Wk 2 DQ's
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Wk 2 DQ 1:
Identify at least one
contributor to each of the four theoretical approaches in clinical psychology,
along with his or her specific theories or views about human behavior.
The Psychodynamic
Approach: Carl Jung and Harry Stack Sullivan
are my chosen contributors to the Psychodynamic Approach theory.
I
like Jung because he was one of the first ones to very prominently disagree
with some parts of Freud’s psychodynamic theory and revise it with his own
perspective, particularly the parts where Freud focused on the ties to
sexuality. Jung also brought a different
perspective to the table by including things such as spiritual influences and
how they also were part of a person’s development and sometimes have a
significant influence in a person’s life. Following that same line of thinking, Sullivan
brought his own perspective of the theory to the table with a focus on how
interpersonal relationships were psychologically important to the individual’s
personality and other developmental processes (Plante, 2011).
The Behavioral and
Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches: My
choice for this approach would be Aaron Beck because of his incredible
contribution to the field through his development of cognitive therapy. He originally developed this to help treat
disorders like depression, but it has since been adapted to treat other
disorders too. By using this theory to evaluate and challenge beliefs and
assumptions that a person has built up in their life, Beck was about to help
individuals train themselves in different ways to avoid or lessen behavioral
and/or attitude issues (Plante,
2011).
The Humanistic
Approach: This is a hard one to choose just
one person, as all three of the highest contributors were very important and
all three had some very important theories and discoveries, however, I think
that Carl Rogers stands out to me the most.
Rogers’ perspective was all about focusing on the patient, the
client-centered perspective, and really trying to help the client be ok with
their experience and to try to understand them as best as possible. One of his main points in this theory was that
people are continually changing and growing in their lives and this type of
therapy focused on harnessing the individuals desire to change (Plante, 2011).
The Family Systems
Approach: According to Plante (2011), this
group of approaches “began with the Bateson group in Palo Alto, CA, during the
1950’s” (Plante, 2011, p. 124)
and came about as a stop gap to fill in different areas that some of the other
approaches did not cover. The main goal
of the approach is to treat the family unit as a whole to help improve
relationships and help the family to learn how to communication better with
each other, in addition to working on problems together (Plante, 2011).
Of
the five different variations within this approach, the one that peaks my
interest the most is The Structural Approach created by Salvador Minuchin,
because it is something that is very relevant and pertinent to issues I’m
experiencing in my life. This particular approach focuses on the different
levels of relationship within the family group and helps to change and/or
restructure them in appropriate ways. Some
of the main goals are to build a balanced relationship between the different
family members that is healthy and functional (Plante, 2011).
Which of the four
approaches do you find most and least interesting? Explain your response.
Even
though I have read about each of these approaches, I have not been able to
study them in depth enough in order to make a determination about which I find
the most or least interesting.
Everything that I am learning right now is very interesting to me. In these classes we move so fast through the
information that we don’t get to study things that deeply, and as such I
haven’t been able to determine which ones I like better than the others, or
which ones I dislike. In a year my
opinion might be different, but at this time I have no distinct likes or
dislikes.
Wk 2 DQ 2:
When I
first began preparing to answer this question I was very confused by the
wording. I kept thinking that most
psychologist use “tests” to help diagnose their patients, yet the question
refers to “testing instruments” and it didn’t really make sense to me. After reading the textbook and doing a
significant amount of research online, I have discovered that what I thought
was just referred to as “psychological tests” are also known as “psychological
testing instruments” (Plante,
2011); they are pretty much
interchangeable when discussing, though the general public will most likely use
the term” psychological tests” while those with extensive education and
training are probably more likely to be the ones to refer to them as
“psychological testing instruments.”
What types of testing instruments do psychologists use to make a
diagnosis?
Psychological testing instruments or
“psychological tests” as most people would call them, are very widely used and
there are almost an uncountable amount of them. A better perspective might be
to focus on the most prominent and widely used ones on the market; it also does
not take into account tests that are privately created by individual
psychologists or that are unpublished, etc.
The process of assessing a psychological
patient to diagnose their issues contains many different activities and steps. One of these is the assessment phase which
includes tests that the psychologist will administer to the client or observe
them participating in. Theses
psychological tests are very specialized and the scores from the client will be
compared with other normal scores in order to help the psychologist diagnose
their patient (Plante, 2011).
Depending on what issues the client is
having, the type of testing, or use of testing instruments, will vary; age is
also a factor, as some tests have abbreviated or age range tests for children. The
psychologist will find out what the issues are, do some basic assessments, and
then proceed to choosing which testing instruments to use. It is not generally something that can be chosen
instantaneously, they will generally spend some time looking at all the
different tests that are available and then choose which one(s) is/are right
for their client. One of the main
considerations is that the test be not only reliable but valid so that it helps
the psychologist to give or determine a correct diagnosis (Plante, 2011).
There are several different types of
testing instruments; one is checklists and inventories and the other is psychological
tests. Checklists and inventories are
similar to tests however they are different in that they are not as in-depth,
take less time, yet can still cover multiple areas of concern. Additionally, if the psychologist is working
with a group, these types of assessments can be administered to large groups of
people, unlike most tests, which are generally administered to only one
individual at a time.
Some
examples of checklists and inventories are the Beck Inventories (The Beck
Depression Inventory, The Beck Anxiety Scale, and The Beck Scale for Suicide
Ideation, as well as youth and children’s versions of these assessments), The
Achenbach Systems of Empirically Based Assessments is another very prominently
used tool and in this group the Child Behavior Checklist, both parent and
teacher versions, are the most used.
Additionally, the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised, used to screen for
psychiatric issues, is among the list of commonly used assessments. These three
are some of the most common checklists and inventories used; however, there are
many other types and varieties of checklists and inventories that psychologists
use to help gather information in determining a diagnosis (Plante, 2011).
Psychological
tests are the other type of instruments that psychologists use to help them
diagnose a patient. As with checklists
and inventories, there are many, many different types and varieties of
psychological tests which have been and are currently used nowadays; they range
from the basic and non-invasive (such as physiological assessments for
breathing and heart rates, blood pressure, etc.) to the complex (for example
neuroimaging tests like MRI’s, PET and CT scans, etc.). Additionally within the umbrella of
psychological tests, there are certain ones that are used specifically for
cognitive (intelligence) and personality testing. Some examples of cognitive tests are the SAT,
various IQ tests, the Wechsler Scales series, the Stanford-Binet series, and a
variety of others. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory, The Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventories, The Sixteen Personality
Factors, and the Neo-Personality Inventory-Revised, as well as other types of
tests like The Rorschach, are examples of personality tests (Plante, 2011).
Which ones do you think are most effective? Explain why.
I don’t know that in this stage of learning I would
be able to make a clear distinction of which tests are the most effective. There are countless opinions available as to
what other people believe are the best or most effective ones, however, with no
personal experience or training on any of these tests, I don’t believe I am
qualified to answer that. It also
depends on the client one is working with, as to what test will be the most
effective, and even sometimes that is not a sure thing; it may take several
different tests to be able to have reliable results that will lead to making a
good diagnosis.
References
Plagiarism
disclaimer/Note to cheaters
Plagiarism is stealing someone’s work and claiming it as your own without
giving them credit. It is lying and cheating, both which are very wrong, and
comes with consequences. Not only is it wrong to steal what I have worked so
hard on, but if you submit your paper to your school and are caught
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and many more potentially serious prosecutions.
I have taken
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