Assessment in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Kathryn Barnard was a nurse first and second an early developmental specialist with a PhD in early ecological development. Dr. Barnard, with her nursing background, was instrumental in developing assessment tools and interventions to promote infant mental health. A center is named after her at the University of Washington, aptly named the Kathryn Barnard Center for Infant Mental Health and Development. Dr. Barnard reminds us that mental health is lifelong. Proper treatment of children from their earliest moments is instrumental to their development. One of her sayings was “infants can’t wait” (Weber, 2015). All diagnosis, from infancy to adulthood, begins with an examination. While an organic basis for most medical disorders can be determined through the use of diagnostic testing, the field of psychiatry is different in that patients cannot be sent to the lab for blood tests to determine the degree of depression. Similarly, patients cannot be sent to the radiology department for a “scan” to determine how severe their bipolar disorder is. Instead, the field of psychiatry must use psychiatric assessments such as the comprehensive integrated physical exam, diagnostic interviews, and questionnaires to make diagnoses. These tools must be specialized to address the needs of children and adolescents. Diagnostic assessment of the child and adolescent is a specialized area of expertise. Some of the diagnostic and clinical features will be like your assessment of the adult. However, the PMHNP will be seeing children who have been to the PCP. Many PCPs are comfortable handling ADHD and other straightforward childhood disorders. That means that the PMHNP and those in his or her office will be seeing the more complicated patients. This week, you explore the many different psychiatric assessment tools and begin to explore treatment options. You also begin developing your resume and portfolio. Photo Credit: JGI/ Jamie Grill / Blend Images / Getty Images Learning Resources Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus. Required Readings Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer. · Chapter 2, “Contributions of the Psychosocial Sciences” (pp. 93–130) · Chapter 6, “Classification in Psychiatry” (pp. 290–299) · Chapter 31, “Child Psychiatry” (pp. 1107–1152) American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. · “Neurodevelopmental Disorders” · “Intellectual Disabilities” · “Communication Disorders” Note: You will access this book from the Walden Library databases. Optional Resources Thapar, A., Pine, D. S., Leckman, J. F., Scott, S., Snowling, M. J., & Taylor, E. A. (2015). Rutter’s child an ...