Rapid Psychological Assessment / Edition 1

by Jason T. Olin, Carolyn Keatinge

Overview

In today's time-pressured managed care environment, it is important for clinicians to quickly identify the nature of a patient's problem and initiate treatment. With thousands of psychological instruments available, this can often be difficult. This book offers a form of psychological assessment "triage." It eliminates the guesswork and helps psychologists quickly select, administer, and interpret psychological tests.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780471181811
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	06/02/1998
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.28(w) x 9.35(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jason T. Olin is the author of Rapid Psychological Assessment, published by Wiley.

Carolyn Keatinge is the author of Rapid Psychological Assessment, published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW.

An Introduction to the Role of Assessment and the DSM-IV.

Setting the Stage: Clinical Interviews and Mental StatusExams.

Criteria for Test Selection.

Adult and Older Adult Assessment.

Adolescent and Child Assessment.

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS.

Mood: Depression, Anxiety, Somatoform, and Related Disorders.

Behavior: Attention-Deficit and Disruptive BehaviorDisorders.

Reality Testing: Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders.

Self-Control: Suicidality, Dangerousness, Substance-RelatedDisorders, Abuse, and Eating Disorders.

Personality Disorders.

Cognitive Function from a Developmental Perspective: From LearningDisorders to Dementia Screenings.

COMPLETING THE EVALUATION.

Integration: Methods and Models of Test Interpretation.

Appendices.

References.

Indexes.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Peter B. Zeldow, PhD (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: This book provides descriptions of commonly used psychological tests and psychiatric disorders, brief discussions of psychometrics and principles of psychological assessment, and recommendations about how to use psychological tests to diagnose various DSM-IV anxiety, mood, psychotic, eating, and personality disorders, as well as suicide and violence potential. It concludes with discussions of test interpretation and report writing. The emphasis is on reliable assessments in the shortest possible time.
Purpose: The authors' objective is the creation of a practical assessment text "geared toward everyday clinical use" and sensitive to the "real-world constraints" (read managed care) that affect users of psychological tests. This is a worthy objective, and one which the authors have largely met. But such an objective is not without serious pitfalls.
Audience: The book was written for novice and advanced clinicians involved in assessment, especially those who work with managed care companies. In my judgment, advanced clinical psychologists will find it useful, albeit oversimplified and less than comprehensive. Novices will find it misleading unless supplemented by the "bulky" and idealistic textbooks discussed in the preface. Social workers and marriage counselors, whom the authors identify as prospective users of the book, have no business administering psychological tests.
Features: This book clearly describes the scales of the WAIS, Rorschach, MMPI-2, and other more specialized tests. It also has approximately 100 "testing tips" which are generally responsible and useful, and it displays appropriate concern for age, gender, and cultural variables which can affect test performance.
Assessment: It is a product of its time. It resembles Roy Schafer's 1948 classic, The Clinical Application of Psychological Tests, in its cookbook type approach. It has more empirical support for its interpretations than Schafer had, but none of his clinical brilliance. The biggest problem is not within the book's covers; it is the possibility that its user-friendly format will obviate the need for its users to seek more sophisticated counsel elsewhere.

Doody's Review Service

2 Stars from Doody

This book provides descriptions of commonly used psychological tests and psychiatric disorders, brief discussions of psychometrics and principles of psychological assessment, and recommendations about how to use psychological tests to diagnose various DSM-IV anxiety, mood, psychotic, eating, and personality disorders, as well as suicide and violence potential. It concludes with discussions of test interpretation and report writing. The emphasis is on reliable assessments in the shortest possible time. The authors' objective is the creation of a practical assessment text ""geared toward everyday clinical use"" and sensitive to the ""real-world constraints"" (read managed care) that affect users of psychological tests. This is a worthy objective, and one which the authors have largely met. But such an objective is not without serious pitfalls. The book was written for novice and advanced clinicians involved in assessment, especially those who work with managed care companies. In my judgment, advanced clinical psychologists will find it useful, albeit oversimplified and less than comprehensive. Novices will find it misleading unless supplemented by the ""bulky"" and idealistic textbooks discussed in the preface. Social workers and marriage counselors, whom the authors identify as prospective users of the book, have no business administering psychological tests. This book clearly describes the scales of the WAIS, Rorschach, MMPI-2, and other more specialized tests. It also has approximately 100 ""testing tips"" which are generally responsible and useful, and it displays appropriate concern for age, gender, and cultural variables which can affect test performance. It is a product ofits time. It resembles Roy Schafer's 1948 classic, The Clinical Application of Psychological Tests, in its cookbook type approach. It has more empirical support for its interpretations than Schafer had, but none of his clinical brilliance. The biggest problem is not within the book's covers; it is the possibility that its user-friendly format will obviate the need for its users to seek more sophisticated counsel elsewhere.

Peter B. Zeldow

A reference for novice and advanced clinicians in assessment, offering quick assessment guidelines for use with children, adults, and the elderly. Part I overviews key areas of knowledge needed for assessment, and Part II organizes DSM-IV disorders by symptoms that are considered in assessment, with a special section on advanced cognitive assessment. Part III gives information on report writing and offers a framework for converting raw test data into diagnoses and recommendations. Includes many boxes of tips, and appendices on various instruments and suppliers. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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