Self-Paced Clinical Assessment- Understanding Assessment of Symptoms and Behaviors for Diagnosis, the Mental Status Exam and Diagnostic Care Principles (FY 2025)

This self-paced course awards 3 CEUs

This offering is part of a series on clinical practice for social work and other counseling professionals. Courses can all be taken individually as well. This presentation offers information and resources on assessment of symptoms and behavior for diagnosis using the DSM V and understanding\use of the Mental Status Exam (MSE). This offering also provides other helpful and practical knowledge on diagnostic care principals. This self-paced course is beneficial for those new to clinical work and for more established counseling professionals seeking additional resources for assessment and practice skills.

Upon concluding this course, fully engaged participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand symptoms, causes and risk factors for mental health disorders
• Learn and conduct an assessment Interview based upon three models of diagnostic interviews
• Review and understand use and completion of the Mental Status Examination as a foundation for diagnosis/assessment
• Recognize and apply an array of diagnostic care principles including creation of a differential diagnosis, dealing with conflicting information sources, cultural concerns in diagnosis and assessment, and addressing multiple diagnosis and uncertainty with diagnosis

Harry Livesay, LCSW-S, has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-S) with over 25 years of counseling experience. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Houston- Graduate College of Social Work. He has spent most of his career working in public and non-profit, community-based behavioral health care settings providing counseling, support and empowerment for underserved communities in Texas.