Mental Health Assessments (for Depression)

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Case: 12 year-old Max has been experiencing symptoms of major depressive disorder evidenced by such including:
  • History of depression from father (who died 5 years ago).
  • Displaying tantrums and more aggression towards his toys and friends
  • Having a sad expression and seems empty even in a room full of people and excitement.
  • he feels like he is disappointing his mom, his friends do not want to hang out with him anymore and feels like everyone hates him and he is very alone
  • There have been 2 suicide attempts with other students in the school.
In order to officially diagnose Max with depression, he has to undergo certain mental health screening assessments for depression. Such assessment include...

SIGECAPS

SIGECAPS is a well-known mnemonic that lists the symptoms of major depressive disorder. According to the DSM-5. SIGECAPS stands for:

  • Sleep: insomnia or hypersomnia
  • Interest: reduced, with loss of pleasure
  • Guilt: often unrealistic
  • Energy: mental and physical fatigue
  • Concentration: distractibility, memory disturbance, indecisiveness
  • Appetite: decreased or increased
  • Psychomotor: retardation or agitation
  • Suicide: thoughts, plans, behaviors. 

(Lam, 2019)

CES-DC

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) is a 20-item self-report depression questionnaire with a range of 0 to 60 potential scores. Each item response is graded as follows:

0 = "Not At All"

1 = "A Little"

2 = "Some"

3 = "A Lot"

(Below is an example of the questionnaire)


Higher CES-DC scores suggest an increase in depression. The inventors of the questionnaire, Weissman et al. (1980), chose a cutoff score of 15 as being indicative of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. That implies, scores higher than 15 can indicate high levels of depression symptoms.

(BrightFutures, n.d)

The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
The PHQ-9 is a short inventory that highlights the predominant symptoms of depression. This screening assessment is very easy to use, and easy for patients and families to understand.
(Halter et al, 2019, pg. 251-252)

Tool for Assessment of Suicide Risk Adolescent Version Modified (TASR-Am)

Suicide ideation, which can include fantasizing about death and planning and carrying out a suicide, is important to assess for in patients with a depressive disorder (Halter et al, 2019, pg. 251). This is cause the risk for suicide is increased when depression is accompanied by hopelessness, recent loss or separation, history of past suicide attempts, or acute suicidal ideation (Halter et al, 2019, pg. 252).

The TASR-AM is a tool that aids in the clinical examination of young people who are at high risk of suicide. Because suicide is a behavior rather than a medical diagnosis, the TASR-Am is not a diagnostic tool. The TASR-Am, on the other hand, is a semi-structured instrument that the clinician may use to ensure that the most prevalent risk factors linked with suicide in young people have been identified. (Mental Health Literacy, n.d)
(Mental Health Literacy, n.d)

Depression and Major Depressive Disorders can often go unrecognized and underdiagnosed. It is important to detect the disorder early, to seek early treatment, and this can be done through diagnostic screening tools and assessments. (Halter et al, 2019, pg. 251)

References

Bright Futures. (n.d). Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

for Children (CES-DC). Retrieved from, https://mentalhealthliteracy.org/product/tool-assessment-suicide-risk-adolescent-version-modified-tasr/

Halter, M. J., Pollard, C. L., & Jakubec, S. L. (2019). Varcarolis's

Canadian Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: A clinical approach (2nd ed.). Elsevier Canada.

Lam, R.W. (2019). Depression: Screening & Assessment. CAMH. Retrieved

from https://www.camh.ca/en/professionals/treating-conditions-and-disorders/depression/depression---screening-and-assessment

Mental Health Literacy. (n.d). Tool for Assessment of Suicide Risk Adolescent

Version Modified (TASR-Am). Retrieved from https://mentalhealthliteracy.org/product/tool-assessment-suicide-risk-adolescent-version-modified-tasr/

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