Week 5

Diagnosis of Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders

Social workers take particular care when diagnosing anxiety due to its similarity to other conditions. In this Discussion, you carefully assess a client with anxiety disorder using the steps of differential diagnosis. You also recommend an intervention for treating the disorder.

To prepare: Read “The Case of Emily P.” Review the decision trees for anxiety and OCD in the Morrison (2014) text and the podcasts on anxiety. Then access the Walden Library and research interventions for anxiety.

Post a 300- to 500-word response in which you address the following:

• Explain your own diagnostic decision tree with a brief rationale for any elimination of close differentials for the case of Emily.
• Provide the full DSM-5 diagnosis for Emily. Remember, a full diagnosis should include the name of the disorder, ICD-10-CM code, specifiers, severity, and the Z codes (other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention). 
• Describe an evidence-based assessment scale that would assist in ongoing validation of your diagnosis. 
• Recommend a specific intervention and explain why this intervention may be effective in treating Emily. Support your recommendation with references to scholarly resources.