Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder

            Due to greater incidence of bipolar disorder, clinicians are compelled to increase awareness in order to proficiently assess and diagnose the condition amongst clients.  Such assessments vary in regard to adults versus children and adolescents due to the fact that youths tend to exhibit numerous psychiatric disorders throughout child development (Jenkins, Youngstrom, Youngstrom, Feeny, & Findling, 2012).  In general, “it appears that many youths diagnosed with bipolar do not actually have the disorder, whereas many true cases of bipolar go undiagnosed” (Jenkins et al., 2012, p. 270).  Moreover, factors such as comparative symptoms with other conditions and the timing or occurrence of the symptoms lend bipolar disorder to go unnoticed or misdiagnosed.  In effort to conduct an efficient adult bipolar assessment, the clinician must evaluate the symptoms and probable medical rationale for such symptoms (Miller, Johnson, & Eisner, 2009).  However, the use of unstructured approaches and observations, though commonly utilized, has proven to be ineffective.  These means foster personal bias and contain sources of error which causes several cases of bipolar disorder to go undetected (Jenkins et al., 2012).  Hence, a structured diagnosis is more beneficial, allowing the clinician to assess the condition in an ordered, precise manner.  Additionally, semi-structured interviews such as Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) are utilized.  These tools enable clinicians to investigate clients’ conditions and symptoms along with potential medical or pharmacological factors which are likely to encourage mania.  Now, in consideration of children and adolescents, an evidence-based (EB) assessment is recommended.  Although this tool is not as clinically prevalent, it is considered accurate and consistent, may reduce rates of over-diagnosis, and promote early detection (Miller et al., 2009). 

References:

Jenkins, M. M., Youngstrom, E. A., Youngstrom, J., Feeny, N. C., Findling, R. L.

(2012). Generalizability of evidence-based assessment recommendations for

pediatric bipolar disorder. Psychological Assessment, 24(2), 269-281.

Miller, C. J., Johnson, S. L., & Eisner, L. (2009). Assessment tools for adult bipolar

disorder. Clinical Psychology, 16(2), 188-201.

The Role of the Interviewer

The Role of the Interviewer

            As an interviewer it is imperative to adhere to ethical conduct and display competency.  While training assistant interviewers, these responsibilities should be revered initially, throughout, and beyond the instructional process.  As the mentor, the assistants’ actions are a direct reflection upon the agency or program.  Therefore the mentor will ultimately be held accountable for any discrepancies, issues, or violations of the ethics code or lack of proficiency(Russ-Eft & Preskill, 2009).  In effort to ensure that everyone performs ethically, the following tactics should be upheld:

1. Maintain honesty & integrity.
2. Act and inquire in a manner which refrains from promoting discrimination.
3. Accurately represent the interviewee’s position, thoughts, and opinions, utilizing valid information.
4. Act with sincerity.
5. Protect human and legal rights and value the dignity and interactions of interviewees.
6. Encompass the public interest and good.
7. Protect the interviewee’s confidentiality where applicable.
8. Honor the guidelines set forth and agreed upon by the agency or study program (Russ-Eft & Preskill, 2009).

In effort to ensure that assistants are competent, the following should be employed:

1. Orientation and essential materials.
2. First-hand observation.
3. Supervised practice sessions.
4. Guideline handbook.
5. Individual and focus group instruments.
6. In general, adequate training, education, and follow-up (Russ-Eft & Preskill, 2009).

In addition, while conducting an interview, one should regard the aforementioned as well as the following:

1. Effective listening skills.
2. Flexibility.
3. Neutrality / Objectivity.
4. Familiarity with the subject and line of questioning.
5. Ability and willingness to follow protocol; compliance.
6. Availability (Russ-Eft & Preskill, 2009).

Reference:

Russ-Eft, D., & Preskill, H. (2009). Evaluation in organizations: A systematic approach

to enhancing learning, performance, and change (2nd ed.). New York:

Basic Books.