Challenges in Diagnosis and Assessment

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(A) Two future challenges in the area of diagnosis and assessment include better assessments for (1) anxiety disorders and (2) alcohol-related disorders.

1. Anxiety
Considering anxiety disorders, research is needed for ways to incorporate psycho-social interventions into medical diagnoses for chronically ill persons such as those with cancer. Psycho-social interventions include treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral therapy psycho-educational research and music therapy. Jacobson and Jim (2008) assert that although help agencies are listed in medical manuals, no recommended guidelines are recommended following a medical diagnosis. Psycho-social interventions have been shown to be an essential component of caring for individuals with cancer. However, the challenges lie in ways for clinicians to utilize psycho-social aspects of treatment as a part of the medical treatment process for chronically-ill persons.

The goal of a psycho social intervention is to relieve emotional distress and improve the cancer patient's quality of life. For instance, based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR [APA], 2000) features, there are several variations to consider when making a diagnosis for anxiety and depression that includes somatic and cognitive symptoms. The person can be so overwhelmed with anxiety until it can be reasonably assumed that his or her health is being affected by her anxiety and depression. Thus, it is important to understand how anxiety can impact an individual?s life who is suffering from a diagnosis of a chronic illness and/or disease. Further, research highlights barriers to a cancer ...