250 words and 1-2 references under each classmate’s response. State if you agree or disagree and why and add some substance to the discussion as a scholar and support it with 1-2 references each.

1) Christina Cunning 3.1

The 2^nd edition of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is another useful and significant psychometric measurement tool. It specializes in assessing a client’s emotional adjustment, as well as their overall attitude towards taking tests (Groth-Marnet & Wright, 2016). This inventory is particularly important in measuring emotional status because it is the most widely used tool for this purpose in the behavioral health field (Groth-Marnet & Wright, 2016). By utilizing the tool, a clinician is ensuring standardization among peers, welfare of the client, and a solid base from which to determine any potential diagnosis and treatment plan.

Personally, I would not recommend using the MMPI-II to evaluate mental status. It was designed to accurately measure emotional adjustment (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen & Kaemmer, 1942). Unlike the MCMI-IV, which I would use for both mental and emotional status assessment, the MMPI-II is best suited to provide clinicians with an emotional status evaluation.

References:

Butcher, J. N., Dahlstrom, W. G., Graham, J. R., Tellegen, A., & Kaemmer, B. (1942). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/lo…

Groth-Marnet, G., & Wright, A. J. (2016). Handbook of psychological assessment (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

2) Agnes Bridgman 3.1

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Resructured Form (MMPI) is a realistic look at a client’s patterns, it is a 338-item true-false self-report which can take about 35 minutes or so to complete. The test can be taken by clients 18 years and older. The client’s personality and mental health are first reviewed then a detailed view of a specific area of concern is examined. The clinical scales examine bodily issues, depression, weaknesses/flaws, anger issues, masculine/feminine behaviors, trust issues, anxiety problems, odd thinking, mood state, and how the client gets along with others. The validity scales distinguish non-responding or conflicting responses (CNS, VRIN, TRIN) or embellishing the frequency or how serious the symptoms are (F, Fb, Fp, FBS) as well as if a client is not reporting all their symptoms (L, K). The MMPI-2-RF has an over reporting scale of somatic indicators too. The MMPI-2-RF can be helpful in assessing the emotional status of a client along with other tools. A lower sensitivity to mental health issues should be acknowledged when using the MMPI-2-RF whereas the MMPI-2 does address mental health concerns more fully (Groth-Marnet, & Wright, 2016).

Yes, the MMPI-2-RF is useful in assessing the mental status of a client. The MMPI-2-RF has a Suicidal/Death Ideation (SUI) scale which can aid in the mental status of a client. The 5 items on the scale give an account of suicidal thoughts or actions related to the risk of suicide. The SUI scale can foresee suicide efforts and the other scales in the MMPI-2-RF link the client’s depression as well. The SUI scale was able to tell if the client tried to take their life earlier on, a suicide plan, and suicidal thoughts. The MMPI-2-RD SUI scale is crucial for recognizing a client who may be suicidal (Gottfried, Bodell, Carbonell, & Joiner, 2014).

Butcher, J. N., Dahlstrom, W. G., Graham, J. R., Tellegen, A., & Kaemmer, B. (1942). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mmt&AN=test.1020&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Gottfried, E., Bodell, L., Carbonell, J., & Joiner, T. (2014). The clinical utility of the MMPI-2-RF Suicidal/Death Ideation Scale. Psychological assessment, 26(4), 1205–1211. doi:10.1037/pas0000017

Groth-Marnet, G., & Wright, A. J. (2016). Handbook of psychological assessment (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

3) Paul Hoffman 3.2

Beck’s Depression Inventory-II (BDI) is a brief twenty-one item self-report that evaluated the symptoms of an individual that are related to depression (Groth-Marnet & Wright, 2016). Client’s are asked to evaluate themselves over the past two-week period and determine their feelings and emotions based on a four-point scale (Groth-Marnet & Wright, 2016). This assessment is very short and is usually completed within five minutes and scoring is quick and straight forward (Groth-Marnet & Wright, 2016). Some of the strengths of the BDI is that cost effective, quick, it follows criteria based from the DSM, it can be used cross-culturally, it can be used with adolescents and adults, has good internal consistency, and has had favorable validity (Groth-Marnet & Wright, 2016). The BDI has been known to assess correctly the feelings of individuals even through its quick evaluation compared to other longer and more expensive tests (Groth-Marnet & Wright, 2016). Since the BDI is quick for both the client and the counselor this tool can be used in many medical settings to evaluate depression. Challenges of the BDI is that is does not have reliable test-retest results, however it does depend on the interval between retesting that can determine the likely in drop in results (Groth-Marnet & Wright, 2016). Another challenge of the BDI when assessing emotional status is that it is a self-report, some individuals may not be honest about their feelings which can lead to bias and inaccurate results (Wang & Gorenstein, 2013).

Despite the fact that it is a self-report, I do think that the BDI is a good tool to use to evaluate a client’s emotional status. The BDI has proven to be valid and reliable when it comes to evaluating how people feeling relating to depression. I also think that this tool is beneficial because it relates to the DSM criteria which can be helpful for a counselor or mental health professional when determining a diagnosis. The BDI has been empirically proven to be effective in diagnosing clients with depression (Wang & Gorenstein, 2013). The BDI is only looking at depression symptoms and not overall emotional status of a client. If the counselor is looking for an overall emotional evaluation this would not be the most effective assessment tool. This tool does address suicidality which is important when evaluating a client for depression. This tool is not to be used a sole diagnosis, but and an indicator for further evaluation.

References

Groth-Marnet, G., & Wright, A. J. (2016). Handbook of psychological assessment (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Wang, Y. P., & Gorenstein, C. (2013). Assessment of depression in medical patients: A systematic review of the utility of the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 68(9), 1274–1287. doi:10.6061/clinics/2013(09)15

4) Christina Fife 3.2

The Beck’s Depression Inventory Scale has been used for assessing the severity of client’s depression for about 40 years. The inventory itself has undergone several revisions with the most current being the Beck’s Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). The BDI-II can rate a client’s emotional status regarding depression as outlined by the DSM-IV as the BDI-II was developed during the time the DSM-IV was the standard for behavioral health diagnosis. The BDI-II rates the standard symptomology regarding depressive disorders and includes questions covering sadness, pessimism, past failure, loss of pleasure, guilty feelings, punishment feelings, self-dislike, self-criticism, suicidal ideation, crying, agitation, loss of interest, difficulty making decisions and with concentration, feelings of worthlessness, loss of energy and difficulty sleeping, and changes in appetite (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1961). These types of questions can aid the clinician in the diagnosing of a depressive diagnosis but is not to be used alone. It is also a short self-report, which allows it to be used during therapy. When used during therapy, the results can track a client’s progress regarding the decrease of depressive symptoms and allow the clinician to adjust therapy as needed.

Because this is a self-report measurement, how a client answers may not be exactly how they are feeling. Client’s may tend to answer how they think they need to answer, or they may not be comfortable reporting honestly (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1961). Therefore, the BDI-II may not always be a good method in assessing emotional status. The clinician needs to remember that answers may not truly reflect the current emotional state of a client and that only through a comprehensive assessment that includes a biopsychosocial can a valid diagnosis be provided, and effective treatment be determined.

Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1961). Beck Depression Inventory–II. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/lo…