Mental Health Problems and Disorders - Coursework Example

Assessments in Mental Health al Affiliation) Assessments in Mental Health Mental health problems and disorders range from common worries that most people encounter in their normal life activities to serious conditions that last for a long period before they can be well managed. Mental health problems have a number of effects for instance they affect the way you behave, reason, and feel. Good number mental health problem victims can easily overcome the condition or learn to live with it if they get assistance in time. These conditions are classified and defined to help mental health specialists refer their clients for proper management and treatment. Proper assessments by psychologists are necessary to discover the exact condition that a victim is suffering from. Psychologists have a good understanding of different behaviors associated with specific conditions. This is important because it makes the assessment process easy (Ballesteros, 2003). Mental health problems cannot be seen physically or tested. The only best method to discover a mental problem is through assessment. Through assessment, a psychologist is able to discover the exact condition that a client is suffering from. An example of a mental health problem that can be diagnosed through assessment is Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Williams, 2007). This paper will analyze how this condition is diagnosed through assessment. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a mental condition in which a victim has problems in paying attention and focusing on what he or she is doing, tends to do things without reasoning, and has trouble settling at one point. ADHD is a common childhood disorder and if not well dealt with, can proceed to adulthood. Without proper management of ADHD, it can lead to problems at home, school, at work place as well as relationships with other people. Children suffering from ADHD can be hyperactive and are not able to manage their impulses. Recent research shows that this condition is more common among boys as compared to girls. This condition is commonly discovered during early years in school when a child is observed with problems associated with paying attention. At adult age, a victim might have troubles with time management, self-organization, setting goals and objectives, and maintaining a job. Other common problems at adult age include low self-esteem, addiction, and making relationships (Wiggins, 2004). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has three subtypes that are classified basing on the common symptoms associated with this condition. Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive: in this subtype, most signs are in the hyperactivity-impulsivity group. Predominantly Inattentive: most symptoms under this subtype are in the inattention category. Children found in this category are poor in acting and interacting with other children. Combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattention: symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity as well as those of inattentive are present. Majority of victims have the combined type of ADHD. An exact cause of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has not been discovered by scientists but the most recent studies concerning this condition suggests that genes play a major role in causation of this disorder. This disorder is mostly common among people from the same family. In addition to genetics, researchers have as well discovered other factors that may lead to this condition. Brain injuries, environmental factors, daily diet, and the social environment are other factors that have led to ADHD (Williams, 2007). To diagnose ADHD, a qualified mental health professional for example a psychologist should carry out a proper assessment. The aim of carrying out an assessment is gather all necessary information that is important to conclude that the condition is ADHD. Assessment is a process that involves a sequence steps that should be followed in order to come up with a clear and correct conclusion about the condition of the client. Assessment process involves having a clear framework or plan that is guided by the major objectives and goals of the process. The process of assessment has been divided into six steps that should be followed to diagnose correctly a mental problem for example the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Many researchers who have researched about mental health problems suggest that hypothesis test framework should be used. This assessment framework is essential basing on the facts that human beings do not have perfect self-knowledge and not all methods involved in finding out information about other people can lack errors. Hypothesis testing implies that as psychologists carry out the assessment process, they accept some ideas concerning the functioning of the client and do away with others. The steps of assessment involve carrying out a clinical assessment interview, choosing psychological tests to be used, conducting, and interpretation of the tests, combination of information from what has been conducted, drafting a report about psychological assessment, and giving feedback to the client assessed and the origin of the referral (Sheen, 2001). Clinical assessment interviews involve face-to-face conversation between a psychologist and a client suspected to have ADHD. A psychologist asks properly structured questions to the client about the condition at hand. It is a fundamental step in assessment of ADHD because the psychologist is able to make direct observations about the state of the client. The psychologist can observe how the client behaves in relation to symptoms of ADHD. Psychometrics can also be used to measure some feature of how the client behaves. In addition to direct assessment, file review is also done to ascertain if the client has had past conducts with attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Information from health records as well as from other specialized mental health specialists are essential to find out information about the client (Buttross, 2007). A clinical assessment interview involves a number of activities occurring alongside each other. A psychologist is obliged to collect information that helps him or her to get a first round understanding of the client’s condition. It entails asking specific questions to get replies from the client. After the psychologist has worked on the client for some time, a good relationship between the two should be created. Creating a good relationship with the client is important to get all necessary information and is commonly referred to therapeutic alliance (Brown, 2005). A psychologist is supposed to learn different ways of approaching several categories of clients. The approach to children is not the same as the approach to adults. Basic background information about the client should also be collected in order to accommodate clients from different cultural backgrounds. Knowing how to deal with different categories of people is essential to get complete information that can help come up with a quality conclusion. Aptitude test is strong psychometric test that can be used to assess a client with ADHD. Aptitude tests involve measurement of intelligence. They entail assessment of reasoning ability of the client. They are preferred because ADHD has a direct effect on the reasoning ability of the client. Personality questionnaires measure specific personalities of the client. They might not be recommended because a client’s personality can be natural and has nothing to do with a mental health problem. Psychometric tests are easy to administer and can be applied to test several things. However, a major shortcoming of these tests is that the client can answer some questions by giving false information hence lowering their reliability level. These tests should use questions that a client is limited to give false information. References Williams, M. (2007). Mental illness. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. Ballesteros, R. (2003). Encyclopedia of psychological assessment. London: SAGE Publications. Wiggins, R. (2004). Handbook of infant, toddler, and preschool mental health assessment. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sheen, B. (2001). Attention deficit disorder. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books. Buttross, L. (2007). Understanding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Brown, T. (2005). Attention deficit disorder: The unfocused mind in children and adults. New Haven: Yale University Press. Read More