comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment

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Week 1:

APA FORMAT PLEASE

To Prepare for the Discussion:

  • Review the Learning Resources concerning the comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment.
  • Watch the Mental Status Examination video.
  • Watch the two YMH Bostonvideos.

Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts and cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking Submit!

BY DAY 3

Based on the YMH Boston Vignette 4 video, post answers to the following questions:

  • What did the practitioner do well?
  • In what areas can the practitioner improve?
  • At this point in the clinical interview, do you have any compelling concerns? If so, what are they?
  • What would be your next question, and why?

Week 1: Comprehensive Integrated Psychiatric Assessment

“We adopted Maria from an orphanage in Guatemala when she was 4 years old. We were hoping she would love us as much as we love her, but she is always so distant and will not let us get close. She continually bumps her head on the wall and screams when we try to make her stop. She is now 5, and we have tried everything to help her understand that we just want to love her and have her be part of our family.”

Jessica and Jason, Parents of 5-year-old Maria

The delicate dance—engagement and empathy.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2017d). Working with Children and Adolescents [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.



The comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment is one of the most important elements of the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner’s (PMHNP) skill set to understand, diagnose, and develop a treatment plan for Maria. The psychiatric interview is a craft by which one human being becomes acquainted with another’s deepest thoughts, fears, emotions, and behavior. “This task is not unlike exploring a darkened room in an old Victorian house” (Shea, p. 3) with only a candle for illumination. As the PMHNP sees more of the client’s life unfold, the picture becomes clearer.

This week, you explore in depth the elements of the comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment and diagnostic process.

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

American Nurses Association. (2014).
Psychiatric-mental health nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

  • Standard 5D “Prescriptive Authority and Treatment” (page 58)

Note: Throughout the program you will be reading excerpts from the ANA’s Scope & Standards of Practice for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. It is essential to your success on the ANCC board certification exam for Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioners that you know the scope of practice of the advanced practice psychiatric/mental health nurse. You should also be able to differentiate between the generalist RN role in psychiatric/mental health nursing and the advanced practice nurse role.

Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014).
Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

  • Chapter 5, “Examination and Diagnosis of the Psychiatric Patient” (pp. 192–289)
  • Chapter 31, “Child Psychiatry” (pp. 1082–1107)

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

  • “Introduction”
  • “Use of the Manual”
  • “Cultural Formulation”

Kaplan, C. (2017). Ethical dilemmas. Advanced Healthcare Network. Retrieved from
https://web.archive.org/web/20160416180027/http://…

Pumariega, A. J., Rothe, E., Mian, A., Carlisle, L., Toppelberg, C., Harris, T., . . . Smith, J. (2013). Practice parameter for cultural competence in child and adolescent psychiatric practice. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(10), 1101–1115. Retrieved from
http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567(13)00479-…

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). (2012a). Practice parameter for psychodynamic psychotherapy with children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(5), 541–557. Retrieved from
http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567(12)00141-…

American Psychological Association. (2017). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

Document: Child and Adolescent Diagnostic Assessment Worksheet (Word document)


Document: Practicum Journal Template (Word document)






Document: NP Student Clinical Orientation (PowerPoint file)

Required Media

Gajbhare, P. (2014, March 8).
Mental status examination [Video file]
. Retrieved from


Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 36 minutes.


YMH Boston. (2013a, May 22).
Vignette 1 – Introduction to a preventive services visit [Video file]
. Retrieved from


Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 3 minutes.


YMH Boston. (2013c, May 22).
Vignette 4 – Introduction to a mental health assessment [Video file]
. Retrieved from


Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 4 minutes.

Optional Resources

Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014).
Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

  • Chapter 1, “Neural Sciences” (pp. 1–92)
  • Chapter 31.2, “Assessment, Examination, and Psychological testing” (pp. 1107–1118)

Thapar, A., Pine, D. S., Leckman, J. F., Scott, S., Snowling, M. J., & Taylor, E. A. (2015).
Rutter’s child and adolescent psychiatry (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell.

Discussion: Comprehensive Integrated Psychiatric Assessment

The comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment of a child or adolescent consists of gathering information from not only the child but from several sources, most notably the family members, caregivers, and the child’s teacher or school counselor. Because of this, the diagnostic assessment becomes more complicated. Issues of confidentiality, privacy, and consent must be addressed. Also, the PMHNP must take into consideration the impact of culture on the child.

In this Discussion, you review and critique the techniques and methods of a mental health professional as he or she completes a comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment of an adolescent.

Learning Objectives

Students will:
  • Evaluate comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment techniques
  • Recommend assessment questions