Before treating any psychiatric condition, it is important to conduct a detailed evaluation. This process ensures the accuracy of the diagnosis as well as the ensuing patient outcomes. This discussion elucidates the differences when conducting psychiatric assessments and interviews in children and adults.
Differences between Psychiatric Assessments Used in Children and Adults
Psychiatric assessment of children is founded on presenting conduct. These behaviors are appraised concerning bodily, environmental, hereditary, social, cognitive, expressive, and educational constituents that can be influenced by the displayed conduct (Dulcan, Ballard, Jha, & Sadhu, 2017). Conversely, when assessing adults, the American Psychological Association recommends that the preliminary psychiatric evaluation should include an appraisal of the patient’s mood, the extent of anxiety, cognition, perception, as well as thought content and process. It is also necessary to evaluate the patient’s mental health history, particularly past psychiatric diagnoses, treatment, compliance, hospitalization, and response to treatment.
Including Culture in the Development of Case Formulation
A clinician can incorporate culture in the development of a case formulation using the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI). CFI is a group of questions that evaluate four major cultural aspects that affect diagnosis. These include the cultural identity, cultural influence of mental formulation of suffering, cultural factors in the psychosocial surroundings and operation as well as aspects of the patient-clinician relationship (Lewis-Fernández et al., 2017).
Conclusion
This session has provided valuable information regarding the importance of the cultural context of illness. Culture shapes the diagnostic assessment and clinical management of patients. Therefore, psychiatric nurses need to understand how to collect this valuable information. To maximize the efficiency of the process, it is also necessary to understand the differences in the psychiatric evaluation of children and adults. This knowledge will shape healthcare practice by promoting accurate psychiatric diagnoses and treatment.
References
American Psychological Association. (2015). The American Psychiatric Association practice guidelines for the psychiatric evaluation of adults.Web.
Dulcan, M. K., Ballard, R. R., Jha, P., & Sadhu, J. M. (2017). Concise guide to child and adolescent psychiatry (5th Ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
Lewis-Fernández, R., Aggarwal, N. K., Lam, P. C., Galfalvy, H., Weiss, M. G., Kirmayer, L. J., Boiler, M. (2017). Feasibility, acceptability and clinical utility of the Cultural Formulation Interview: Mixed-methods results from the DSM-5 international field trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 210(4), 290-297.