Discussion | SOCW 6090 – Psychopathology and Diagnosis for Social Work Practice | Walden University

  
Diagnosis: The Burden of Stigma in Help Seeking

The threat of public stigma, as well as self-stigma, can prevent individuals from receiving the mental health treatment they need. In this Assignment, you analyze the influence of stigma on experiences with and treatment of mental illness.

To prepare: Watch the TED Talk by Sangu Delle and then review the readings for this week. Focus on Delle’s examples illustrating Corrigan’s model about the stages of stigma and the hierarchy of disclosure. Consider Delle’s experience against that model.

Week 2 6090 Impact of the DSM-5: Organization, Development, Strengths, and Limitations 

Readings you must use 

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013i). Introduction. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.Introduction

• Friedman, M. J. (2016). Seeking the best      bereavement-related diagnostic criteria. The American      Journal of Psychiatry,      173(9),      864–865. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16050580 
• Neukrug, E. S., & Fawcett, R. C. (2015). Diagnosis      in the assessment process. In E. S. Neukrug & R. C. Fawcett, Essentials      of testing and assessment: A practical guide for counselors, social      workers, and psychologists (3rd      ed., pp. 43– 58). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. 

Essentials of Testing and Assessment: A Practical Guide for Counselors, Social Workers, and Psychologists by Neukrug, E.; Fawcett, R. Copyright 2014 by South-Western College Publishing, A Division of Cengage Learning. Reprinted by permission of South-Western College Publishing, A Division of Cengage Learning via the Copyright Clearance Center. 

• Paris, J. (2015). The      intelligent clinician’s guide to the DSM-5 (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.      Retrieved from      http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohos      t.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edspub&AN=edp4333170&si      te=eds-live&scope=site 

o Chapter 6, “Dimensionality” (pp 84–101) 

• Wakefield, J. C. (2013a). DSM-5      grief scorecard:      Assessment and outcomes of proposals to pathologize grief [Letter to the      editor]. World Psychiatry, 12(2), 171–173. doi:10.1002/wps.20053 

Media 

• Laureate Education (Producer). (2018c). Psychopathology      and diagnosis for social work practice podcast: The DSM-5 from      a social work perspective [Audio      podcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author. 
• University at Buffalo School of Social Work (Producer).      (2014). Episode 139—Dr. Robert Keefe and Dr. Barbara Rittner:      The Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental      Disorders: A conversation [Audio      podcast]. Retrieved      from http://www.insocialwork.org/episode.asp?ep=139 

• Singer, J. B. (Producer). (2016, January 25). Critiques of the DSM-5: Interview with Jeffery Lacasse, Ph.D. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkpodcast.com/2016/01/DSM5critique.htm 

Discussion 

a 300- to 500-word response in which you address the following: 

· Identify the symptoms or “red flags” in the case study that may be evaluated for a possible mental health disorder. 

· Discuss how the social worker could have approached the diagnosis. Consider the following questions: 

– Why is making a “tentative” diagnosis problematic? 

– Should the social worker have shared this suspected diagnosis based on the limited assessment with Ms. Evans at this time? 

·  Explain the potential impact of this diagnosis immediately and over time if the “tentative” diagnosis is a misdiagnosis. 

Then consider the following case:

Ms. Evans, age 27, was awaiting honorable discharge from her service in Iraq with the U.S. Navy when her colleagues noticed that she looked increasingly fearful and was talking about hearing voices telling her that the world was going to be destroyed in 2020. With Ms. Evans’s permission, the evaluating [social worker] interviewed one of her closest colleagues, who indicated that Ms. Evans has not been taking good care of herself for several months. Ms. Evans said she was depressed.

The [social worker] also learned that Ms. Evans’s performance of her military job duties had declined during this time and that her commanding officer had recommended to Ms. Evans that she be evaluated by a psychiatrist approximately 2 weeks earlier, for possible depression.

On interview, Ms. Evans endorsed believing the world was going to end soon and indicated that several times she has heard an audible voice that repeats this information. She has a maternal uncle with schizophrenia, and her mother has a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. Ms. Evans’s toxicology screen is positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The evaluating [social worker] informs Ms. Evans that she is making a tentative diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Source: Roberts, L. W., & Trockel, M. (2015). Case example: Importance of refining a diagnostic hypothesis. In L. W. Roberts & A. K. Louie (Eds.), Study guide to DSM-5 (pp. 6–7). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.