19.2 – Mental Health Diagnostic Tests
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the resource used by healthcare professionals in much of the world to diagnose mental disorders. The DSM contains descriptions of the conditions, symptoms, and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders (DSM 5, 2022).
Psychiatrists rely on two types of patient evaluations: clinical interviews and psychological testing. A mental health professional conducts the interviews and questions to identify the patient’s symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours (MDS 5, 2022).
Some of the main psychological tests include collection and analysis with the use of the following tools (this is an example of the tools, it is not an inclusive list):
- Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) – a most common screening tool to identify depression
- Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) – used to assess suicide risk
- GAD7 – a screening tool to measure symptom severity for the four most common anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), social phobia(s), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (DSM 5, 2022).
Attribution
This page “Mental Health Diagnostic Tests” by Connie Stevens and Marie Rutherford is licensed under CC BY 4.0.