Identification and Referral
· Client’s name, age, marital status, ethnicity, gender.
· Describe the setting, including where the testing took place, how the client travelled there (or if you went to the client’s home).
· Reason for testing at this time, including the referral source (can be a self-referral or a fictitious referrer) and the information sought by the referrer.
· Presenting problems and symptoms.
There should be one or more referral questions to be answered by your assessment. These questions will be answered in your “Recommendations” section and the answers should flow logically from your findings. Some common referral questions for psychological testing include:
· Mental health diagnosis and treatment or management recommendations.
· Disability determination – whether the client is able to work and limitations.
· Vocational/educational assessment – what kind of work would be a good fit for the client’s abilities.
· Learning disability assessment – is a learning disability present and what sort of limitations and accommodations are appropriate.
History
Preface your history by indicating the source (such as client’s report or family report).
Family History. Include information about current family, current living situation and family of origin.
Educational and Vocational History. Level of education completed, high school and college grades, any history of special education, expulsions and suspensions, occupation and jobs held, last worked, reason for any dismissals, longest time at the same job, vocational aspirations if relevant.
Medical and Mental Health History. The non-psychiatric section should include reports of medical diagnoses and symptoms, current medications, surgeries and overnight hospitalizations, and any head injuries. The mental health section should include psychiatric hospitalizations, outpatient mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, history of psychotropic medication prescriptions, and suicide attempts. When applicable, indicate that there was “no reported history of …” to show that you inquired about the areas above.
Antisocial Behavior/Substance Abuse. Age, charge, and outcome of any arrests or other legal problems. Current and past use of alcohol and other recreational drugs, 12-step group attendance.
Daily Functioning
Client’s mode of travel (car, bus, family rides) and ability (short trips by car, uses the bus but needs help to get to a new location, etc.). Client’s daily living skills, including ability to groom, bathe, dress, do household chores, and manage money. Include a general description of the client’s daily activities including job, recreational, and social activities.
Mental Status and Behavioral Observations
Use the Mental Status Exam form as a guide for your interview. This section can be written or dictated directly from this form.
General appearance: Particularly note unusual characteristics that may provide diagnostic information – neglected hygiene, unusual dress or tattoos, or physical characteristics that may affect the person’s social interactions and abilities. Indicate if the client appeared her/his stated age or younger or older than her/his stated age.
Attitude & general behavior: Describe the person’s interaction with you and attitude toward being tested and interviewed.
Mood and affect: Obtain a quote from the client regarding recent mood. Ask about any history of depression and anxiety. Note the range of the client’s affect. Ask about sleep and appetite, and inquire further about depressive or anxious symptoms if a particular disorder is suspected. See the symptom guide at the bottom of the MSE form. For instance, if PTSD were suspected, you would inquire about symptoms, such as nightmares, flashbacks, and startle response.
Stream of mental activity: Most clients will be described as responding in a coherent and relevant fashion and speaking at a normal pace with 100% intelligibility. Note any deviations from this, including psychotic symptoms, slower or faster than normal speech, and problems with speech intelligibility. Note unusual speech content and inquire into delusional thinking (paranoid, reference, control, grandiosity) if psychosis is suspected.
Sensorium and orientation: You will describe most clients as alert and aware of their surroundings; note any deviations from this. Orientation includes awareness of elements such as person, place, time and situation. Do not say the client was “oriented times three” as the meaning of this is not always consistent and clear. Do report the questions you asked and the client’s responses. For instance, “The client reported the current day of the week as Saturday rather than Monday.”
Memory. Use simple tests to assess the client’s long- and short-term memory and report the results of those tests. A useful test of short-term memory is to list three objects, have the client repeat them back, and then ask the client to recall them after five minutes have passed.
Fund of information. Two or three questions will give a rough index of the client’s general knowledge. Easy (intellectual disability suspected): “How many legs on a dog?” or “Where is your nose?”, Average: “How many days in a year?”, Above average: “What is the boiling temperature of water?”
Concentration and attention: Rate the client’s ability to attend to instructions and task persistence. Simple concentration tasks are counting backwards from 20 or, for higher functioning clients, counting backwards from 100 by 7. Note the time required and number of errors. If ADHD is suspected, use the symptom guide at the bottom of the MSE form to inquire further about symptoms.
Perceptual distortions: Ask about any history of auditory or visual hallucinations and determine if they were associated with drug use or mood (mania or depression). If there were hallucinations, note their frequency, when they last occurred, and their content. Note if the client appears to be responding to hallucinations during the assessment.
Judgment & insight. Use a simple, standard question to test judgment, such as “What would you do if your neighbor’s house were on fire?” Also, note any history that would indicate impaired judgment, such as arrests or job dismissals. Insight is whether the client has an accurate understanding of his or her mental health status. If there are mental health problems, a client with good insight attributes symptoms to these problems, and is aware of the need for treatment. For instance, a man diagnosed as schizophrenic would demonstrate good insight if he understands that his auditory hallucinations are caused by his illness and that psychiatric medication would help. An alcoholic demonstrates good insight if she admits her illness and recognizes the need to attend AA or other treatment.
Test Results
When discussing the WAIS-IV results, be sure to include a discussion of the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ), Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), Working Memory Index (WMI), and Processing Speed Index. You will need to discuss the client’s strengths and weaknesses with regard to subtest variability, if applicable.
Refer to the WAIS-IV PowerPoint, Psych Report Writing, and the Sample Report as a guide. Start with the FSIQ, indicate its percentile rank and classification (Low Average, Superior, etc.). If a change in functioning is suspected due to head injury or other problem, compare the FSIQ to estimated pre-morbid functioning.
Compare the VCI to the PRI, and indicate if they are significantly different. Briefly interpret this comparison. If they are not significantly different, you can say, “The VCI and PRI were not significantly different from each other, reflecting about equal facility with tasks requiring words as with tasks requiring non-verbal reasoning and performance.” If they are significantly different, indicate why you think this is. Is it consistent with a suspected diagnosis? Does it reflect cultural differences or a physical impairment?
When discussing the WRAT4 results, be sure to include a discussion of the WRAT4 scores. Present the Standard Scores, Percentile ranks, and Classifications for each subtest of the WRAT4 (Word Reading, Spelling, Sentence Comprehension, Math Computation). You also want to talk about scores that are out of the normal range and what that might suggest. It is helpful to give examples of the client’s abilities, particularly on Math Computation (i.e., “able to perform arithmetic operations with whole numbers, but unable to work with decimals or fractions”). If a WRAT4 subtest differs significantly from IQ (at least 20 points lower), a diagnosis of learning disorder is likely, unless you feel that the difference is better explained by other factors.
When discussing the MMPI-2 results, be sure to include a discussion of the validity scales (you can refer to your text for further guidance). Then interpret/discuss the clinical scales that are clinically significant, which are a T-score of 65 or greater. Your text and the powerpoint of the MMPI-2 (found under the additional resources tab) list interpretive paragraphs of such scores.
When discussing the PAI results, be sure to include a discussion of the validity scales (you can refer to the PAI powerpoint for further guidance). Then, report significant clinical elevations, that is, scales that are clinically significant in the profile summary (rather than all of the scales of the PAI). Similarly, report results from clinically significant elevations in subscales. When reporting results, it is important to clinically analyze these with the client’s history, rather than simply reporting numbers. It is best to provide a narrative of the elevations and possible symptoms and patterns.
Diagnostic Impressions
Provide a complete DSM-5 diagnosis to include the WHODAS 2.0 (p. 747 on the DSM-5). Your diagnoses should be clearly supported by the material you have presented to this point. Your assessment is very likely the most thorough psychodiagnostic procedure the client will ever undergo, so it is important that you come to a decision and not expect that another clinician will be better able to do this.
Summary
· This section should not introduce any new information. It needs to integrate and present an overall picture of the client, in regard to the referral question.
· Provide a summary of Frank’s psychosocial history and MSE.
· Provide a summary of the test results from the WAIS, WRAT, MMPI, PAI, and WHODAS.
Recommendations
· The most significant and pressing problem should be listed first and should be in the context of the referral question.
· Do not make recommendations about issues that are outside the purview of your training and competency. For instance, you would not recommend an imaging study or a specific medication. You might recommend referral to a neurologist or psychiatrist for evaluation and possible treatment.
· Make recommendations that take practical and financial limitations into account. It may be tempting to recommend “further testing” because you feel unsure of your recommendations. But keep in mind that testing can be expensive and time consuming. Additional testing should only be recommended if it is for a specific purpose and is necessary for important decision-making.
· As much as possible, your recommendations should take your test findings into account and should answer questions that could not have been answered before the assessment was done. You do not need to suggest that the client see a physician because she reported occasional headaches.
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Nursing Area is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order formOnce we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignmentAs soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download