SOCW 6111 Screening and Assessment Tools Discussions

SOCW 6111 Screening and Assessment Tools Discussions

Discussion:Screening and Assessment Tools

What is important to know and when is it important to know it? To intervene in a problem, a social worker must first identify the problem. Screening and initial assessment can be useful to identity individuals who may be experiencing mental health concerns and could benefit from seeing a clinical social worker. This then would lead to a more comprehensive assessment from which a treatment plan is built. However, deciding who to assess, when, and using which tools can feel like a confusing process. For example, should you provide depression screenings in the community to people who are not clients? Should you screen all new clients for substance abuse regardless of presenting problem? Should you ask about suicide in every session or only when it feels like it could be a concern?

For this Discussion, review the following resources and consider the different screening and assessment tools currently available. Identify the tools you think you would be most likely to use in your practice.

Comprehensive Assessment

A comprehensive understanding of a client’s presenting problems depends on the use of multiple types ofassessment models. Each model gathers different information based on theoretical perspective and intent. An assessment that focuses on one area alone not only misses vital information that may be helpful in planning an intervention, but may encourage a biased evaluation that could potentially lead you to an inappropriate intervention. When gathering and reviewing a client’s history, sometimes it is easier to focus on the problems and not the positive attributes of the client. In social work, the use of a strengths perspective requires that a client’s strengths, assets, and resources must be identified and utilized. Further, using an empowerment approach in conjunction with a strengths perspective guides the practitioner to work with the client to identify shared goals. You will be asked to consider these approaches and critically analyze the multidisciplinary team’s response to the program case study of Paula Cortez.

For this Assignment, review the program case study of the Cortez family.

POST

In a 2- to 4-page paper, complete a comprehensive assessment of Paula Cortez, utilizing two of the assessment models provided in Chapter 5 of the course text.

•        Using the Cowger article, identify at least two areas of strengths in Paula’s case.
•        Analyze the perspectives of two members of the multidisciplinary team, particularly relative to Paula’s pregnancy.
•        Explain which model the social workers appear to be using to make their assessment.
•        Describe the potential for bias when choosing an assessment model and completing an evaluation.
•        Suggest strategies you, as Paula’s social worker, might try to avoid these biases.

Support your Assignment with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Screening and Assessment Tools

Companies use screening and assessment tools to help them identify the best candidates for open positions. But what exactly are these tools and how do they work? In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at screening and assessment tools, how they’re used, and what their benefits are. We’ll also provide some tips on how to choose the right tool for your company.

The Importance of Screening and Assessment Tools

Screening and assessment tools are important for a number of reasons. First, they can help identify individuals who may be at risk for developing a mental health disorder. Second, they can help to identify the specific mental health disorder that an individual may be at risk for developing. Finally, screening and assessment tools can help to identify the severity of the mental health disorder and can also help to determine the best course of treatment.

Different Types of Screening and Assessment Tools

Screening and assessment tools can be broadly divided into two categories: formal and informal. Formal tools are those that are typically developed by psychologists and used in clinical settings. They are often standardized, which means they are administered and scored in the same way each time. This makes them reliable, but it also means that they may not be as sensitive to individual differences as informal tools. Informal tools, on the other hand, are usually not as structured or standardized. This can make them more flexible and responsive to individual needs, but it can also make them less reliable.

Formal screening and assessment tools include measures like intelligence tests, academic achievement tests, and personality inventories. Intelligence tests assess cognitive abilities like memory, reasoning, and problem-solving. Academic achievement tests measure what a person has learned in school in subjects like reading, math, and writing. Personality inventories assess personality traits like neuroticism, extroversion, and agreeableness.

Informal screening and assessment tools include measures like clinical interviews, direct observation, and projective techniques. Clinical interviews involve asking questions about a person’s symptoms, history, and current functioning. Direct observation involves watching a person’s behavior in naturalistic settings. Projective techniques involve presenting people with ambiguous stimuli (like inkblots or pictures) and asking them to interpret what they see.

How to Use Screening and Assessment Tools

Screening and assessment tools can help you identify whether someone has a mental health disorder.

There are different types of screening and assessment tools. Some are designed to be used by mental health professionals, while others can be used by laypeople.

Mental health professionals often use structured clinical interviews to assess for mental disorders. These interviews are usually conducted in person and involve asking questions about symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

The most commonly used self-report measure for screening and assessing mental disorders is the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). The SCL-90 is a questionnaire that asks about the frequency and intensity of various symptoms over the past week. It can be used to screen for a wide range of mental disorders.

Laypeople can use screening scales such as the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) to assess their own level of distress. The DASS is a 21-item scale that measures three different dimensions of psychological distress: depression, anxiety, and stress. It can be used to screen for major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Pros and Cons of Screening and Assessment Tools

There are many different types of screening and assessment tools available to educators, and the pros and cons of each type vary depending on the individual tool. Some common Pros of using screening and assessment tools include:

-they can help identify students who may be at risk for academic or behavioral problems

-they can provide information about a student’s strengths and weaknesses

-they can help teachers differentiate instruction for individual students

-they can help parents better understand their child’s needs

However, there are also some potential Cons to using screening and assessment tools, including:

-they can be time consuming to administer

-they can be costly if purchased commercially

-they may not always be accurate in identifying students’ needs

Conclusion

There are a wide variety of screening and assessment tools available to mental health professionals. The key is to find the right tool for the job at hand. Each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to select the one that will best assess the client’s needs. If you’re not sure which tool to use, consult with a colleague or supervisor who can help you make the best decision.