Initial Assessment Process Essay

a. Although I had been feeling overwhelmed by a busy work atmosphere, I enjoyed being part of the Palmerston North CAFS team. One of key areas of learning during my placement at CAFS was to gain a basic understanding of the initial assessment process, from allocating referrals to clinicians to having MDT decisions of whether or not referrals meet service criteria. Once referrals have been received, the duty triage clinicians allocate each referral to other clinicians for initial assessment and arrange appointments. Most clients I saw at their initial assessments were referred by their General Practitioners (GPs) or their schools, and one of crisis referrals were sent through Child, Youth, and Family (CYF).

An initial interview usually takes 60-90minutes and allows clinicians to collect relevant information as much as possible from clients and their primary caregivers by asking questions around their understandings of why a referral has been sent to CAFS, their mental health concerns, risks, schooling, personal and family circumstances, key developmental milestones and so forth. The initial assessment also includes mental status screening, substance abuse screening, and domestic abuse screening. I was always given chances to ask

At CAFS, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) has been used for the diagnosis of mental disorders. Although I completed my Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology, I had experienced difficulty in following discussions between clinicians during MDT due to a lack of knowledge about mental disorders, and I was required to refresh my memories and to improve my knowledge about common mental disorders in children and adolescents. Towards the end of my placement I had become more comfortable with myself following discussions at MDT with assistance and guidance from CAFS