Clinical Analysis and Diagnosis
clinical assessment of the client, or collecting information and drawing conclusions through the use of observation, psychological tests, neurological tests, and interviews to determine the person’s problem and the presenting symptoms. This collection of information involves learning about the client’s skills, abilities, personality characteristics, cognitive and emotional functioning, the social context in terms of environmental stressors that are faced, and cultural factors particular to them such as their language or ethnicity.
Clinical diagnosis is the process of using assessment data to determine if the pattern of symptoms the person presents with is consistent with the diagnostic criteria for a specific mental disorder outlined in an established classification system such as the DSM-5-TR or ICD-11 (both will be described shortly). Any diagnosis should have clinical utility, meaning it aids the mental health professional in determining prognosis, the treatment plan, and possible outcomes of treatment (APA, 2022).
