Clinical Assessment

2. Assignment: Clinical Assessment

Mr. and Mrs. Lawson brought their 4-year-old adopted daughter, Clara, to see Dr. Mason, a psychiatrist. Clara was polite in greeting Dr. Mason, but did not smile and kept her gaze down as she took a seat. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson sat next to Clara and began explaining their concerns. They described Clara as a quiet child who has recently begun throwing temper tantrums, during which she is inconsolable. Her sleep and eating patterns have changed, and she no longer wants to go to preschool.

• Create a brief response to each of the following questions:

o What other information would you like to learn during the interview with the family? What questions would you ask?
I would ask Clara’s teacher has mentioned if there has been a noticeable change with her in school, and if there have been reports of any other children bothering her. I would also ask if there is any possibility that there are inappropriate actions taking place involving Clara’s teacher. What are the changes in her sleeping pattern? Is she sleeping more or less? Is there something specific Clara is throwing temper tantrums over? Possible triggers? I would inquire about Clara’s age at adoption. I would want to know if she was raised at all by her biological parents or any other family members. I would inquire about Clara’s knowledge of her adoptive status. I would also ask if the family history of her biological parents is known.

o In addition to the clinical interview, what other clinical assessment tools should you consider? Why?
The interviews with Clara would also involve the use of clinical assessment tools that may provide insight to the changes in her behavior. Tools that would be inappropriate for her age and cognition level are projective testing, personal and response inventories. Due to the recent onset of changes, neurological, neuropsychological and would also not be useful for her evaluation. Intelligence testing may provide insight into her preschool learning experience. Clinical observation should be used as the most clearly advantageous assessment method.

o Although you need more information to begin treatment, what factors might you take into consideration in designing an effective intervention for this family?
Factors that need to be taken into consideration in designing an effective intervention for this family would be Clara’s age, what she is throwing temper tantrums over, how often they are together as a family, if Clara is ever alone with someone suspicious.

o If you were preparing to diagnose Clara, you would refer to the DSM-IV classification system to evaluate her condition on five separate axes. What type of information would go into each axis? You are not asked to enter a diagnosis, only describe the kind of information that would be entered in each axis.

o Do you think that diagnosing Clara would be beneficial or harmful? Explain why.