Download Module 22 Assessment & Anxiety Disorders

Module 22
Assessment & Anxiety Disorders
Virginia Union University
Introduction to Psychology
Diagnosing Mental Disorders
• An individuals must be formally diagnosed as having a
mental disorder to receive appropriate treatment
• Clinical diagnosis
▫ A process of matching an individual’s specific symptoms to
those that define a particular mental disorder
• American Psychological Association (APA) developed a
uniform diagnostic system in 1952
▫ Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV Text
Revision (DSM IV TR)
 Uniform system for assessing specific symptoms and matching
them to almost 300 different mental disorders
DSM IV TR
• Describes 297 mental disorders
(compared to 106 in the first
addition published in the 1950s)
• Improvement compared to past
additions
▫ Criteria/symptoms based more
on research findings than
clinical opinions
• Next version likely to use
findings from genetics &
neuroscience research to better
understand underlying causes of
mental disorders
DSM IV TR – Making a Diagnosis
• In making a clinical diagnosis, client symptoms
assessed & matched with symptoms described in
the DSM IV TR
▫ Sample ADHD exercise
• DSM IV TR has 5 axes that serve as guidelines to
make diagnoses
DSM IV TR Axis 1: Nine Major Clinical
Syndromes
1. Disorders usually 1st diagnosed in infancy, childhood
or adolescence
includes ADHD, autism, mental retardation (i.e.
intellectual disabilities), enuresis & stuttering
2. Organic mental disorders
includes disorders that are temporary or permanent
dysfunctions of brain tissue caused by diseases or chemicals,
such as dementia (Alzheimer’s)
3. Substance-related disorders
includes maladaptive (& abnormal pattern) use of drugs
& alcohol
difference b/t use & abuse
DSM IV TR Axis 1: Nine Major Clinical
Syndromes
4. Schizophrenia & other psychotic disorders
schizophrenias characterized by psychotic symptoms
(i.e., grossly disorganized behavior, delusions &
hallucinations) & by over 6 months of behavioral
deterioration
also includes delusional & schizoaffective disorders
5. Mood disorders
characterized by emotional disturbance
includes major depression, bipolar disorder,
dysthymic disorder & cyclothymic disorder
DSM IV TR Axis 1: Nine Major Clinical
Syndromes
6. Anxiety disorders
characterized by physiological signs of anxiety and
subjective feelings of tension, apprehension or fear.
may be acute & focused (i.e. phobias) or continual &
diffuse (i.e. generalized anxiety disorder)
7. Somatoform disorders
characterized by somatic symptoms that resemble
physical illness but that cannot be accounted by organic
damage.
includes hypochondriasis
DSM IV TR Axis 1: Nine Major Clinical
Syndromes
6. Dissociative disorders
feature a sudden, temporary alteration or
dysfunction of memory, consciousness, identity, and
behavior.
includes dissociative amnesia & multiple personality
disorder
7. Sexual & gender-identity disorders
includes gender-identity disorders, paraphilias and
sexual dysfunctions
DSM IV TR Axis 2: Personality Disorders
• Disorders that involve patterns of personality
traits that are long-standing, maladaptive &
inflexible and involve impaired functioning or
subjective distress
• Includes borderline, schizoid & antisocial
personality disorders
DSM IV TR Axis 3: Physical Disorders
• Physical disorders or conditions that have an
influence on someone’s mental disorder
▫ Includes diabetes, arthritis, and hemophilia
DSM IV TR Axis 4: Psychosocial &
Environmental Problems
• Psychosocial and & environmental problems
that may affect the diagnosis, treatment, and
prognosis of mental disorders in Axes 1 & 2.
▫ Includes negative life events, an environmental
difficulty or deficiency, a familial or interpersonal
stress, and inadequacy of social support or
personal resources, or another problem that
involves the context
▫ E.g. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
DSM IV TR Axis 5: Global Assessment of
Functioning Scale
• Axis used to rate the overall psychological,
social, and occupational functioning of the
individual on a scale
Usefulness of DSM IV TR
• Arriving at a diagnosis
▫ Clinical interviews - Psychological tests - Neurological tests
- Clinical assessment - DSM IV TR
• All 5 axes of the DSM IV TR used to make a clinical
diagnosis
• 3 advantages to using the DSM IV TR
▫ Professionals use the classification system to communicate
with one another & discuss client problems
▫ Researchers use the classification system to study & explain
mental disorders
▫ Therapists use the classification system to design treatment
programs
Potential Problems with using DSM IV
TR
• Labeling Mental Disorders
▫ Labeling: identifying & naming differences among individuals.
The label places individuals into specific categories which have
either positive or negative associations
▫ Advantage of diagnostic label – easy to communicate information
about disorder
▫ Disadvantage of diagnostic label – label has negative associations
• Social & Political Implications
▫ Can influence diagnosis & likelihood to seek treatment
 Homosexuality listed in the DSM in the 1970s, later dropped
 Sexist self-defeating personality disorder listed in the DSM in the
1980s, later dropped
 Japanese less likely to seek professional help b/c of stigma
associated with mental illness (same with African Americans)
Class Announcements
• Cross Cultural Project
• Class Study Groups