psychiatric Association. Baer, L., & Blais, M. A. (2010). Handbook of clinical rating scales and assessment in psychiatry and mental health. New York:: Humana Press. Garner, D. M., & Garfinkel, P. E. (1979). The Eating Attitudes Test: An index of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa. Psychological medicine, 9(02), 273-279. Hilbert, A., Tuschen-Caffier, B., Karwautz, A., Niederhofer, H., & Munsch, S. (2007). Eating disorder examination-questionnaire. Diagnostica, 53(3), 144-154. Surgenor, L. J., & Maguire, S. (2013). Assessment of anorexia nervosa: an overview of universal issues and contextual challenges. Journal of Eating Disorders, 1(1), 29.