Answer Following Introduction to Clinical Psychology Flashcards

Interviews and observation

-Flexible-Relatively inexpensive-Provide clinician with simultaneous samples of clients' verbal and nonverbal behavior

The intake interview: - designed to establish the nature of the problem. Often involves diagnosis from the DSM-IV.- Often includes an MSE - mental status examination- Important for laying groundwork of relationship between clinician and client (almost half of the clients who attend an intake interview do not return for scheduled treatment - likely influenced by client's perception of interviewer)

- warm friendliness over businesslike professionalism- expression of correct understanding of client's partially or indirectly expressed concerns and emotions - facial expressions and body language

1) Intake interview2) Problem-Referral Interview3) Orientation Interview4) Termination and Debriefing Interview5) Crisis Interview

Central goal of the interview is to address the referral question, which should be stated as clearly as possible to maximize results.

Given to clients without any experience in psychological assessment or treatment, to acquaint her with the assessment, treatment, or research procedures to comeBeneficial in two ways:- address questions and misconceptions that might, unaddressed, obstruct treatment progress- help clients understand their roles in upcoming procedures (candid, cooperative, serious, willing to work etc)

Given when a clinician-client relationship is to be terminated.Benefits:- Helps alleviate client anxiety about test results, how information will be used etc.- Debriefing interviews (following clinical research) explain the purpose of the project someone has just participated in- Tie up loose ends for successful treatment: thank yous, reminders, reassurance etc.- Help clinician understand what led to drop-out if treatment ended unsuccessfully

Three primary goals:- provide support- collect assessment data- provide help
All in very short time. Interviewer must be calm and accepting, ask relevant questions, and work on the immediate problem by putting the client in touch with other services

- Members of racial and ethnic minority groups generally receive less mental health care and lower-quality mental health care than the general population receives- Bias in the system (and lack of knowledge): African American and Hispanic clients diagnosed with schizophrenia more than Caucasians; mood and anxiety disorders diagnosed less in African American children than white children- culture-bound syndromes: those that do not fit in the DSM- Misunderstanding of meaning of spoken and body language- Culture values i.e. independence versus interdependence
Solution: clinicians should openly explore cultural concerns with the client, thereby conveying a sincere desire to understand, rather than just classify, the client

- theoretical orientation (general spectrum = humanistic --> psychodynamic --> CBT)- personal preferences of the interviewer

Uses direct questions sparingly and relied instead on responses designed to facilitate the client's talking about his or her concerns "Um-hm" etc

Has some nondirective features, in that questions are never used to dictate what the client will talk about. Responses are merely there to indicate understanding and encourage further talk.

Interviewer asks a series of specific questions phrased in a standardized fashion and presented in an established order.Consistent rules also provided for coding or scoring clients' answers.Decision trees to guide what the interviewer should do in certain situations e.g. clarifying ambiguous responses.

- DSM diagnoses- planning and evaluating rehabilitation treatment- evaluating whether a criminal defendant is mentally competent to stand trial- assessing clients' personalities along the dimensions of the five-factor model* note that they are not appropriate/used for most face-to-face clinical contact hours