Psy 270 Essay

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Clinical Assessment Toni St.Thomas PSY 270 8/5/11 Donna Busarow 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: 1. What other information would you like to learn during the interview with the family? What questions would you ask? The other information that I would like to learn would be what kind of situation she came from before she was adopted. I would also want to know about the environment at school and at home. I would need to know of her medical history and of any history that they had on her life before she was adopted. Was she abused? How old was she when she was adopted? Were there any incidents that have happened at preschool that may make her start acting out? Has she had any accidents or been hospitalized. Are there any other children living in the home? Did she have any siblings that you know of? Was she in foster care, if so how many different families? Is she aware she is adopted or have you kept it from her? Do her classmates know that she is adopted? Is she being teased or bullied at school? 2. In addition to the clinical interview, what other clinical assessment tools should you consider? Why? I would definitely have this child do some drawings. These drawings might be able to help to understand why the child is feeling the way she is. I think that young children are able to show through drawings better than speaking about some things that are
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