Adolescent Risk Assessment

Sample Solution

    A thorough psychiatric assessment of a child or adolescent is essential in ensuring that any mental health issues are identified, evaluated and addressed in the most appropriate manner. This assessment process typically involves obtaining relevant information from the patient, their family, and other sources to gain an understanding of the presenting symptoms and their context.

The primary aim of this type of assessment is to help determine diagnosis as well as develop successful treatment plans for patients. The process also helps healthcare professionals better understand how certain conditions may be affecting everyday functioning on both an individual level as well as within the family unit. When assessing children or adolescents, two different symptom rating scales that can be used are the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The CDI was developed by Kovacs in 1983 with aims to measure depression levels in those aged between 7-17 years old. It has been used widely over time due its validity and reliability when measuring depressive symptomology; it consists of 27 items that are rated on a scale from 0-2 depending on frequency of reported behaviour (Kovacs, 2020). Another useful tool for use during assessments is CBCL which measures behavioural difficulties across areas such as socialization, anxiety/depression, attention problems etc; these behaviours are then scored against age and gender norms to identify any possible issues occurring in comparison to peers (Achenbach & Rescorla , 2001). When considering treatment options for children and adolescents there may be methods that would not be considered when treating adults such as play therapy or art therapy; these therapies provide opportunities for expression through creative outlets alongside more traditional cognitive behavioural interventions (Bjorkqvist et al., 2018). Family interventions can also form part of treatment plans which focus on improving communication dynamics between members with emphasis placed upon teaching constructive problem solving strategies rather than punishment based approaches (Durlak & Wells 1997). In terms of assessments parents/guardians have an important role to play throughout the entire process given they often know their child best which can enable them to provide deeper insight into potential underlying issues. Assessment stages should involve consultation with parents so they understand why tests have been chosen by clinicians allowing them greater involvement throughout subsequent stages leading up to diagnosis if required(Clauss & Blackman 2007 ). Having parental buy-in from early stages facilitates better engagement long term making treatments much more likely to succeed than if tackled alone by one party. References: Achenbach TM , Rescorla LA . 2001 . Manual for the ASEBA school‐age forms & profiles . Burlington : University of Vermont Departmental System . Björkqvist K , Lagerspetz KMJ , Kaukiainen A , Åström ME . 2018 . “Do girls manipulate and boys fight? Developmental trends in direct and indirect aggression” Aggressive behavior 24: 384–92 doi 10 1177/0093854817733722 Clauss JA , Blackman JT 2007 “Assessing Families With Young Children” Professional Psychology Research And Practice 38 : 287 – 94 doi 10 1037 / 0735 - 7136 383287 Durlak JA , Wells AM 1997 “Primary prevention mental health programs for children and adolescents: An overview” American journal Of Community Psychology 25 : 115 – 52 Doi10 1007 / S10464 - 007 - 9047 - 6 Kovacs M 2020 “The Children's Depression Inventory®” Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre http://cchmcpsychiatrydeptcom / wpcontent / uploads / 20171118CDIfactsheetpdf Accessed 31 May 2020