ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT: GAD-7

Assessment Instrument: GAD-7

Assessment Instrument: GAD-7

Overview

With advancements in the field of medical science and psychology; the use of assessment inventories for the diagnosis of mental illnesses is increasing. In today's fast paced world, the prevalence of depressive disorders has increased drastically. In order to adequately diagnose patients with mental illnesses, mental health professionals incorporate a number of assessment instruments in their professional practice.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) includes a detailed description of each mental illness. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is widely used by mental health professionals across the world for an adequate diagnosis of mental illnesses. The Mental health professionals use the manual to diagnose mental conditions. The manual is also used by insurance companies for reimbursement of treatments. In order to diagnose a patient with a mental illness; the patient must meet the criteria prescribed in the DSM (Burke, 2012).

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder is probably the most common anxiety disorder. Millions of people are diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) each year. For the assessment of mental illnesses primarily GAD; an inventory has been developed for a proper diagnosis of anxiety disorders (Cocozza et. al, 2000). The GAD-7 is a self reported inventory used to screen and assess the severity of depression in patients/clients. GAD-7 assesses the basic indicators of depression and anxiety in the individual and the results obtained from the conduction of GAD-7 guide the therapist to on an effective intervention i.e. cognitive therapy etc.

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) includes seven items; the items measure the degree of anxiety in the individual. The items require the client/patient to choose an answer based on the question. The questions are designed in a manner that they reveal an adequate measure anxiety in the individual. The final score is calculated by adding up the individual scores. The therapists make use of the cumulative score in their determination of GAD (Swinson, 2006). GAD-7 has proven to be an effective assessment tool for anxiety and depression. Despite the tool's high validity and reliability; GAD-7 does not undermine the importance of a thorough clinical assessment. Experts suggest that a clinical assessment should be conducted regardless of an extreme score on GAD-7 inventory.

Theoretical Framework

The Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic disorder; characterized by long term anxiety which is not object or person specific. Patients who suffer from GAD tend to have worries and fears that are beyond their control. They also tend to be extremely concerned and agitated with everyday lives. In contemporary medicine and psychology, GAD-7 is widely used by mental health professionals. The primary reason for its vast use and popularity is the high reliability of measure and validity offered by the assessment tool.

Applicability of GAD -7

The GAD-7 is meant to measure the level of anxiety in individuals. It has proven to be widely applicable in the field of psychotherapy and medical science; primarily due to its construct, criterion ...