Child and Adolescent Assessment

Order Instructions

Week 1: Child and Adolescent Assessment

All diagnoses, from infancy to adulthood, begin 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 the severity of their bipolar disorder. 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. The PMHNP will often see children who have already been seen by a primary care provider. Many PCPs are comfortable handling attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other straightforward childhood disorders. That means that the PMHNP will often treat the more complicated patients. This week, you explore psychiatric assessment techniques and tools for children and adolescents. You also examine the role of the parent/guardian in the assessment process for this patient population.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Evaluate comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment techniques for children and adolescents

Recommend assessment questions for child and adolescent patients

Explain the importance of thorough psychiatric assessment for children and adolescents

Identify rating scales that are appropriate for child/adolescent psychiatric assessment

Identify psychiatric treatments appropriate for children and adolescents

Explain the role of the parent/guardian in child/adolescent psychiatric assessment

Vignette 4 – Introduction to a Mental Health Assessment Depression in a Preventive Services Visit

YMH Boston,

Video for Simulation Scenario – Adolescent Risk Assessment below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNF1FIKHKEU