Clinical Assessment

Mr. and Mrs. Lawson brought their 4-year-old adopted daughter, Clara, to see Dr. Mason, a psychiatrist. Clara was polite in greeting Dr. Mason, but did not smile and kept her gaze down as she took a seat. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson sat next to Clara and began explaining their concerns. They described Clara as a quiet child who has recently begun throwing temper tantrums, during which she is inconsolable. Her sleep and eating patterns have changed, and she no longer wants to go to preschool.

Create a brief response to each of the following questions:

• What other information would you like to learn during the interview with the family? What questions would you ask?

I would ask them first how often did she throw these tantrums? Also, what was happening right before Clara would throw a tantrum, was she asking for something, or would she just suddenly get angry? Also, are there children at the school that may be picking on her, or could a teacher be acting inappropriately with Clara? How have her sleep patterns changed?

• In addition to the clinical interview, what other clinical assessment tools should you consider? Why?

We need to figure out how her behavior has changed besides just the tantrums. We need to consider the behavior of the parents. Are they having any stress I their life with each other or otherwise.

• Although you need more information to begin treatment, what factors might you take into consideration in designing an effective intervention for this family?

The things that need to be taken in to consideration is what is triggering these tantrums? Does she just have them at home with her parents, or at school as well, And when she throws a tantrum what do her parents do? Do they yell at her try to console her, or do they just allow her to do this with no action?

• If you were preparing to diagnose Clara, you would refer to the DSM-IV classification system to evaluate her condition on five separate axes. What type of