Psychological Testing in Mental Health

Psychological Testing in Mental Health

Mental health illness remains a global health concern. As the prevalence of these illnesses increases, there is a growing need to effectively manage these illnesses to lessen suffering and improve the quality of life of individuals with these illnesses. Psychological testing in mental health provides the groundwork for treating these illnesses. It involves the administration of a series of psychological tests to ascertain the cause, duration, and severity of mental health illnesses’ manifestations. This paper details an assessment plan for diagnosing and monitoring the treatment effectiveness of a fictitious client and a plan to evaluate the effectiveness of a mental health intervention program.

Individual Diagnostic Assessment Plan

The case scenario selected is that of Emily. She is a 28-year-old cisgender Irish American monolingual English-speaking female. She was referred for psychological evaluation upon reporting depressive symptoms and relationship difficulties. Several psychological tests can be applied to the patients to determine an appropriate DSM-5 diagnosis. The Stanford-Benet intelligence scale is an example of a psychological test that can be used to measure intelligence. This test focuses on mental capabilities such as memory and attention (Cherry, 2020). The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test can be used to evaluate an individual’s achievement. It is utilized to measure knowledge previously obtained in the areas of written and oral language, reading, and mathematics (Beaujean & Parkin, 2022). The NEO-PI-3 is another test useful in evaluating personality. This psychological test is a 240-item tool used to assess personality in specific domains of agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion (Kunnel John et al., 2019). The Rorschach Inkblot Test is another valuable test for evaluating projective personality. This test identifies thought patterns (Siahmoshtei et al., 2021). It is based on the assumption that if an individual is exposed to a meaningless image, they will strive harder to find meaning in the image. The depression index is part of the Rorschach index that can be used specifically in evaluating depressive disorders. Other tests include the Hamilton test for anxiety, the Brown Attention-Deficit Disorder Symptom Assessment Scale for Adults (BADDS), and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5).

Therapeutic Assessment Plan

Several assessment procedures have been developed for depressive disorders. The Beck Depression Inventory is an example of a widely used assessment plan utilizable for assessing the severity and symptoms manifestations of patients suspected to be having depressive disorders. This assessment plan is a 21-item scale self-reporting inventory that measures individual characteristics and symptoms for depressive illnesses (Biracyaza et al., 2021). This test maintains effectiveness for persons aged between 13 and 80 and can be done in a wide clinical setting, including in-home setups, and requires only ten minutes to complete. The patient in the case is a 28-year-old female presenting with depressive symptoms. This test can be used to ascertain the severity of her disease and the specific symptoms she manifests that can subsequently be used in diagnosing her per the DSM-5 provisions.

Treatment Effectiveness or Outcomes Assessment Plan

Several assessment tools find utility in measuring the effectiveness of treating depressive disorders. The PHQ-9 assessment tool is an example of an assessment tool that can be used to monitor the effectiveness of depressive disorders. This tool is a nine-item tool based on the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder as per the DSM-IV provisions. The scoring established from this tool indicates the severity of depressive presentations. The comprehensive management of depression aims to keep the PHQ-9 scores in the minimal depression or normal ranges (Sun et al., 2020). The patient in the case identified can benefit from this assessment tool.

Program Effectiveness Assessment Plan

The Anxiety Management Skills Treatment for adults in the program was selected in List B. Several assessment tools can be utilized to monitor the effectiveness of The Anxiety Management Skills Treatment for adults as a management intervention for generalized anxiety disorders. The GAD-7 assessment tool is a seven-item tool that can find considerable utility in this regard. GAD scoring corresponds to the disease severity and levels of symptomatic control. The goal of therapy is to attain scores of 0-4 that correspond to minimal anxiety. Sapra et al. (2020) assert the effectiveness of using this tool in monitoring the effectiveness of group therapy in generalized anxiety disorders. This tool informs on adjustment areas in therapy and the efficacy of this group approach.

Ethical Issues

Psychologists have an ethical and professional obligation to their practice. To enhance the effectiveness of their clinical approaches and therapeutic plans, they must provide ethically sound care that adopts the ethical provisions outlined by the APA code of ethics. The ethical goals that are valuable for therapists include respect for clients and colleagues; beneficence, which requires therapists to do good to their clients; justice, which requires them to maintain fairness in the care processes; and autonomy, which requires them to respect their client’s decisions, and others. These codes guide their clinical decision-making processes and define their practice. The professional goals of therapists help them maintain agreeable standards of practice. The professional goal of a psychologist is to accurately predict, describe, and control human behavior and mental processes.

Conclusion

Professional testing maintains significance in the management of mental health illnesses. Essentially, it provides the basis for managing mental health illnesses. In this regard, several psychological tests maintain utility. These testing types can be used to inform the diagnosis of mental health illnesses per DSM-V.

References

Beaujean, A. A., & Parkin, J. R. (2022). Evaluation of the Wechsler individual achievement test-fourth edition as a measurement instrument. Journal of Intelligence, 10(2), 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10020030.

Biracyaza, E., Habimana, S., & Rusengamihigo, D. (2021). Psychometric Properties of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in cancer patients: Cancer patients from Butaro Ambulatory Cancer Center, Rwanda. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Volume 14, 665–674. https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s306530.

Cherry, K. (2020). How Alfred Binet helped develop modern intelligence tests. Verywell Mind. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://www.verywellmind.com/alfred-binet-biography-2795503.

Kunnel John, R., Xavier, B., Waldmeier, A., Meyer, A., & Gaab, J. (2019). Psychometric Evaluation of the BFI-10 and the NEO-FFI-3 in Indian adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01057.

Sapra, A., Bhandari, P., Sharma, S., Chanpura, T., & Lopp, L. (2020). Using generalized anxiety disorder-2 (GAD-2) and gad-7 in a primary care setting. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.8224.

Siahmoshtei, J., Delavar, A., & Borjali, A. (2021). A preliminary study: Designing and validating projective images of young’s early maladaptive schema (EMS) domains. BMC Psychology, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00514-9.

Sun, Y., Fu, Z., Bo, Q., Mao, Z., Ma, X., & Wang, C. (2020). The reliability and validity of PHQ-9 in patients with major depressive disorder in a psychiatric hospital. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02885-6.

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For this discussion, you will develop an assessment plan for diagnosing and monitoring treatment effectiveness for a fictious client and a plan to evaluate the effectiveness of a mental health intervention program. Select one scenario from List A and one from List B.
List A: Individual Assessment Plan Scenarios (Select one scenario from this list.)

Psychological Testing in Mental Health

Alberto (age 50, cisgender male, Cuban American, bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking): Alberto was referred for a psychological evaluation due to reporting difficulty sleeping, nightmares and flashbacks after a near-fatal car accident that occurred 3 months prior. Alberto is single, never married, and has no children. His parents moved to the United States when he was 3 and subsequently became U.S. citizens. Immediately after graduating high school, Alberto served in the Air Force and was wounded during a gear-up landing. He received an honorable discharge after serving 3 years. He reports having a “comfortable” relationship with his “fiancé” of 8 years. Alberto is height-weight proportionate, has an athletic build and exercises regularly.
Emily (age 28, cisgender female, Irish American, monolingual English-speaking): Emily was referred for a psychological evaluation due to reporting depressive symptoms and relationship difficulties. Emily has been married and divorced twice and is currently separated from her third husband. She has four children ages 12, 9, and 2. The 12-year-old twins were fathered by a neighbor in his 40s who sexually abused her. The 9- and 2-year-olds were fathered by Emily’s first and second husbands, respectively. Each of Emily’s husbands and most of her boyfriends complained about her being moody and manipulative. Emily claims to be a “social drinker.” She is approximately 40 pounds overweight, but she does walk for 30 minutes three times per week.
Joycelyn Maria (age 15, cisgender, African American and Mexican American, monolingual English-speaking): Joycelyn was referred for a psychological evaluation due to reports of a sudden drop in her grades (from all A’s to Cs and Ds). Her maternal grandmother (Maria), who lived with the family, recently died subsequent to a stroke. Joycelyn refuses to allow the family to remove her grandmother’s belonging and insists on sleeping in her grandmother’s bed to feel her close. Prior to her grandmother’s death, Joycelyn had an active social life at school and volunteered at her church in the youth ministry. Her weight is within normal limits for her age and height, but she has lost fifteen pounds due to diminished appetite. A maternal aunt calls her “flaca” (“skinny”).
Mark (age 37, transgender male, identifies as “Caucasian,” precise ancestry unknown, bilingual English- and German-speaking): Mark was referred for a psychological evaluation due to reporting anxiety and increased self-medication with opioids. Mark transitioned from female to male at the age of 25 and reports no concerns related to gender identity. He was prescribed opioid pain medication after breaking his leg 5 years ago when he reportedly tripped and fell down the stairs. The medical report stated his injury was more consistent with being pushed than an accidental fall but Mark insists, “My absentmindedness caused me to not attend to what I should have been attending to and caused me to end up at the bottom of the stairs.” Mark is not concerned about the opioid use; however, he agreed to an evaluation when his partner gave him an ultimatum after finding several prescription bottles for the pain medication with names other than Mark’s. Mark’s weight is within normal limits for his age and height, but his partner insists he should lose ten pounds. Mark routinely exercises 4 or 5 days per week, accompanying his partner to the gym, although he does not enjoy working out.
List B: Program Evaluation Scenarios (Select one scenario from this list.)

Anxiety Management Skills Treatment group for adults
Art Therapy group for children who have been sexually abused
Cognitive Behavioral Skills group for adolescents with ADHD
Dialectical Behavior Therapy group for adults diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder
Eating Disorder therapy group for adolescents
Effective Communication for Couples program for adults
Part 1: Individual Diagnostic Assessment Plan
For Part 1 of this discussion forum,

Create a list of tests you would recommend for determining an appropriate DSM-5 diagnosis for the client based on information provided in the scenario you selected from List A.
Include a one- to two-sentence justification for each test with an in-text citation to a scholarly source. Your list must include at least one valid, reliable, and culturally appropriate psychological test for each of the following categories:
Intelligence (Individually administered test only)
Achievement (Individually administered test only)
Objective Personality test (Select one of the following: NEO-PI-3, MCMI-IV, MMPI-3 or MMPI-A)
Projective Personality test
At least three additional tests relevant to the client’s specific symptoms (e.g., anxiety, attention, depression, eating disorder, relationship difficulties, substance abuse, traumatic stress)
Part 2: Therapeutic Assessment Plan
For Part 2 of this discussion forum

Identify at least one assessment procedure you would recommend as a therapeutic assessment for the scenario you selected from List A.
Include a one- to two-sentence justification for each measure with an in-text citation to a scholarly source. Be specific about the desired outcome of using the assessment as a therapeutic intervention.
Part 3: Treatment Effectiveness or Outcomes Assessment Plan
For Part 3 of this discussion forum,

Identify at least one test or assessment procedure you would recommend for monitoring treatment effectiveness for the scenario you selected from List A.
Include a two- to three-sentence justification for each measure with an in-text citation to a scholarly source. Be specific about which symptoms you are monitoring and how you will determine the effectiveness of the intervention.
Part 4: Program Effectiveness Assessment Plan
For Part 4,

Identify at least one test or assessment procedure you would recommend to monitor the effectiveness of the program you selected from List B.
Include a two- to three-sentence justification for each measure with an in-text citation to a scholarly source. Be specific about which symptoms you are monitoring and how you will determine the effectiveness of the intervention.
Part 5: Ethical Issues
Compare the ethical and professional goals and responsibilities in diagnostic assessment, therapeutic assessment, outcomes assessment, and program assessment.