Main description:

The movements toward cultural sensitivity and evidence-based practice are watershed developments in clinical psychology. As a population with a long history of substandard treatment from mental health systems, African Americans have especially benefitted from these improvements. But as with other racial and ethnic minorities, finding relevant test measures in most psychological domains presents clinicians with an ongoing challenge.

The Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans aims to close the evaluation/therapy gap by giving practitioners the tools to choose appropriate instruments while respecting client individuality. Expert contributors analyze scarce and far-flung data, identify strengths and limitations of measures and norms in their use with African-American clients, and advise on avoiding biases in interpreting results. The editors advocate for a theory-based hypothesis-testing approach to assessment when empirical evidence is lacking, and offer guidelines for decision-making that is effective as well as ethnically aware. The Guide's findings, insights, and practical information cover the gamut of test and diagnostic areas, including:

• IQ and personality.
• Generalized anxiety disorder, panic, and phobias.
• Neuropsychological assessment, cognitive decline, and dementia.
• Mood disorders and suicidality.
• Forensic assessment, risk, and recidivism.
• Measures specific to children and adolescents.
• Plus PTSD, substance disorders, eating pathology, and more.

Expertly complementing cross-cultural treatment texts, the Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans stands out as a trustworthy resource for treatment planning useful to clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, and clinical social workers.

Feature:

First book devoted to psychological assessment of African Americans

Provides specific guidelines for working with African American clients

Includes up-to-date research on psychological tests used with African Americans

Counteracts fact that African Americans are underrepresented in the cultural sensitivity movement despite being one of the largest ethnocultural minority groups in the USA

Back cover:

The movements toward cultural sensitivity and evidence-based practice are watershed developments in clinical psychology. As a population with a long history of substandard treatment from mental health systems, African Americans have especially benefitted from these improvements. But as with other racial and ethnic minorities, finding relevant test measures in most psychological domains presents clinicians with an ongoing challenge.

The Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans aims to close the evaluation/therapy gap by giving practitioners the tools to choose appropriate instruments while respecting client individuality. Expert contributors analyze scarce and far-flung data, identify strengths and limitations of measures and norms in their use with African-American clients, and advise on avoiding biases in interpreting results. The editors advocate for a theory-based hypothesis-testing approach to assessment when empirical evidence is lacking, and offer guidelines for decision-making that is effective as well as ethnically aware. The Guide's findings, insights, and practical information cover the gamut of test and diagnostic areas, including:

• IQ and personality.
• Generalized anxiety disorder, panic, and phobias.
• Neuropsychological assessment, cognitive decline, and dementia.
• Mood disorders and suicidality.
• Forensic assessment, risk, and recidivism.
• Measures specific to children and adolescents.
• Plus PTSD, substance disorders, eating pathology, and more.

Expertly complementing cross-cultural treatment texts, the Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans stands out as a trustworthy resource for treatment planning useful to clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, and clinical social workers.

Contents:

Conducting Assessments and Psychological Evaluations with African American Clients.- Cross-Cultural Considerations with African American Clients: A Perspective on Psychological Assessment.- The Assessment Interview: A review of Structured and Semi-Structured Clinical Interviews available for use among African American Clients.- Assessing Personality using Self-Report Measures with African American Clients.- IQ Testing and the African American Client.- Assessing Effort & Malingering with the African American Client.- Assessing Mood Disorders and Suicidality in African Americans.- Assessment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic, and Phobias with African Americans.- Assessment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with African Americans.- Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with African Americans.- Assessing Substance-Related Disorders in African Americans.- Assessing Eating Pathology in African Americans.- Assessing for Personality Disorders in the African American Client.- Screening for Cognitive Decline & Assessment of Dementia with African Americans.- Assessing Psychosis in African-American Clients.- Assessing Somatoform Disorders with the African American Client.- School-based Assessment with African American Children and Adolescents.- Neuropsychological Assessment with African American Clients.- Assessing Risk and Recidivism in African-Americans.- Forensic Assessment with the African American Client.