Improve your interview and referral questions for the case vignette you selected in M1 Assignment 3. Using this case vignette, add to your referral questions by integrating the feedback that you received from your instructor in M4 Assignment 2 on your mock interview questions and formulated hypothesis on why the individual needs the referral.
Example Referral Questions:
As a forensic mental health professional, what factors do you need to consider in your psychological testing for the forensic assessment report?
What are the pertinent multicultural consideration?
What behavioral observations do you make about the client by reading the case vignette?
What are your assessment options in working with the client?
What standard and accepted psychological tests might you apply to your client in a forensic setting? Select from the instruments you researched in M3 Assignment 2 RA.
How will you recognize and evaluate your client’s offender behaviors associated with malingering and deception? What theoretical orientation do you want to use in this case for your treatment recommendations?
What is the case scenario that you have selected?
What is the reason for referral?
What is the purpose of the forensic assessment and report?
What is the nature of the problem presented in your selected case vignette?
What is the context in which the forensic assessment report will be used?
What is the background of your client? What are the symptoms displayed by your client and their significance in this case?
What is the mental status of your client? Be sure to elaborate on every major component addressed in the mental status examination.
What interview type and approach did you use with your client?
What tests are appropriate to use in your forensic assessment report? Identify one intelligence test, one objective personality test, and one projective test.
What collateral information will you use in the process of the evaluation?
How will you present your impressions of the client?
Revise your copy of Forensic Mental Health Professional Individual Assessment Report on the basis of your instructor’s feedback. Using the Forensic Mental Health Professional Individual Assessment Report template that you downloaded for M4 Assignment 2, revise your evaluation and interpretation of the information provided to you in the case vignette that you selected. Synthesize the information you collected to create a forensic mental health professional individual assessment report. Your findings should be in a report format.
In a 10- to 12-page report, include only the following components:
Reason for Referral: Explain the objective of your case vignette analysis, clearly bringing out the aspects or reasons that motivated you to carry out the study.
Presentation: Create mock interview data and collateral information (you are to identify the questions to ask in the interview). Provide a synopsis of the interview. To support the mental status of your client, provide data based on your forensic assessment report and the mental status components you have identified.
Current Life Situation and Background Information: Explain the problem provided in your selected case vignette using the interview and mental status data. How does the data relate to the background and multicultural characteristics of your client and your behavioral observations?
Objective Testing: Identify the assessment instruments you would recommend to evaluate the client and explain the rationale for your recommendations. Describe the objective tests you have selected and their use. How did you apply these tests to your selected case vignette? According to your study, what is your analysis of the symptoms displayed by your client? What ethical and multicultural issues do you need to address? You will apply what you have learned from M3 Assignment 2 RA to this section.
Provide your diagnostic impressions based on DSM-5 criteria. What is your principal diagnosis? What is your secondary diagnosis? Are there other conditions that may be the focus of clinical attention to consider?
Conclusion and Recommendations: What is your hypothesis after taking into account the mental status examination, the interview, personality tests, and the symptom analysis? Explain your hypothesis and substantiate it using instances from your case study. Discuss your results with conclusions and recommendations. The final version of Forensic Mental Health Professional Individual Assessment Report should contain all the assigned components and the corresponding information and include revisions and improvements based on your feedback from M4 Assignment 2.
Synthesize the data and write a reflection statement in 2–3 pages. In a separate document, address the following:
Describe your professional role and relationship with the court and the third party requesting the assessment or evaluation.
Explain the hypothesis you have formulated.
Explain why you chose the tests for the assessment of the client.
Discuss potential ethical dilemmas that might arise in your assessment of the client.
Discuss the pertinent multicultural perspectives you considered.
Explain how you would prepare yourself to defend your evaluation in the court setting or to relevant third parties. Be sure to support your explanation with professional literature.
If you recommended treatment for your client, discuss the evidence-based approaches used with the disorder you diagnosed.
Discuss the influence of cultural factors on the assessment process. The final version of Forensic Mental Health Professional Individual Assessment Report should contain all the assigned components and the corresponding information and include revisions and improvements based on your feedback from M4 Assignment 2.
Synthesize the data and write a reflection statement in 2–3 pages. In a separate document, address the following:
Describe your professional role and relationship with the court and the third party requesting the assessment or evaluation.
Explain the hypothesis you have formulated.
Explain why you chose the tests for the assessment of the client.
Discuss potential ethical dilemmas that might arise in your assessment of the client.
Discuss the pertinent multicultural perspectives you considered.
Explain how you would prepare yourself to defend your evaluation in the court setting or to relevant third parties. Be sure to support your explanation with professional literature.
If you recommended treatment for your client, discuss the evidence-based approaches used with the disorder you diagnosed.
Discuss the influence of cultural factors on the assessment process.
Your final deliverables are:
A selected case vignette
A list of interview and referral questions
The assessment template
The final assessment report
A reflection statement
Your report and reflection statement combined should be approximately 12–15 pages. You are to utilize outside resources in your reflection statement only.
Assignments to work from
4:2
Mock Individual Assessment (Rough Draft)
Create a mock forensic assessment report based on a patient in a selected vignette. Provide your diagnostic impressions based on the DSM-5 criteria.
For this assignment you are to:
Improve your interview and referral questions for the case vignette you selected in M1 Assignment 3. Use the case vignette you selected in M1 Assignment 3 for this assignment.
Next, create and document a set of mock interview questions and potential referral questions to ask your client and yourself. You can determine the questions in relation to the case vignette that you choose.
You might also want to consider some of the example referral questions listed below.
Analyze all the information provided in the case vignette and begin to formulate a hypothesis as to why the individual needs referral.
Example Referral Questions:
As a forensic mental health professional, what factors need to be considered in your psychological testing for the forensic assessment report?
What behavioral observations do you make about the client by reading the case vignette?
What are your assessment options in working with the client?
What standards and accepted psychological tests might you apply to your client in forensic settings? Select from the instruments you researched in M3 Assignment 2 RA.
How will you recognize and evaluate your client’s offender behaviors associated with malingering and deception?
What theoretical orientation do you want to use in this case for your treatment recommendations?
What is the case scenario you have selected?
What is the reason for referral?
What is the purpose of the forensic assessment and report?
What is the nature of the problem presented in your selected case vignette?
What is the context in which the forensic assessment report will be used?
What is the background of your client? What are the symptoms displayed by your client and the significance they have in this case?
What is the mental status of your client? Be sure to elaborate on every major component addressed in the mental status examination.
What interview type and approach did you use with your client?
What tests are appropriate to use in your forensic assessment report? Identify one intelligence test, one objective personality test, and one projective test.
What collateral information will you use in the process of the evaluation?
How will you present your impressions of the client?
◦
Write a Forensic Mental Health Professional Individual Assessment Report. Use the Forensic Mental Health Professional Individual Assessment Report template (you can download the template from .
Evaluate and interpret the information provided to you in the case vignette that you have selected in M1 Assignment 3. Synthesize the information you collected to create a Forensic Mental Health Professional Individual Assessment Report. Your findings should be in a report format.
In a 10- to 12-page report, include only the following components:
Reason for Referral: Explain the objective of your case vignette analysis, clearly bringing out the aspects or reasons that motivated you to carry out the study.
Presentation: Create mock interview data and collateral information (you are to identify the questions to ask in the interview). Provide a synopsis of the interview. Provide data to support the mental status of your client, based on your forensic assessment report and the mental status components you have identified.
Current Life Situation and Background Information: Explain the problem provided in your selected case vignette using the interview and mental status data. How does the data relate to the background of your client and your behavioral observations?
Objective Testing: Identify the assessment instruments you would recommend to evaluate the client and explain the rationale for your recommendations. Describe the objective tests you have selected and their use. How did you apply these tests to your selected case vignette? Based on your study, what is your analysis of the symptoms displayed by your client? What ethical and multicultural issues do you need to address? You will apply what you have learned from M3 Assignment 2 RA into this section.Assessment Categories and Tests:
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Mental Status Exam
Appearance, Motor, Behavior, Sensorium, Thought Process, Thought Content, Communication, Speech, Perception, Mood, Affect, Cognition/Orientation, Response to Proverbs, Estimate of Intelligence, Memory, and Insight
Substance Abuse
Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI)
CAGE Questionnaire
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IQ/Cognitive Functioning
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th ed. (WAIS–IV)
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th ed. (WISC-IV)
Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, 2nd ed. (KBIT-2)
California Verbal Learning Test, 2nd ed. (CVLT-II)
Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS)
◦
Projective Personality
Rorschach Inkblot
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
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Objective Personality
Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III)
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
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Competency to Stand Trial
MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA)
Georgia Court Competency Test (GCCT)
Competency Assessment Instrument (CAI)
◦
Risk Assessment
Violent Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG)
Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide (SORAG)
Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)
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Insanity/Criminal Responsibility
Rogers Criminal Responsibility Assessment Scales (RCRAS)
Provide your diagnostic impressions based on DSM-5 criteria. What is your principal diagnosis? What is your secondary diagnosis? Are there other conditions that may be the focus of clinical attention to consider?
Conclusion and Recommendations: What is your hypothesis based on the mental status examination, the interview, personality tests, and symptoms analysis? Explain your hypothesis and substantiate it, using instances from your case study. Discuss your results with conclusions and recommendations.
◦
The final Forensic Mental Health Professional Individual Assessment Report should contain all the assigned components and the corresponding information.
Your final deliverables for this module are:
Selected case vignette
List of interview/referral questions
Assessment template
Final assessment report
Your report should be approximately of 12–15 pages.
M1 Assignment 3 My Paper
This incident happened outside Mr. P’s apartment where he was parked in his car. In this case, we find a young man who is already addicted to alcohol in his early ages. It is evident that this young man was drunk while he was driving his car back to his house.
The type of forensic assessment, in this case, is substance abuse evaluation. This is evident because the young man has been using alcohol for sometimes. According to the case, this is not the first time this person is being charged with driving under influence. His blood alcohol level was also above the legal limits meaning he had consumed much of it(Moos,2017). He also indicates that his father was an alcoholic and there is a long story of drug abuse and alcohol in his family. The young man started drinking alcohol at the age of fourteen and thought this will help him in dealing with his mother’s illness stress and also in taking care of her. He was again depressed in college and this increased his use of alcohol. This is enough evidence of substance abuse evaluation. He needs to be helped out of this as in most cases we can observe that he uses alcohol to reduce stress. This evaluation helped in identifying his weakness and realizing the reasons as to why he uses the substance.
The referrals will help in the evaluation of more comprehensive needs. For instance, in this case, we find out that the young man has got some other problems which contribute to his alcohol abuse. The referral helps in identifying the problem at hand, the social circumstances and any concern over the risk to the victim (Sahker et al,2015).
In this case, assessment helped in evaluating whether or not this young man is experiencing some problems out of alcohol consumption. It helped in realizing the reasons as to why Mr. P uses alcohol of which at many times the reason was to reduce stress. By conducting an assessment, the matter is discussed deeply. In this case, those involved may come up with a plan to help the client in the problem-solving mechanism. The report produced about his case will help in identifying the type of advice and care he needs.
The client is open as he discloses to his lawyer some of his life stories and how he ended up being a drunkard. In this case, there is the impression of openness. The man is an intellect, from the case he became a software engineer at an early age and he might become a shareholder in two years’ time. After listening to the case one becomes emotional and sympathetic. He had been disturbed by his mother’s illness to a point of becoming a drunkard meaning the affection was so strong (Melton et al,2017).
A psychologist uses assessments and tests to help in making a diagnosis of a patient’s mental health condition. The tests they perform help’s them in understanding the person’s behavior that may be causing problems, the relations between a person’s feelings and thoughts. They also help people in getting out of life experiences which are traumatic. From the case the young man it is evident that he turns to alcohol while stressed up(Maruish,2017).
Addicts are very good at lying and they do it so as to continue with this behavior. But as a psychologist, there is a close understanding of the addicts as they are biased by their addiction. The psychologist can assess the degrees and types of problems facing the addict. The report will help the psychologist in initiating the first guidance.
References
Maruish, M. E. (Ed.). (2017). Handbook of psychological assessment in primary care settings. Taylor & Francis.
Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., Slobogin, C., Otto, R. K., Mossman, D., & Condie, L. O. (2017). Psychological evaluations for the courts: A handbook for mental health professionals and lawyers. Guilford Publications.
Moos, R. H. (2017). Evaluating treatment environments: The quality of psychiatric and substance abuse programs. Routledge.
Sahker, E., Toussaint, M. N., Ramirez, M., Ali, S. R., & Arndt, S. (2015). Evaluating racial disparity in referral source and successful completion of substance abuse treatment. Addictive behaviors, 48, 25-29.
Case Vignettes
Case 1
Ms. G is a forty-six-year-old Caucasian female charged with burglary. She was arrested for the offense after she was found by the police with her neighbor’s property. She was intoxicated and in possession of drugs at the time of the arrest. She also was belligerent and combative and surprised that she was being accused of a crime. She initiated a physical altercation with the police and was immediately taken into custody with the highest level of constraint to protect her and the officers from potential harm. The officers’ report indicated that Ms. G was irritable, assaultive, hyperactive, and irrational when they approached her. She was also unable to engage in conversation and believed the officers were attempting to poison her. Her energy level was excessively high, and she emphatically stated that she knew the mayor personally and would have the officers and prosecutor incarcerated for accusing her of this crime. She refused defense counsel and insisted on speaking to the judge before her pretrial. While incarcerated, she rallied the other inmates to protest the rules and initiated a hunger strike. She became more paranoid while in the holding cell, suggesting that the police planted drugs on her and were attempting to locate and kill her only remaining family member. They were, in fact, attempting to contact her brother to gather information on her mental health. Her brother provided them with relevant family history. He indicated that Ms. G had lost her parents at an early age and was separated from her brother when they went into foster care. Her brother had had minimal contact with her from the time she was four years old until she turned eighteen and found him with the help of a private investigator. They maintained only intermittent contact because Ms. G was transient, moving around the country on a regular basis. She held odd jobs, sold drugs, and lived with boyfriends to survive. To her brother’s knowledge, Ms. G had never received any mental health treatment. She also denied a history treatment. She refused to speak with the police about her charges and personal history.
Ms. G faces a trial for her offense because she refused a plea bargain. She also refused defense counsel when it was offered.
Determine what type of forensic assessment would be most appropriate for this case and discuss the rationale for your decision.
Your choices are:
Competency to stand trial
Substance abuse evaluation
Not guilty by reason of insanity
Mental health treatment evaluation
Case 2
Mr. P is a twenty-six-year-old single male charged with his fourth driving under the influence (DUI). He was arrested while parked in his car in front of his apartment. His blood alcohol level was just over the legal limit, and he passed most of the sobriety tests given by the officer who arrested him. During the arrest, he stated that he had returned from a going-away party for a friend and was so tired he fell asleep in his car before he was able to make it into his apartment. He admitted to drinking that evening but denied with certainty that
he was intoxicated. His story was convincing to the officer, but his previous history of DUIs warranted the arrest. Mr. P was pleasant and cooperative during the arrest and was taken into custody without incident. He was released the next day with a court date. He obtained legal defense and faced the judge with both fear that he would be incarcerated and confidence that he had a defensible case. Much to his surprise, the judge imposed a harsh sentence—ninety-day substance use treatment—at the corrections facility. Mr. P has never been incarcerated and faces losing his job if he spends ninety days in treatment. The judge did not show him any leniency or take into consideration his position in the community, his clean criminal background, or the eight-year time span between his last and present DUI charges. Mr. P disclosed to his lawyer that his father was an alcoholic and that there is a long history of alcohol and drug abuse in his family. He also indicated that his mother was schizophrenic and he was responsible for much of her care during his formative years. He became a successful operations manager for a software engineering company at an early age and is on the fast track to becoming a shareholder within the next two years if he maintains a clear record and follows company policy. He admitted to a bout of depression in college following the placement of his mother in a nursing home. He denied a history of depression prior to that point in time but admitted that his past circumstances likely made him susceptible to emotional difficulty. He began drinking at fourteen years of age to deal with the stress of his mother’s illness and his responsibility for her. His use increased during the one year in college when he was depressed. He received the initial two of his three previous DUIs on campus that year. His third DUI was the result of driving home after having a drink to celebrate passing a difficult examination. The police in his college town were known to make a high number of drunken driving arrests that were rarely fought in court. He believes that he was simply prey for the police and denied he was irresponsible with drinking and driving.
Mr. P admitted to recent work stress that likely threatened his position and future with the company. He denied feeling depressed or the urge to use alcohol to reduce his stress.
Mr. P has been depressed and used alcohol excessively in the past when he faced stress and difficulty. He also denies the seriousness of the charges against him.
Determine what type of forensic assessment would be most appropriate for this case and discuss the rationale for your decision.
Your choices are:
Competency to stand trial
Substance abuse evaluation
Not guilty by reason of insanity
Mental health treatment evaluation
Case 3
Mr. H has been charged with second-degree murder as a result of shooting a man in his apartment complex for playing loud music night after night. He admitted to killing the man and expressed remorse but felt justified in his murder because he had made so many previous requests to his neighbor to turn down his music. During questioning, Mr. H revealed that on the night of the shooting, he was instructed by the God of his universe to exterminate the noise that disturbed the angels. It was at that point when he loaded his rifle and went upstairs to kill his neighbor. The suspect is twenty-four years old with no former mental health history. He was able to discuss his past development with the detective working on the case. He presented with no hostility or irrational thoughts. He related that his development in his family was relatively uneventful
Case Vignettes
2
and that he had close relationships with both his mother and father and with his two younger siblings, one brother and one sister. He had recently moved into his own apartment, after graduating from college, and is receiving support from his mother until he finds work. His father died two years ago in a tragic car accident. He felt guilty for moving but also wanted to be independent and begin his career. The suspect admitted to hearing voices on one other occasion when he was driving his car to the grocery store about one year ago. He assumed it was he himself who was talking to himself and never gave it another thought. He began to apparently feel more remorse as the interview proceeded, but the investigator was uncertain that it was genuine and wondered if he was being manipulated by the suspect. The investigator returned him to his cell to await further questioning and formal charges.
Mr. H faces murder charges and is not clearly presenting with remorse. He has experienced recent losses and changes that have resulted in an increase in stress and responsibility.
Mr. H has also begun to experience auditory hallucinations, which he indicated provoked him to shoot his neighbor.
Determine what type of forensic assessment would be most appropriate for this case and discuss the rationale for your decision.
Your choices are:
Competency to stand trial
Substance abuse evaluation
Not guilty by reason of insanity
Mental health treatment evaluation
Case Vignettes
LINK
Name: Identification Number: Date of Birth:
Tests Date: Time Spent:
Interview Date: Time Spent:
Name of Assessment (competency to stand trial, substance abuse, not guilty by reason of insanity, or mental health evaluation).
Introduction
In this section, briefly introduce the main purpose of the evaluation.
Reason for Referral
In this section, discuss the reason this case or individual was referred to you. Also, discuss what you hope to find out about the client and the client’s role in the assessment. The points you make here will be the guides to what interview format and psychological tests you choose and what type of report you will prepare, (recommendations to the court or attorney, competency findings, or treatment recommendations). The interview data, test data, findings, and recommendations will relate to the referral question.
Presentation
In this section, identify interview behavior and review mental status. Discuss cooperation and willingness to discuss pertinent history and current functioning. Identify appearance features with a general description and comments concerning hygiene. Review mental status elements including attention; orientation; thought processes; thought content; short-term, long-term, and immediate memory and recall; comprehension and estimation of intelligence; response to proverbs; awareness of current events; ability to build rapport with the examiner; defenses; affect; mood; speech coherence; eye contact; reasoning ability; reality testing; judgment and impulse control; insight; and concentration.
Current Life Situation
Discuss the client’s current legal and occupational status relationships, and family involvement. Review the client’s perception of the offense, the purpose of the assessment, the case against him or her, and the need to have the assessment. Also, explore the client’s current relationships with professionals in the case, recent stressors, and general methods for coping. Include any pertinent information about this client’s life as it is being experienced currently.
Background Information
Discuss the client’s development, family experiences, abuse, traumas, birth order, mother’s and father’s occupations, family morals, family values, closeness of relationships, educational history, military history, occupational history, and legal history. Also, discuss the history of relationships with friends and spouses and personal and occupational acquaintances.
Psychological History
Discuss relevant psychological history including previous diagnoses and treatment. Also, review the family history of psychological difficulty and treatment.
Substance Use History
Discuss substance use as it relates to the age of the client when first using alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and other substances. Also, explore abuse and dependence history and factors that sustain use. Discuss the client’s treatment history and any family history of substance use and treatment. Discuss frequency of present use, how it began, what sustains it, periods of sobriety, factors contributing to sobriety (external or internal), obstacles to success with sobriety, family history, previous attempts at treatment, number of relapses, perception of use difficulty, awareness of relapse potential, awareness of risk factors for relapse, and triggers to use and relapse.
Medical History
Review all relevant medical history, medications, and treatments. Explore family medical history.
Objective Testing
Identify the full name of each test, and include descriptions of the purposes for each one used in the assessment.
Example
Tests administered
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, second edition (MMPI-2)
The MMPI-2 is a self-administered personality inventory designed to evaluate personality traits and symptoms of psychological illnesses and personal maladaptive adjustment.
Weschler Adult Intelligence Scales, fourth edition (WAIS 4)
The WAIS 4 is a full-scale intelligence test used to identify intellectual functioning and potential deficits in both verbal and non-verbal areas.
Findings
Relate your findings in the format recommended by the test manual. Incorporate your findings with your observations of the client and the self-descriptions the client offered during the interview. Also, include test findings as they relate to collateral information on the client.
Diagnostic Impressions
Using the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders provide your diagnostic impressions that may include subtypes, specifiers or rule outs.
Conclusion
Summarize your findings by incorporating interview data, test data, collateral information, and mental status elements. Discuss your findings as they relate to your observations of the client and the referral question and purpose of the assessment.
Recommendations
Discuss your recommendations as they relate to the referral question, treatment needs, third party request, and the purpose of the assessment.
MOCK INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT.
M1 Assignment 3
This incident happened outside Mr. James home where he was found smoking cigarette and bhang. In this case we find a young man aged fifteen who is already addicted to cigarette and bhang in his early ages. It is true that, this young man was smoking while he was walking back to his house.
The type of forensic assessment in this case was drug abuse evaluation. This is true because the young man had been using cigarette and bhang for quite some time. From the assessment done, it was not the first time the young man was smoking bhang and cigarrete. From the tests done, his blood level was above the normal limit which means that he had been consuming it for a long time. On our investigation, we realized that it was a family problem whereby his grandparent, parents, cousins’ brothers and even his uncles and aunts were consuming these drugs. We also find that the young man started smoking at the age of fifteen and this had already affected his education .In school he was so depressed and he thought that smoking bhang and cigarette will help him reduce his stress at school. We found that this is enough evidence of drug abuse evaluation. He also needs to be helped to come out of this situation. According to this evaluation, it helped in identifying the weaknesses and realizing why he abuses the drugs.
According to the referral, it will help in the evaluation of other important needs. For example, we find that the young man was smoking in order to manage his depression at school. This enabled us to identify the challenges the young man was undergoing in his life especially at school.
In this assessment, it helps us in evaluating if the young man was passing through any problem during smoking consumption of which it was to reduce stress and depression. In this assessment the matter is discussed in details and those groups or individuals involved will come up with a plan to help the client in the problem solving mechanism and the report produced will assist in identifying the kind of advice needed to the client.(Gustafson, Ingvar, et al.)
The young man is transparent to his lawyers by disclosing some of his life stories and how he ended up in the same situation of being a drunkard. We realized that in this case there is a character of openness. The young man was bright, and from this case, he became medical doctor at his early age. After listening to his case, were sympathetic. He had been disturbed by depression which resulted to stress to a point of being a drunkard.
A psychologist used assessments and tests to help in making a diagnosis of a patient’s mental health condition. The tests carried out assists in understanding the person’s behavior which may be causing problems. Also helps people in getting out of life experiences. From this case the young man is evident that, he turns to smoking in order to manage stress. (Nilsson, K.)
Most addicts can decide to cheat and are used to do so, so as to continue with their behavior. In psychology there is a close understanding of the addicts as they are biased by their addiction. A psychologist can assess all the levels and all types of problems facing the addicts. This report will therefore help psychologists in planning the first guidance.
REFERENCES.
Salvia, John, James E. Ysseldyke, and Sara Bolt. Assessment in special and inclusive education. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
Gustavsson, Ingvar, et al. “On objectives of instructional laboratories, individual assessment, and use of collaborative remote laboratories. “ IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies 2.4(2009): 263-274.
Case vignettes
Case 1
Mr. Patrick is fifty four years old from England charged with a rape case. The police arrested him after they found that he had raped a six year old girl. He was also found in possession of stolen money that he had stolen from his neighbor at the time of arrest. This really surprised him of being arrested and said that he was accused of this crimes. He initiated a physical examination with the police and immediately was taken in custody so as to protect him and the officers from any harm. The officers report showed that Patrick was not welcoming and that he was irritable emotional when they approached him. He was unable to speak when the police tried to engage with him in a conversation because he thought that the police were trying to kill him. At that time, his energy level was very high and his heart rate very high too. During that moment also , he said that to the police that, he knew the mayor very well and will tell him to prosecute these policemen for lying that he did all these crimes. The police tried their best but Patrick refused all these accuses and said he did not do all these things he was accused of, instead he persisted to talk to the judge before his case was to be heard. In the cell, he continued resisting and accusing the police saying that, the police cheated that he had raped the young girl and that he had stolen the money from his neighbor and that they only wanted to kill him. He used to tell those others in cell that, these policemen were conmen s and they only wanted to see him death. The police were shocked about this and were in fact trying to contact more information from Patricks’ wife on his mental health because he was acting uniquely and yet he committed the crimes. After contacting the wife, the wife said that, he had not stayed with his husband for a long time. She said that, she had only stayed with Patrick for only two years and with this short period; she had never seen him receiving any mental health treatment. Patrick refused to speak to the police about his treatment history and his charges together with his personal history.
Mr. Patrick faces a trial for the crimes he committed because he denied a plea bargain. He also denied the defense counsel when it was offered.
Identify the type of forensic assessment that would be appropriate for this case and explain the rationale for your decision.
Your choices are:
.Rape case and stealing evaluation
. Competence to stand trial
. Mental health treatment evaluation
Case 2.
Ms. Anne is 30 year old single female charged with the crime of poisoning his boyfriend at his house. She was arrested after she had committed this crime just before leaving from his boyfriend’s house when the neighbors spotted her and called the police for her arrest. Anne told the officers that the boyfriend had put little poison to the drinks he had bought for her without knowing and that she had also taken the poison only that she had not died. The police tried to examine her and found her blood level was at the normal limit and no poison taken, and the police realized that, she was only cheating so as to escape the offense of poisoning the boyfriend. Anne was arrested there immediately and was released after one week with a court order. She refused all this charges saying that, she did not do this and that, the neighbors and the police were only cheating. The judge was shocked about Anne denials and he imposed a harsh sentence of eighty days of poison treatment at the corrections facility. Anne felt bad because she knew that she was going to lose a job in that period since those days were too many. The judge did that without wanting to know the rich background that Anne was coming from and how beautiful Anne was. After the tests were done to see whether Anne had any poison substance in her blood, there was no poison in her blood. Anne disclosed to her lawyer that she was cheating so as to be set free from the cell. She gave the whole story that, her boyfriend had become worse by being unfaithful to her to the extent of him sleeping with sugar mummies and high school girls and from this, she decided to poison him and kill her, so that she can lead a stress free life.
Determine the type of forensic assessment that would most fit this case.
Your choices are:
. Competence to stand trial
. Poison crime evaluation
. Mental health treatment evaluation
Case 3.
Dr Brian has been charged of fighting with his wife and leaving her with bad injuries on her face. He admitted to fighting his wife and leaving her with the bad injuries because the neighbors have always witnessed him fighting with wife and has most of the time come to rescue the wife. He even said that, he had planned to fight the wife until death had the neighbors had not come for her rescue. He presented himself with no hostility or irrational thoughts.
Case vignettes
2
He continued disclosing everything that, he started beating his wife long ago from the first day he married her. He said that, since his wife had not gone to college and was just a housewife leaving him to do everything to cater for his family, that is why he sometimes was stressed and felt like fighting the wife. He argued that his wife had left him with lot of house duties and this disturbed him a lot and made him feel like killing her together with the kids. He said that, if it were not having been their neighbors, the wife would have died long time ago. Brian was guilty and never denied the charges. He also said that, he was not doing this because he had a mental problem but only wanted to teach his wife a lesson.
Your choices are;
.Competence to stand trial
. Fighting crime evaluation
. Not guilty by reason of insanity
.Mental health treatment evaluation
Case Vignettes
LINK
Name: Identification Number: Date of
Birth:
Tests Date: Time Spent:
Interview Date: Time Spent:
Name of Assessment (competency to stand trial, substance abuse, not guilty by reason of insanity, or mental health evaluation)
INTRODUCTION
The main aim or purpose of evaluation is to identify whether the clients discussed above committed the offenses. Evaluation is an appropriate procedure that gives the results of whether the clients are guilty or not. Example in our case, Anne was found to have poisoned the boyfriend and Dr Brian also was found to have fought the wife and left her with the face injuries.
REASON FOR REFERRAL
The cases for these individuals were referred to the psychologists because the psychologist is able to evaluate or read the mind of the individuals and understand their situation and then give them appropriate advice. The psychologists always hope to find the clients with challenges so that they can advise them on what to do. The clients role in assessment is give out all information about his current status so that an effective assessment can be done by the one assessing him or her.
PRESENTATION
James the young man aged 15 is found abusing cigarrete and bhang and has been doing this so as to reduce stress and this had even affected his mental status, Anne is a murderer since she poisons her boyfriend until he dies and after evaluation she was found to be normal in her mental status, Brian is also a killer and bully because he decides to fight his wife till death and then discloses that, his mentality is functioning properly. Patrick is a rapist and thief because he rapes a six year old girl and a thief because he steals cash from the neighbor and what he does is to refuse these charges. Almost all these individuals were found to have genuinely committed the offenses and almost all were not intelligent by some committing difficult cases like rape by Patrick.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION
Almost all the clients have corrected their bad behaviors and have started behaving normally, example Brian has changed from fighting thee wife. Most clients like the young boy aged fifteen smokes because he has copied this behavior from the family lineage. The clients are seen to be cooperative to their professionals.
BACKGROUND IFORMATION
Example the young man aged 15 is seen to abusing drugs because even his family lineage has been doing so. Most clients do what they do bad or good because the family people do so.
PSYCHOLOGY HISTORY
After the clients are found guilty or having been found to do the wrongs, they are advised accordingly and are expected to change. The psychologists have the ability to detect the wrongs in clients and then advise them accordingly.
SUBSTANCE USE HISTORY
Example in our study, the young boy aged 15 is seen smoking cigarettes and bhang. The assessors try to assess the victims and are able to give them the correct advice
MEDICAL HISTORY.
Medical history refers to the person’s medical history whether he or she has undergone any medication before and from this, an appropriate medication and treatment is administered to the individual. Most members of a family may have similar cases of illnesses and then undergo similar medication.
OBJECTIVE TESTING
Example, cigarette and bhang test done to assess whether the individual abuses the substances, Rape and stealing test done to see or find out that the individual accused does these evils. Poison test to test any poisonous substance in the blood.
FINDINGS
The young boy was found to have been abusing cigarette and alcohol. Brian was found to have beaten the wife. Anne was found to have been poisoned the husband.
DIAGNOSTIC IMPRESSION.
Appropriate diagnosis need to be administered to the patients. It is important to use a diagnosis that is of good type, specific and which is effective.
CONCLUSION
From the tests carried out, the young man aged 15 years was found to consuming bhang and cigarrete, Anne was found to have killed his boyfriend, and Brian was caught found to have beat the wife and caused serious injuries to the wife. Therefore in conclusion, all the tests done in this case assessment had positive results.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I therefore recommend that, clients need to be given appropriate medical treatment and the correct assessment must be done to the clients as effective as possible.
