Introduction Depression has been ranked fourth on the list of urgent health problems worldwide (Malay, Asish, Sukendu, Ranadip & Sarmila, 2012). With that being said, various scales of measurements have been developed in order to determine a reliable diagnosis. One of these scales includes the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (also known as the HAM-D or HRDS). The Hamilton Depression Scale, published by Max Hamilton, is the most widely used depression-rating scale in the world (Malay, Asish, Sukendu, Ranadip & Sarmila, 2012). The scale was established in 1960 as a measure of depressive symptoms that was used in conjunction with clinical interviews. The original version contains seventeen items pertaining to the symptoms of depression one …show more content…
It can be preformed on a client who has a primary diagnosis is depression as well as those who have depression as a co-occurring diagnosis. Also, the client’s diagnosis does not have to be long term. The test can be preformed on a client who recently suffered their first major depressive episode and was just diagnosed. The HRSD can be preformed on all different types of clients with depression as a diagnosis. This measure is intended to be used in a clinical setting. A clinician or health professional can administer and interpret the test. Each item on the assessment has options to choose from as a response. Next to each response, is a number ranging from 0 to 4. The numbers associated with each response are added up to determine a total score. The higher the score, the higher the severity of …show more content…
Hamilton depression scale “is a clinometric index whose value depends entirely upon the skills of the nurse in eliciting the necessary information from the patient” (The Journal of Nursing, 2015). Studies have demonstrated that the Hamilton depression scale actually is better than the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (as stated in the psychometric portion of this paper) in sensitivity to change and in detecting early change with treatment (The Journal of Nursing, 2008). The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression should continue to be used now and into the future. Various studies have determined its reliability and it has been revised through the
Williamson, J. S. (2008). Depression. Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 88(1), 18-18, 24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/235187495?accountid=27965
The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is the latest version of one of the most extensively used assessments of depression that utilizes a self-report method to measure depression severity in individuals aged thirteen and older (Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996). The BDI-II proves to be an effective measure of depression as evidenced by its prevalent use in both clinical and counseling settings, as well as its use in studies of psychotherapy and antidepressant treatment (Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996). Even though the BDI-II is meant to be administered individually, the test administration time is only 5 to 10 minutes and Beck, Steer & Brown (1996) remark that the interpretive guidelines presented in the test manual are straightforward, making the 21 item Likert-type measure an enticing option to measure depression in appropriate educational settings. However it is important to remember that even though the BDI-II may be easy to administer and interpret, doing so should be left to highly trained individuals who plan to use the results in correlation with other assessments and client specific data when diagnosing a client with depression. An additional consideration is the response bias that can occur in any self-report instrument; Beck, Steer & Brown (1996, pg. 1) posit that clinicians are often “faced with clients who alter their presentation to forward a personal agenda that may not be shared.” This serves as an additional reminder that self-report assessments should not be the only assessment used in the diagnoses process.
Zung, W. W. K., (1965). A self-rating depression scale. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 12:63-70.[Duke Univ. Med. Ctr., Dept. Psychiatry, Durham, NC]
middle of paper ... ... Retrieved June 16, 2002, from http://nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm. National Mental Health Association. 2000 May 15.
Hardy, Sheila. "Prevention And Management Of Depression In Primary Care." Nursing Standard 27.26 (2013): 51-56. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
Depression is an equal opportunity disorder, it can affect any group of people with any background, race, gender, or age. Depression is a sneak thief that slips quietly and gradually into people’s lives - robbing them of their time, and their focus. At first, depression may be undetectable, but in the long run a person could become so weighed down that their life may feel empty and meaningless. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone who commits suicide is depressed, but majority of people who commits suicide do so during a severe depressive episode. There are over 300 million people in the world today who suffer from depression. Depression has affected people for a long as records have been kept. It was first called out by the famous Greek philosopher Hippocrates over 2,400 years ago. Hippocrates called it “melancholia”. Many times we think of depression as one disorder alone, when in fact there are many different types of depression. The different types of depression are major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, atypical disorder, adjustment disorder, and depressive personality disorder. All types of depression share at least one common symptom. It is commons from the person who suffers from any form of depression to feel an unshakable sadness, anxious, or empty mood. Major depressive disorder also known as unipolar depression or recurrent depressive disorder is the most severe depressive disorder out of all of the depressive in my estimation. Major depressive disorder is a condition in which affects a person’s family, work or school life, sleeping, eating and general health. It is important to emphasize that we can understand the mechanics of this disorder and how it affects people with major depressive disorder.
The assessment includes a brief manual which appears to be written for a clinician to conduct. It gives directions on how to administer and score the items. The test kit also includes answer sheets and a computer scoring package. The test is also cohesive with the other assessment tests developed by Beck and they results can be easily combined with one another.
Major Depressive Disorder, according to Coon, is a mood disorder in which the person has suffered one or more intense episodes of depression. Major Depressive Disorder falls under mood disorders subtopic depressive disorders (Coon 2013). “Psychologist have come to realize that mood disorders (major disturbances in emotion) are among the most serious of all psychological conditions. In any given year, roughly 9.5 percent of the U.S. population suffers from a mood disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011a)” (Coon 2013). I was one of the 9.5 percent. I have decided to write on this topic because I want to understand what causes it. I have been depressed before without medication or counseling and I wanted to know why do you get depressed and how does it impact you. This essay will talk about disorder information, disorder triggers, research on depression, treatment for depression, and theorist’s experiments for Major Depression Disorder.
Katon, W., and Sullivan, M. D., (1990) Depression and Chronic Mental Illness. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, v.51. pgs. 8-19
Videbeck SL (2004) “Nursing Care Plan: Depression” Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, Third Edition, page 325-326
Williams, J. B. (1988) A structured interview guide for the Hamilton depression rating scale. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 45, 742-747.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2014). “Depression: What Every Woman Should Know”. Pub No. 95-3871.
These characteristics make the measure favorable for use among clinicians with various backgrounds and approaches to treatment. Each item on the BAI can be rated according to four levels: not at all (0), mildly – it did not bother me much (1), moderately – it was very unpleasant, but I could stand it (2), and severely – I could barely stand it (3; Beck et al., 1988). Individuals are instructed to circle which best describes their experience of the item within the last month. Upon completion of the measure, the clinician totals the individual’s scores for all items. Individuals who score 21 or under have lower levels of anxiety, those scoring from 22 to 35 have moderate anxiety, and those scoring over 36 have higher levels of anxiety.
Simpson, C. (2007) ‘Mental Health part3: Assessment and Treatment of Depression’ British Journal of Healthcare assistants. pp 167-171.
...h the inventory is very easy to use and is self explanatory, it’s seems important to evaluate when and why the test is being used with the client and how the results are going to benefit the client. Because the assessment is a self-report assessment, it’s so crucial to help the client understand how important an honest evaluation of their symptoms is to an accurate score.