Exam Prep Blog: March 2012

Again, my apologies for the delay in getting the post up. This week, we’re looking at Anxiety Disorders. These can come up on the exam in a variety of ways: in reference to medications, treatment modalities, diagnoses…the list is long. Here’s a sample question to get us thinking about differential diagnoses: Sample: A social worker at a VA clinic is assigned a new client: a 26 year-old male who was sent home after a roadside bomb killed several members of his unit 3 weeks ago. Since the explosion, the man has been unable to sleep and has been refusing to sit in the front seat of the car. When

It’s Tuesday…late on Tuesday, but still Tuesday, so it’s Hot Topic time! Now that we’re into the diagnostic categories, it’s important to start looking at questions and thinking about differential diagnoses – what information do you need for an initial diagnostic impression? What are the features that distinguish similar disorders from one another? This week, we’re looking at Mood Disorders: Sample Question: A social worker in private practice receives a referral for a 32 year old woman who reports ongoing difficulties with social and romantic relationships. During the initial appointment, the

I don’t know about all of you out there, but until I interned on an acute inpatient psychiatric unit, I really had no idea what a person experiencing psychosis really looked like (clinically speaking). This category of disorders, distinguished by the primary symptoms of delusions, prominent hallucinations, disorganized speech, or disorganized or catatonic behavior, is bound to come up on the exam in a variety of ways. Here’s just one: Sample Question: A social worker in a community mental health clinic begins an intake on a 22 year-old male. During the course of the intake, the social worker

This week’s Hot Topic is a little different – there are many clinicians out there who have never (and will never) treat or work with an infant, child, or adolescent…so why do we have to know about disorders that are usually diagnosed duriThis week’s Hot Topic is a little different – there are many clinicians out there who have never (and will never) treat or work with an infant, child, or adolescent…so why do we have to know about disorders that are usually diagnosed during this time? There are probably lots of answers to that, but for me, it’s important because they are a particularly