GGZ2030 – PSYCHODIAGNOSTICS
CO M P L E T E S U M M AR Y O F A L L L I T E R A T U R E A N D L E A R N I N G G O AL S
ALL TASKS + LECTURES
, GGZ2030 – TASK 1
GOAL 1: DOES ANDREW SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION AND WHAT COULD BE A
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS? (NPD?)
There are different factors that could influence the BDI-II score, so possible differential diagnosis
should be taken into account. For example, a psychiatric setting comorbid psychiatric illnesses
require higher optimal cut point in the BDI-II score.
The diagnostic process:
Clinical diagnostics is based on 3 elements:
- Theory development of the problems/complaints and problematic behavior;
- Operationalization and its subsequent measurement;
- The application of relevant diagnostic methods.
The quality of these 3 elements is grounded in conceptual and empirical research. This means that
hypotheses about behavior, cognition and emotion/motivation are formulated on the basis of a
theory, and are operationalized, measured and tested using a step-by-step diagnostic process. This is
a scientifically regulated thought to action process that results in responsible statements about the
client’s behavior or problems. It offers a framework and systematic approach for the step-by-step
analysis of complex diagnostic problems.
Steps in the diagnostic process:
Analyzation by diagnostician of the client’s request for help and the referrer’s request. In addition,
the diagnostician also formulates the questions that arise during the first meeting with the client.
The analysis results in questions and on the basis of these questions, the diagnostician will construct
a diagnostic theory. Testing this theory requires 5 diagnostic measures:
1. Converting the provisional theory into the concrete hypotheses
2. Selecting a specific set of research tools, which can either support or reject the formulated
hypotheses;
3. Making predictions about the results or outcomes from this set of tools, in order to give a
clear indication as tow hen the hypotheses should be accepted or rejected
4. Applying and processing instruments
5. On the basis of the results that have been obtained, giving reasons for why the hypotheses
have either been accepted or rejected.
This results in the diagnostic conclusion.
,Five basic questions in clinical psychodiagnostics:
There are 5 basic questions that form the basis for most of the questions that are posed by clients,
referrers and diagnosticians. These pertain to:
1. Recognition = what are the problems; what works and what doesn’t?
2. Explanation = why do certain problems exist and what perpetuates them?
, 3. Prediction = how will the client’s problems subsequently develop in the future?
4. Indication = how can the problems be solved?
5. Evaluation = have the problems been adequately resolved as a result of the intervention?
A part of the knowledge base of psychology is relevant to each of the basic questions. This ensures
that the diagnostician can answer the questions in a scientific and professional manner. In practice,
all of the basic questions are often examined simultaneously. However, not all the basic questions
need to be examined in every diagnostic examination. The quantity and type of basic questions to be
addressed depend on the questions that were discussed during the application phase. Most requests
contain 3 basic questions:
- Recognition
- Explanation
- indication.
1 Recognition:
= Identifying both the complaints and adequate behavior of the client and/or his environment to
obtain a better understanding of the client’s problem.
1. Inventory and description
2. Organization and categorization in dysfunctional behavior clusters or disorders
3. Examination of the seriousness of the problem behavior
Recognition may occur as a result of comparison to a predefined standard (criterion- oriented
measurement), comparison to a representative comparison group (normative measurement) or as a
result of comparison to the individual himself, e.g. the to the individual at a previous point in time
(ipsative measurement). Classification the clinical picture is assigned to a class of problems.
- All-or-nothing principle DSM categories;
- More-or-less principle dimensions of a test or questionnaire
Classification leads to ‘labelling’, which is limited and often forms the basis for establishing co-
morbidity, but it does facilitate communication between experts.
Diagnostic formulation focuses on the individual and his own unique clinical picture (holistic
theory). You describe the individual on the basis of specific characteristics, dimensions and specific
modes of functioning.
- Diagnostic formulation allows for the uniqueness of the individual, based on a description of
the client and its context. This helps the therapy planning, but there is an occasional lack of
empirical support.
- Diagnostic formulation usually involves simultaneous recognition and explanation.
2 Explanation:
= An explanation answers the question of why there is a problem or a behavioral problem.
It includes:
1. the main problem or problem component
2. the conditions that explain the problem’s occurrence
3. the causal relationship between points 1 and 2.
Explanations may be classified according to:
CO M P L E T E S U M M AR Y O F A L L L I T E R A T U R E A N D L E A R N I N G G O AL S
ALL TASKS + LECTURES
, GGZ2030 – TASK 1
GOAL 1: DOES ANDREW SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION AND WHAT COULD BE A
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS? (NPD?)
There are different factors that could influence the BDI-II score, so possible differential diagnosis
should be taken into account. For example, a psychiatric setting comorbid psychiatric illnesses
require higher optimal cut point in the BDI-II score.
The diagnostic process:
Clinical diagnostics is based on 3 elements:
- Theory development of the problems/complaints and problematic behavior;
- Operationalization and its subsequent measurement;
- The application of relevant diagnostic methods.
The quality of these 3 elements is grounded in conceptual and empirical research. This means that
hypotheses about behavior, cognition and emotion/motivation are formulated on the basis of a
theory, and are operationalized, measured and tested using a step-by-step diagnostic process. This is
a scientifically regulated thought to action process that results in responsible statements about the
client’s behavior or problems. It offers a framework and systematic approach for the step-by-step
analysis of complex diagnostic problems.
Steps in the diagnostic process:
Analyzation by diagnostician of the client’s request for help and the referrer’s request. In addition,
the diagnostician also formulates the questions that arise during the first meeting with the client.
The analysis results in questions and on the basis of these questions, the diagnostician will construct
a diagnostic theory. Testing this theory requires 5 diagnostic measures:
1. Converting the provisional theory into the concrete hypotheses
2. Selecting a specific set of research tools, which can either support or reject the formulated
hypotheses;
3. Making predictions about the results or outcomes from this set of tools, in order to give a
clear indication as tow hen the hypotheses should be accepted or rejected
4. Applying and processing instruments
5. On the basis of the results that have been obtained, giving reasons for why the hypotheses
have either been accepted or rejected.
This results in the diagnostic conclusion.
,Five basic questions in clinical psychodiagnostics:
There are 5 basic questions that form the basis for most of the questions that are posed by clients,
referrers and diagnosticians. These pertain to:
1. Recognition = what are the problems; what works and what doesn’t?
2. Explanation = why do certain problems exist and what perpetuates them?
, 3. Prediction = how will the client’s problems subsequently develop in the future?
4. Indication = how can the problems be solved?
5. Evaluation = have the problems been adequately resolved as a result of the intervention?
A part of the knowledge base of psychology is relevant to each of the basic questions. This ensures
that the diagnostician can answer the questions in a scientific and professional manner. In practice,
all of the basic questions are often examined simultaneously. However, not all the basic questions
need to be examined in every diagnostic examination. The quantity and type of basic questions to be
addressed depend on the questions that were discussed during the application phase. Most requests
contain 3 basic questions:
- Recognition
- Explanation
- indication.
1 Recognition:
= Identifying both the complaints and adequate behavior of the client and/or his environment to
obtain a better understanding of the client’s problem.
1. Inventory and description
2. Organization and categorization in dysfunctional behavior clusters or disorders
3. Examination of the seriousness of the problem behavior
Recognition may occur as a result of comparison to a predefined standard (criterion- oriented
measurement), comparison to a representative comparison group (normative measurement) or as a
result of comparison to the individual himself, e.g. the to the individual at a previous point in time
(ipsative measurement). Classification the clinical picture is assigned to a class of problems.
- All-or-nothing principle DSM categories;
- More-or-less principle dimensions of a test or questionnaire
Classification leads to ‘labelling’, which is limited and often forms the basis for establishing co-
morbidity, but it does facilitate communication between experts.
Diagnostic formulation focuses on the individual and his own unique clinical picture (holistic
theory). You describe the individual on the basis of specific characteristics, dimensions and specific
modes of functioning.
- Diagnostic formulation allows for the uniqueness of the individual, based on a description of
the client and its context. This helps the therapy planning, but there is an occasional lack of
empirical support.
- Diagnostic formulation usually involves simultaneous recognition and explanation.
2 Explanation:
= An explanation answers the question of why there is a problem or a behavioral problem.
It includes:
1. the main problem or problem component
2. the conditions that explain the problem’s occurrence
3. the causal relationship between points 1 and 2.
Explanations may be classified according to:
