Diagnosis, and Treatment Planning Flashcards

Which diagnostic criterion distinguishes Persistent Depressive Disorder (dysthymia) from Major Depressive Disorder?

Answer: Depressed mood present most of the day, more days than not, for at least 2 years

PDD requires a chronically depressed mood lasting at least 2 years (1 year in children/adolescents), distinguishing it from the episodic nature of MDD.

When using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at intake, a score of 29 places the client in which severity range?

Answer: Moderate-to-severe depression (29–63)

A BDI-II score of 29 falls in the moderate-to-severe range (29–63), informing treatment intensity decisions.

A client with health anxiety spends 3 hours daily researching symptoms online. In a CBT treatment plan, this behavior is classified as:

Answer: A safety behavior that maintains health anxiety

Excessive symptom checking is a safety behavior that temporarily reduces anxiety but prevents disconfirmation of feared beliefs, maintaining the disorder.

Which of the following best describes the role of a problem list in CBT treatment planning?

Answer: It prioritizes presenting problems to guide goal-setting and intervention selection

A problem list operationalizes the client's difficulties into concrete, addressable targets, forming the backbone of the treatment plan.

Which disorder requires ruling out a general medical condition or substance as part of differential diagnosis before assigning a primary mental health diagnosis?

Answer: All DSM-5 mental disorders require ruling out medical and substance causes

DSM-5 requires clinicians to exclude medical conditions and substance effects as causes for every diagnostic category before assigning a primary mental disorder.

A CBT therapist identifies that a client's core belief is 'I am incompetent.' Which intervention is most directly aimed at modifying this schema-level cognition?

Answer: Historical review of evidence for and against the belief across the lifespan

Historical review (positive data log, schema challenging) directly targets deep-seated core beliefs by examining evidence across the client's life history.

When diagnosing a child with separation anxiety disorder, which feature distinguishes it from normal developmental fear of separation?

Answer: Symptoms are developmentally inappropriate, persistent ≥4 weeks, and cause significant impairment

Separation anxiety disorder requires that fears exceed what is expected developmentally, persist for at least 4 weeks, and cause clinically significant distress or impairment.