Assignment 1

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:

• What other information would you like to learn during the interview with the family? What questions would you ask?
• In addition to the clinical interview, what other clinical assessment tools should you consider? Why?
• Although you need more information to begin treatment, what factors might you take into consideration in designing an effective intervention for this family?
• If you were preparing to diagnose Clara, you would refer to the DSM-IV classification system to evaluate her condition on five separate axes. What type of information would go into each axis? You are not asked to enter a diagnosis, only describe the kind of information that would be entered in each axis.
• Do you think that diagnosing Clara would be beneficial or harmful? Explain why.