Practising Anxiety Diagnosis and Assessment

Anxiety Diagnosis and Assessment

Read the following case vignette of Luisa:

Luisa is a 38-year-old office manager referred to counseling by her employer through the company’s employee assistance program. Her boss has become increasingly concerned as she has noticed that Luisa seems to be on edge quite often over the last several months.
Approximately nine months ago, Luisa discovered her husband was having an extramarital affair. Upon learning of the relationship, Luisa’s husband abruptly left their marriage of six years, filed divorce papers, and moved in with his girlfriend. Since this time, Luisa has begun to experience significant anxiety around simple and routine tasks. She’s often consumed with worry about mistakes at work and finds herself tense and fatigued quite often. Luisa has also begun to worry excessively about money and to scrutinize every penny she spends. She consistently seeks reassurances from her co-workers and family, but with little positive effect.
Increasing fear has caused Luisa to isolate over the past three months. She avoids going out even during the daytime. She states that she feels scared and vulnerable even walking her dog around the block. Her fear is that something horrible will happen and no one will come to her rescue. She knows that this is irrational but feels that so much of her anxiety is beyond her control.
Luisa stated that she had been sad for a few weeks after her husband left, but denies thoughts for self-harm, or revenge to her husband. She does not have a history of alcohol or substance abuse. Her sleep has been erratic but her physical health has been relatively normal. Her score on the Beck Anxiety Inventory was 27 indicating a severe level of anxiety.

In the discussion, address the following using headings to match content in each bullet point:

• Review the questions in domain IV of the Level I Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure in the Assessment Measures of the DSM-5. Describe how each of the three items would be scored. What additional information is needed to rate these items?
• At the same link, scroll down to locate the WHODAS. Which assessment domains may provide required information to fully assess the extent of Luisa’s symptoms?
• Explain the DSM disorder that appears to be most accurate for Luisa and include your rationale.

Support your ideas with references to the course texts, articles from this learning unit, articles from the Optional Readings, or articles from peer-reviewed journals that you locate in the Capella University Library.

Response Guidelines

Respond to the initial discussion post of one other learner. What reactions do you have to the ideas the learner has presented? Include examples from your own experience to support your perspective, and raise questions to continue the dialogue.

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

• Identify presenting problems from a client’s perspective.
• Apply assessment tools to aid in the diagnostic process.
• Utilize the DSM-5 to locate ICD codes for psychological disorders.
• Use language appropriate for a counseling professional.
• Cite and reference resources, giving appropriate credit for another’s work.

Resources

• Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.
• Capella University Library.
• Assessment Measures.
• Masters in Counseling – Research Guide.