The document discusses various topics related to assessing mental health, including: 1. The three main types of psychological assessment are clinical interviews, behavioral observations, and psychological testing. 2. Clinical interviews involve structured questioning to understand a person's mental health history and current state. Behavioral observations provide information on how a person acts in natural environments. Psychological testing uses standardized measures to evaluate areas like personality and intelligence. 3. Classification systems like the DSM-IV-TR provide standardized criteria for diagnosing mental illnesses based on patterns of symptoms. A diagnosis involves evaluating a person across five axes of information.

4. Figure 6.20 – The graph shows three normal distribution each with a different standard deviation. The green curve has the highest standard deviation and the red curve has the lowest standard deviation. Scores Low High Frequency of Scores Low High

5. Figure 8.11 when standard deviations are represented on the x – axis of a normal distribution, certain fixed percentages of scores fall between the mean and any given point. Most scores fall in the middle range within one standard deviation either side of the mean. Number of scores or individuals Standard deviations from the mean

8. Assessment of Mental Health There are a number of ways we use to tell if someone has a mental illness (that is included in the DSM). They are used to develop a clinical profile of the person’s thought feelings, and behaviour including the factors and life experiences that may have contributed to their current mental health status. Three Types of Assessment: Clinical Interview Behavioural Observation Psychological Testing

19. Task: In Pairs - create a poster in your books Psychological Tests Behavioural Observations in the interview / or natural setting Clinical Interviews Limitation Strength

20. Assessing one’s mental health status relies on professional judgements on what is said and observed. Two mental health professionals can make different judgements about the same patient’s mental state. Allows for an initial assessment of which aspects of the person’s thoughts, feelings or behaviours need to be assessed in more detail. Clinical Interviews Limitations Strengths

21. Behaviour displayed in the individual’s natural environment may not be observed in the interview environment; as people behave differently when they know that they are being assessed. Children and the intellectually impaired may not be able to describe their problems and experiences in an interview If taken by friends and family, information can be discretely recorded at a later time. A prepared data sheet targeting pre-determined behaviours of interest can be devised prior to the observation period to reduce the amount of time spent writing. Behavioural Observations in the interview / or natural setting Limitations Strengths

22. Results on personality or intelligence tests have limited value when used in isolation of other information as they only provide a snapshot of how the person is able to respond at the time of testing. Comparison of the client’s results with those of people with known illnesses, psychologists are able to more accurately identify problem behaviours, thoughts or feelings and recommend. Psychological Tests Limitations Strengths

29. The individual’s overall level of functioning in social, occupational, and leisure activities Axis 5: global assessment of functioning Problems (such as interpersonal stressors and negative life events) that may affect the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis (prediction of the course of a disease) of psychological disorders Axis 4: psychosocial and environmental problems Physical disorders that may be relevant to understanding or treating a psychological disorder Axis 3: general medical condition Chronic and enduring problems that generally persist throughout life and impair interpersonal or occupational functioning Axis 2: personality disorders and mental retardation Symptoms that cause distress or significantly impair social or occupational functioning such as anxiety disorders, depression Axis 1: Clinical Disorders Description AXIS

35. Activity: Obsessions and compulsions handout