Learning Resources Please read and view (where applicable) the following Learning Resources before you complete this week’s assignments. Readings Comer, R. J. (2015).Abnormal psychology (9th ed.). New York, NY: Worth. Chapter 4, “Clinical Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment” Lilienfeld, S. O., Wood, J. M., & Garb, H. N. (2001, May). What’s wrong with this picture? Scientific American, 284(5), 80–87. Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/pspi/sa1_2.pdf This link includes a PDF version of the article. The authors raise important concerns about the reliability and validity of some commonly used personality tests. Optional Resources American Psychological Association. (2013). Testing and assessment. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/index.aspxThis American Psychological Association site includes an FAQ section as well as information about standards for psychological tests, links to other testing websites, and specific test resources. Discussion – Week 2COLLAPSE Sharing Assessment Information As noted in this week’s Introduction, there is a natural progression from assessment to diagnosis to treatment. Information gathered during the clinical assessment phase is valuable to the clinician as he or she seeks to identify the correct diagnosis and the eventual plan for treatment. However, clinicians sometimes are reluctant to disclose to their clients all of the information gathered during a comprehensive assessment. In fact, they are usually taught to release only summary information and to retain raw data, unless they are communicating with a professional who is trained to interpret the raw data. In this week’s Discussion, you will weigh in on this controversial practice and support your position. To prepare for this Discussion: • Review the major points in the course textbook’s presentation on assessment, focusing on the first part of Chapter 4 entitled “Clinical Assessment: How and Why Does the Client Behave Abnormally?” • Consider the following example: A client comes to treatment complaining about being depressed. He scores high on a measure of paranoia, though he does not reach a clinical level. Do you think it is worth spending session time sharing this information and explaining its meaning to him, or do you think it would it be best to focus on other things? If you were this patient, would you want to know everything learned in the assessment? • Think about how a clinician should balance the patient’s right to know against the “expense” of full disclosure, including the communication of information that may not be useful and is difficult to explain. With these thoughts in mind: Post by Day 4 your position regarding the patient’s right to know versus the “expense” of full disclosure of information collected in a comprehensive assessment. Be sure to justify your position. Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.
