Comprehensive Examination

Comprehensive Examination

Comprehensive Examination

Cedric Moore

MA in Forensic Psychology/CXFPSYMA ECA/ AN170831.1004.5W/Chicago

Instructor: Dr. Shanavia Dansby

Psychological Theory and Practice

A. What assessments would you conduct to enhance your understanding of the problems of the person in the vignette and how would your choice of assessment(s) inform your diagnostic formation and treatment planning? Assessments may include structured or unstructured interviews, valid and reliable assessment measures, and/or formalized assessment procedures that may be conducted by yourself or by someone else referred by you.

I would conduct the personality assessment, familial relationship assessment and mental health assessment in analyzing the problems of the Abby. This is because the personality assessment and mental health assessment can provide an important bridge for a therapeutic dialogue between the psychiatrist and a patient which aim at diagnosing the psychological problem of the patient (Michie, et al, 2005). Moreover, personality assessment provides a description of the personality for an individual without any judgment. Therefore, through the assessment psychiatrists are able to discover various vulnerabilities which Abby has in different situations hence improving her confidence.

My choice of assessment can inform my diagnostic formation and the treatment planning by helping in identifying the disorders experienced by Abby. The personality assessment would help Abby to realize that she is well understood by the other individuals. In addition, the personality assessment and mental health assessment is of great significance to the patients since it makes them to be aware about their own capacity. These assessments promote the credibility as well as the trust in the professional skills of the psychiatrists (Kintsch and Vipond, 2014). Importantly, the therapeutic approach would greatly promote the wellbeing of Abby and also empowers her with hope.

The assessments can be conducted using structured interviews. It is through the interviews that the personality and mental health condition of Abby can be realized. This can entail formulating questions and procedures that need to be followed when collecting the necessary information that can help in assessing the mental health and personality challenges.

B. Provide your diagnostic impressions (based on the DSM-5) for this individual. In narrative form, please describe how the individual meets the diagnostic criteria for the disorder(s) chosen in addition to the differential diagnostic thought process that you used to reach your hypotheses. Be sure to include any additional (missing) information that is needed to either rule out or confirm your differential diagnoses impressions.

My diagnostic impressions would include DSM-5 differential diagnosis aimed at establishing the possible disorders that Abby might be suffering. For example, in my diagnostic impressions I would be interested in establishing whether Abby suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive disorder and Schizophrenia Spectrum disorder. Following is the diagnostic criteria that I will use.

DSM-5 differential diagnosis

• Assessment of the Factious and malingering disorder from the manner in which Abby conducts herself.

• Evaluating the substance etiology for Abby.

• Diagnosing the etiological medical condition of Abby.

• Examining the major disorders which Abby is suffering from.

• Determining the Abby`s mental disorder.

When a patient suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, he or she tends to have compulsive behaviors and also obsessive thoughts that are actually not controllable. Moreover, the diagnoses that are involved in this category of disorder include; the hoarding disorder, excoriation disorder and the obsessive-compulsive disorder among the others (McPartland, Reichow and Volkmar, 2012).

I will assess whether Abby has Schizophrenia Spectrum or related Psychotic Disorders by evaluating her behavior. The psychotic symptoms that are common in all the disorders which are found in this category include; hallucinations, abnormal behavior and also delusions. Some of the psychotic disorders which Abby may be suffering are; the delusional disorder, schizoaffective disorder, personality disorder and schizophrenia (Black and Grant, 2014). However, it is crucial to ensure that forensic and cultural factors such Openness that have influence on diagnostic impression.

Legal Theory and Application

A. Explain the background, current presentation, and behavior of the person in the vignette utilizing biological, learning, and social theories on offenders to support your position. Do not simply restate the background information from the vignette. Instead, provide a theoretically-based discussion to understand the criminal behaviors of the person in the vignette.

Social theory

Social theory argues that the issue of criminality results from providing unequal chances between different groups or even lack of the social norms in an individual. Moreover, the sociological theories argue that, the aspect of criminality is actually created by the society itself. The social theory proposes that, the crimes which were being committed by Abby was because of anomie, whereby she had a feeling of having no social norms. The term anomie was used by the sociologists in explaining about the dissociation of a person from the conscience (Snyder and Deaux, 2012). The sociological method that would be used in controlling these crimes which were committed by Abby would be through advocating for the crime decriminalization. The limitation of this theory is the belief that the issue of crime was a fact which would not be escaped in the community.

Biological theory

The biological theory argues that, the behavior of criminality is usually caused by the physical flaw in a person`s biological make up. Some of the biological factors which may have resulted into physical flaw in Abby include; neurotransmitter dysfunction, heredity and also brain abnormalities. The current trend pertaining the use of the theory is that biological theorists would have enforced better techniques which would assist in controlling crimes. For instance, brain stimulation is one of the biological techniques that is used in treating personality disorders even though they have not been investigated for the behavior of criminality (Rafter, 2008). In addition, the biological theorists have suggested that, better diets and also good relationship between and parents can assist in controlling criminal behavior. The limitation of the biological theory is that the antisocial personality disorder is usually attributed with the criminality behavior because it can be caused by many factors.

Learning theory

According to the learning theory, criminal behavior is usually learned through interaction of people with their intimate peers, whereby an individual can obtain a certain behavior which actually violates the law. In the year 1970, the learning theory was revised and later on the theory was replaced by the social learning model. However, the learning model was actually based on the previous work of the learning theory. In the current trends, the learning theory recognizes various aspects such as the peer influence on criminal behavior, importance of delinquent peers and also reinforcement for offensive behaviors (Mineka and Zinbarg, 2006). In addition, the social learning model describes the effect of social forces, peer influence and human agency on the criminal behavior. The limitation of using learning theory is that it can be used in revealing out the negative effect of the peer attitudes.

B. Consider the type of crime in the vignette and discuss how that type of crime generally impacts a victim of it. Do not limit yourself to discussing just the victim in this vignette. Instead obtain scholarly sources for information on how this type of crime can affect any victim, their family members, and other members of society.

The type of crime shown in the vignette is arson. Arson is a type of crime whereby an individual deliberately burns a property of another person with an intention of destroying it. The in the vignette case, Abby attempted to murder her brother using fire where she was then arrested. However, life imprisonment is actually the penalty that is imposed on any individual who is found to have committed the crime of arson (Anwar, et al, 2009). The main reason as to why this kind of penalty is usually charged for the arson crime is because the victims of this kind of crime may end up losing all their property, the victims may be rendered homeless or even injured by the fire. Moreover, any occurrence of the arson-related crime in most of the times results into financial impact as well as emotional effects on the victims. Apart from the loss of the property, arson crime can still result into psychological and physical injuries on the family members.

C. Describe the psycholegal standards and/or definitions for each of the following: competence to stand trial, duty to warn, and insanity. Identify and describe one or more landmark case(s) for each standard (at least three cases total). Describe the elements or issues that a mental health professional usually focuses on when assessing a person’s adjudicative competence, risk and insanity, and any additional items that might be especially important to focus on in the provided vignette.

Competence to stand trial

The psycho-legal standard of the competence to stand trial always needs a defendant to have clear understanding about the nature and also the aim of the legal proceedings that are held against him or her. However, for the defendant to understand well about the legal proceedings, the defendant should be capable of comprehending both the charges and the penalties convicted against him. Also, the defendant should be conversant with the court procedure and the role played by every individual who takes part in the court proceeding (Stafford, et al, 2011). In addition, he or she should be capable to remember as well as relate the pertinent events and facts such as the actions which occurred during the offense time. The landmark case in the competence to stand trial can include a forensic psychologist determining if there is defect or mental impairment which deters the understanding of the legal proceedings.

Duty to warn

The duty to warn refers to the concept which arises from the law in various instances. This concept argues that, a party can be held responsible for any damage caused to another party, in a case whereby the party had a chance to warn it but failed to give a warning pertaining the hazard. In addition, according to the concept of the duty to warn, the professionals of the mental health are usually required to disclose all the relevant information about the patients who tends to be much violent (Todd, 2013). Therefore, some of the mental health professionals fail to reveal out information of the violent patients since they fear being held liable for the duty to warn. The landmark case in duty to warn can include a legal duty for warning the third parties pertaining the threats of the patients was imposed on the psychotherapists by the courts.

Insanity

Insanity refers to the behavior spectrum which is usually characterized by a particular abnormal pattern of behavior. The manifestation of insanity may be through the violation of the community norms, whereby the insane people tends to be dangerous to themselves and also to other individuals (Umpierrez, Palacio and Smiley, 2007). However, not all the acts which differ with the societal norms manifests the aspect of insanity. In most cases, insanity reveals the mental instability of a patient. The landmark case for Insanity can include the United States versus Binion case of the year 2005 where defendant was convicted after prosecution for obstructing justice as he feigned insanity in trial evaluation.

Behavior, culture, personality and family relationships are among the issues and elements that are given focus by mental health professional in assessing adjudicative competence, insanity and risk of a person. On the provided vignette it can be crucial to ensure that the behavioral aspects and development elements of important for mental health professionals to give the necessary focus.

Assessment, Research and Evaluation

A. Describe tests or assessment procedures you would employ to address the psycholegal issues of (competence to stand trial, risk of dangerousness, and insanity). You may refer to these from the Psychological Theory and Assessment Section "A" if you already covered them there. Discuss what the anticipated conclusions would be based upon information provided in the vignette.

Following are the procedures that I can follow in the process of addressing the psycholegal issues.

Step one: Seek patient history. Reviewing of the past events is actually an important tool which can be used in the assessment of the patient`s violence potential. When seeking for the past history of Abby, I would obtain essential clues by interviewing her family members, police officers and other people who have interacted socially with her.

Step two: Evaluating the context. Context of a patient usually plays a significant role in the determination of the violent situation of the patient. Therefore, I would evaluate the environmental stresses which Abby may be experiencing and which are destabilizing her life (Heltzel, 2007). This is because the kind of environment in which the patient lives in may force her to adapt a violent behavior.

Step three: Identify arousal states. The patients who usually have high arousal states tends to be more aggressive as compared to those who have low arousal states. Therefore, I would identify the arousal state of Abby in order to discover the reason why she acts so violently. In addition, the patients who have violent behavior always have moods and anxiety which are uncontrollable (Heltzel, 2007).

Step four: structuring interview. In this step in structure the interview while considering the treatment environment. This step is crucial in making sure that the interview is aligned with the environmental situation.

The anticipated conclusion considering the information provided is that Abby is likely to be suffering for personality and mental health disorders. For example, she is suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive disorder that has resulted in her behavior that led to the crime.

B. Develop a research question and a testable research hypothesis regarding offenders or the type of crime that is discussed in the vignette (such as, addiction, recidivism, criminal behavior, etc.). Explain the variables in your question and the type of research study that could answer your question as well as why that research would make a contribution to the field of forensic psychology.

Research question: what are the effects of personality aspect of Abby to her criminal behavior?

Testable research hypothesis: personality aspects have an influence on the criminal behavior of the offender

In my question the independent variable is personality factors as they influence the criminal behavior of the offender. The dependent variable is the criminal behavior as it is determined by personality aspects. The type of research study that could answer my question is survey method. This research can make some contributions to forensic psychology field because it can help in collecting the necessary information for evaluating the impacts of personality factors on the criminal behavior.

Leadership, Consultation, and Ethics

A. What are the ethical and legal dilemmas this vignette introduced? What would be your immediate steps and why? Please be specific and make sure that you describe your process of ethical decision making and the solutions/consequences to which this process might lead. Your discussion should be informed by the American Psychological Association’s Ethics Code as well as the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists.

The legal and ethical dilemmas that is introduced by this vignette whether Abby can be a considered as a candidate for the community resource services. It is after addressing the dilemmas that I can know whether to develop jail diversion service plan for Abby or not. My immediate steps can include the following:

1. Determining legal and ethical dilemmas in existence. I would determine whether Abby has got any conflicting issues or even professional duties. For instance, I would evaluate various conflicting issues such as her self-determination versus her family well-being.

2. Identifying the key principles and values. I would identify the major values as well as the principles that are involved in the ethical issue of Abby. For instance, I would determine the limitations that are embedded on the conflicting issues which she is undergoing. Also, I would determine whether her ethical issues which are more sensitive should be accessed by the third party.

3. Ranking the legal and ethical issues. After identifying the ethical issues which Abby is experiencing, I would then rank them basing on their relevance to the conflicting issue she is undergoing. For instance, I would put into consideration the side effects of the ethical values and also their impacts on other individuals.

4. Developing the action plan. After prioritizing the ethical issues which are making Abby to be in dilemma, I would establish an appropriate action plan for the implementation of those issues. In addition, when developing my action plan, I would base the plan on the ethical principles.

5. Implementing my plan. In the process of implementing my action plan, I would ensure that the major social skills which include the cultural competence, sensitive communication and also skillful negotiation have incorporated them in the plan. This is because the social skills such as skillful negotiation may help Abby to realize her effect on other people.

6. Reflecting on outcome. I would evaluate the impact of the ethical issue carried out by Abby and also analyze whether its consequences are reflected on my action plan. Moreover, I would seek advice for my action plan from the Ethics Consultation Committee.

Interpersonal Effectiveness

A. What diversity factors, cultural considerations, or other demographic variables pertaining to the person in the vignette would you take into account in rendering diagnoses, choosing assessment measures, forming case conceptualizations, and designing the treatment plan? Be sure to discuss cultural/diversity factors that could apply even if they are not explicitly mentioned in the vignette.

The cultural and diversity considerations concerning Abby in the vignette that I need to take into account are the sexual orientation, social standing and also physical disability. However, the aspect of globalization has facilitated multiculturalism thus making it hard for the psychiatrists to determine the cultural competence of the patients (Hays, 2016).

Some of the diversity factors which I would put into considerations in the process of diagnosing Abby include her culture, whereby I would assess the cultural values of her family and the entire community (Forehand and Kotchick, 2016). This is because some of the cultural values which may be dominating her society may have negative effects on the well-being of Abby. In addition, psychiatrists always identify the patient`s culture before a diagnosis.

Moreover, in most of the times the behavior of a patient is usually influenced by the aspect of culture within the framework of the patient`s historical context. Therefore, the cultural values as well as cultural experiences explain why some patients tends to act violently. However, cultural values may result into various stereotypes and also stigmatization of some individuals in a community.

References

 

Anwar, S., Långström, N., Grann, M., & Fazel, S. (2009). Is arson the crime most strongly associated with psychosis?—A national case-control study of arson risk in schizophrenia and other psychoses. Schizophrenia bulletin, 37(3), 580-586.

Black, D. W., & Grant, J. E. (2014). DSM-5® guidebook: the essential companion to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. American Psychiatric Pub.

Forehand, R., & Kotchick, B. A. (2016). Cultural Diversity: A Wake-Up Call for Parent Training–Republished Article. Behavior therapy, 47(6), 981-992.

Hays, P. A. (2016). Addressing cultural complexities in practice: Assessment, diagnosis, and therapy.

Heltzel, T. (2007). Compatibility of therapeutic and forensic roles.

Kintsch, W., & Vipond, D. (2014). Reading comprehension and readability in educational practice and psychological theory. Perspectives on learning and memory, 329-365.

McPartland, J. C., Reichow, B., & Volkmar, F. R. (2012). Sensitivity and specificity of proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(4), 368-383.

Michie, S., Johnston, M., Abraham, C., Lawton, R., Parker, D., & Walker, A. (2005). Making psychological theory useful for implementing evidence based practice: a consensus approach. Quality and safety in health care, 14(1), 26-33.

Mineka, S., & Zinbarg, R. (2006). A contemporary learning theory perspective on the etiology of anxiety disorders: it's not what you thought it was. American psychologist, 61(1), 10.

Rafter, N. (2008). The criminal brain: Understanding biological theories of crime. NYU Press.

Snyder, M., & Deaux, K. (2012). Personality and social psychology. In The Oxford handbook of personality and social psychology.

Stafford, K. P., Sadoff, R. L., Drogin, E. Y., Dattilio, F. M., & Gutheil, T. G. (2011). Competence to stand trial. Handbook of forensic assessment: Psychological and psychiatric perspectives, 2-23.

Todd, S. (2013). DUTY TO WARN. Values and Ethics in Counseling: Real-Life Ethical Decision Making, 65.

Umpierrez, G. E., Palacio, A., & Smiley, D. (2007). Sliding scale insulin use: myth or insanity?. The American journal of medicine, 120(7), 563-567.

MA FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY COMPREHENSIVE EXAM

STUDENT ID: Student A

Fall A 2017

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE: ASSESSMENT (A)

Grade: Unacceptable (1)

The student demonstrates insufficient knowledge of how the assessment process might be utilized to enhance understanding of the client’s presenting problems, as well as aiding in formulating diagnostic impressions and a treatment plan. The student states that he/she would conduct “personality assessment, family relationship assessment and mental health assessment to analyze the problems of the Abby” but does not detail any specific assessment instruments that would be recommended (other than a structured interview). There is also no mention of specific mental health issues that would be addressed in assessment (e.g. intellectual functioning, suicidality, homicidality, psychosis, sociopathy). There are statements in this section that reflect a lack of familiarity with and accuracy of understanding the assessment process, e.g. discussion of psychiatrists rather than psychologists conducting diagnostic testing and the statement that assessment results increase patient confidence and make them more aware of their own capacity. Finally, this section is poorly written grammatically, making it somewhat difficult to follow the student’s communications.

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE: DIAGNOSTIC IMPRESSIONS (B)

Grade: Emerging (2)

The student lists Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder as possible diagnoses, but the student’s provided list of diagnostic criteria is not matched to these diagnoses. One of the criteria listed in the DSM-5 for a diagnosis of OCD is that the disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder. In this case, Trichotillomania (Hair Pulling Disorder) would more precisely describe the client’s presenting symptoms. The student identifies some specific disorders within the broad category of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (e.g. Delusional Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder, “Personality Disorder”, and Schizophrenia), but does not indicate why one of these diagnoses might better fit the presenting data than another.

The student does not include any discussion of whether the client’s symptoms might merit a diagnosis within the category of Disruptive, Impulse Control and Conduct Disorders. Additionally, there is no mention of whether Bulemia Nervosa and Pyromania might be listed as provisional (rule out) diagnoses meriting further investigation, along

with consideration of possible organic factors, exposure to trauma and possible intellectual disabilities. Finally, the student mentions that the client’s level of openness should be considered in formulating a diagnosis, but does not elaborate on this point or offer other individual/cultural factors which might be considered.

Overall, this section does not represent a proficient understanding of the diagnostic process.

LEGAL THEORY AND APPLICATION: THEORETICAL FORMULATION

Grade: Emerging (2)

The key task in this section is to conceptualize the client utilizing a specific theoretical framework. The student provides a description of social, biological and learning theories, but does not seem to understand the meaning of these theories and does not link them at all to actual events in the client’s history/presentation which may explain her symptoms, such as pregnancy and birth complications, developmental delay, sexual trauma by father and brothers, etc. Further, the student does not sufficiently address the topic of victim/offender psychology, as there is much in this client’s history which suggests that her history of trauma (biological and psychological) may have contributed to her forensic presentation. In conclusion, the student does not sufficiently grasp the purpose of a theoretical formulation as a means of understanding the client’s behavior and their alleged crime.

LEGAL THEORY: DESCRIPTION OF CRIME

Grade: Unacceptable (1)

The student describes the crime in the present case as arson. While this is a component of the crime, it would be important to note that the client was charged with attempted murder of her brother by arson. Furthermore, life imprisonment is not necessarily the penalty for arson. Additionally, if convicted, this client would be convicted of attempted murder, not just of arson. The student offers one scholarly citation discussing the general impact of arson on its victims.

LEGAL THEORY AND APPLICATION: LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

Grade: Unacceptable (1)

The student provides a sufficient description of the legal definition of Competency to Stand Trial, but does not provide a specific legal standard/landmark case precedent relevant to this standard, focusing incorrectly instead on the forensic psychologist’s evaluation of the patient facing trial.

The student’s description of the concept of Duty to Warn is poorly written, with confusion about references to therapist, client, and victim. It is not accurate that clinicians fail to warn out of fear of being found liable under Duty to Warn; in fact, liability would more likely arise out of a failure to warn an identifiable victim. Again, the student provides no landmark cases in this area, misunderstanding the concept of a landmark case precedent.

The student’s description of the concept of Insanity is also poorly written, with references to “abnormal” behavior…violation of community norms, …and dangerousness.” This definition is not accurate and also does not reference the important point that the insanity defense pertains to the defendant’s mental state at the time of the commission of the crime. The student cites a case where a defendant was found to have feigned insanity, rather than a case where a defendant was found to be criminally insane at the time of the commission of the crime.

This section is poorly written and demonstrates an unacceptable level of understanding of the three key legal concepts.

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION: FORENSIC EVALUATION

Grade: Unacceptable (1)

The student discussed no specific instruments which might be used to address the forensic questions in this case. In fact, the student seems not to understand the idea of how specific assessment instruments might be used to determine the client’s psycho-legal status. The student mentions seeking a patient history, which is valid, but focuses on potential data such as interviewing police officers and people who have interacted socially with her, rather than actual police/court records and records from her lengthy mental health settings and services.

While evaluating context is always useful, and assessment of the patient’s current state of arousal may offer clues, there is no mention of standardized measures to assess the client’s possible insanity at the time of the crime, risk of danger to self/others and competency to stand trial.

Finally, rather than rendering a judgment as to whether the client meets the three psycho-legal standards, the student states that the client may be suffering from a “personality and mental health disorder” such as OCD, which the student offers as an explanation for the behavior which led to the alleged crime of attempted murder by arson.

Overall, there is no meaningful linkage of clinical data with legal standards to address the relevant forensic questions in this section.

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION: RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Grade: Emerging (2)

The student begins by proposing the following research question:

“What are the effects of personality aspect of Abby to her criminal behavior?”

Not only is this statement poorly written grammatically, it focuses on researching the client rather than a broader sample of persons charged with a similar crime. The student correctly states that personality factors would be the independent variable in this study and criminal behavior would be the dependent variable. The student states that a survey method would be used, but does not state who would be surveyed, what instruments might be used, what specific aspects of personality would be addressed, etc. The potential contribution of this proposed study is very generic, rather than offering something more specific like identifying predictive factors that might contribute to prevention of such behavior.

The student does not express a clear understanding of the value of research methodology in contributing to an understanding of criminal behavior in this section.

LEADERSHIP, CONSULTATION AND ETHICS: ETHICAL ISSUES

Grade: Unacceptable (1)

The student erroneously states that the ethical/legal dilemma is the present case is whether the client is a candidate for a community resource program. This is the referral question, not an ethical/legal dilemma. The student displays further confusion about ethical/legal dilemmas by stating that the client’s potential conflicting issues or professional duties should be explored, rather than addressing those issues regarding the clinician. As the student continues to detail a step by step plan, there is no mention of any actual ethical/legal dilemmas in the present case. Further, the student fails to identify any specific important ethical considerations, consistent with the APA Ethics Code and SGFP, such as informed consent, steps to ensure privacy and confidentiality, avoidance of harm and steps that would be taken if the client reveals current risk of harm to self or others. It should also be noted that the court is the "client" in this case. Therefore, the client must be informed that he is not entitled to confidentiality with respect to the court, though his record is otherwise confidential with respect to outside parties. It would also be useful to voice caution about serving in a potential Multiple Relationship, if serving simultaneously in both an assessment/referral role to the court and a treatment role.

INTER-PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS: DIVERSITY AND MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE

Grade: Unacceptable (1)

The student begins this section by stating that sexual orientation, SES and physical disability are the relevant diversity factors that would be a focus in this case. This is curious as there is no mention of the client’s sexual orientation or of her being sexually active and there is no mention of the client having a physical disability. The student

otherwise only mentions culture and historical context in a general way as important, but offers no specific aspects of the client’s identity that may be important to consider in assessing, diagnosing, conceptualizing or treating this patient. There is no mention of key salient cultural factors which were identified in this case such as intellectual/developmental functioning, family constellation, trauma history,

age, obesity and other medical concerns and psychiatric status.

It is very unclear why the student offered the following additional statement regarding diversity: “However, the aspect of globalization has facilitated multiculturalism thus making it hard for the psychiatrists to determine the cultural competence of the patients (Hays, 2016).”

Finally, there was also no discussion of specific areas of competence which the assessing or treating clinician should possess in order to work within the boundaries of their competence and to serve the client effectively. Likewise, areas of cultural similarity or difference between therapist and client would also be important to consider.

INTER-PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS: WRITING IN APA STYLE

Grade: Unacceptable (1)

The quality of the student’s writing and expression of ideas is very poor throughout the paper and is not at all consistent with graduate school scholarship. There are citations provided in the paper and listed in the reference list, though quotations did not include page numbers in the citation per APA guidelines.

Total Points: 13/40 FAIL

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