Alcoholism or alcohol abuse disorder should not be defined by one specific biological, environmental or psychosocial factor but rather as a disease with many interrelated factors and symptoms (Oltmanns and Emery, 2015). Alcohol consumption in our culture is a common behavior that is heightened by the media and engrained in the moral customs within our social worlds. This alcohol acceptance within our culture, coupled with personal denial and other emotional health problems, creates a problem when distinguishing a divide between acceptable drinking habits and a problematic physical dependency to alcohol (Szabó, and Gerevich, 2013). According to the DSM-IV the standards for alcohol addiction is a “maladaptive pattern of alcohol abuse leading
…show more content…
After the initial interview the therapist can use other assessment tools to further make a proper diagnosis and begin to identify the problem or multi problems at hand. There can pros and cons to using different forms of psychological assessments, depending on the client. I think if I was Marks therapist I would use the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ) which is used when determining if the client is either a casual drinker or an alcoholic. The Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) which provide helpful information in deciding the proper therapy and the amount of treatment necessary (Allen, 1991). I would also use personality tests such as the (TAT) and identification of dependency and depression quizzes such as, (LDQ) and (ADQ) (Oltmanns and Emery, 2015). I believe the advantage of using these tests out way their limitations, because they allow the therapist to get another perspective of the client’s thoughts and feelings even if they are unwilling to openly talk about their problem. Another, assessment I would find useful is observing the clients behavior, this can be done inside the office as well as outside with the clients performing behavioral homework, such as self-monitoring. This can be a helpful tool when trying to see the clients drinking patterns and how they relate to his behavior (Oltmanns and Emery,
After the initial interview the therapist can use other assessment tools to further make a proper diagnosis and begin to identify the problem or multi problems at hand. There can pros and cons to using different forms of psychological assessments, depending on the client. I think if I was Marks therapist I would use the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ) which is used when determining if the client is either a casual drinker or an alcoholic. The Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) which provide helpful information in deciding the proper therapy and the amount of treatment necessary (Allen, 1991). I would also use personality tests such as the (TAT) and identification of dependency and depression quizzes such as, (LDQ) and (ADQ) (Oltmanns and Emery, 2015). I believe the advantage of using these tests out way their limitations, because they allow the therapist to get another perspective of the client’s thoughts and feelings even if they are unwilling to openly talk about their problem. Another, assessment I would find useful is observing the clients behavior, this can be done inside the office as well as outside with the clients performing behavioral homework, such as self-monitoring. This can be a helpful tool when trying to see the clients drinking patterns and how they relate to his behavior (Oltmanns and Emery,