Diagnosis and Goal Setting

Sarah is a five year old Hispanic female in kindergarten. She has a twin sister Esther, and they are very close in their sibling relationship. They still sleep in the same bed together even though they each have their own bedroom. Until recently, they did not have friends, choosing to play only with each other. When Sarah and Esther entered Kindergarten, the school placed them in separate classes. Although Esther transitioned without issue and quickly made friends, Sarah has not. She has not spoken since the first week of school. Her relationship with her sister has deteriorated. Sarah spends her free time hiding under her bed, drawing or holding her dolls. Sarah’s parents thought it was a phase and she would adjust, but when Esther had a sleep over with her new friends, Sarah ran away. Her parents searched the neighborhood and could not find her. After an hour, they called the police. The police searched the neighborhood and they finally found her in the park.

Marisa is a 13-year old Hispanic female in the 7th grade. She was adopted by Catherine, a single mother when she was 26 months old. She spent her first 26 months in an orphanage in Belize and Catherine had to wait for 10 months before Marisa was able to come to America. Marisa hits herself when she feels afraid and when she thinks that Catherine is upset with her. Catherine has been very nurturing and supportive of Marisa, trying to use self-help books to work with her behaviors. Marisa does do well in school and learned to be proficient in English very quickly and easily. Marisa struggles in relationship with her peers, often getting her feelings hurt during competitive class activities (often saying “It’s not fair!”)
Marisa’s behaviors have escalated recently, since Catherine adopted a three month old baby boy.

What You Need to Know
Diagnosis
This week, you will be developing a diagnosis for two case study clients—a child and an adolescent. Use the following resources from the library to help you create appropriate diagnoses for your clients:
First, M. B. (2014). DSM-5 handbook of differential diagnosis. American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Goal Setting
You will also develop goals for your child and adolescent clients. The following two resources will help you understand how to set goals for your clients and provide you with valuable information you utilize to help you develop appropriate goals.
Jongsma, A. E., Jr., Peterson, L. M., McInnis, W. P., & Bruce, T. J. (2014). The child psychotherapy treatment planner (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Jongsma, A. E., Jr., Peterson, L. M., McInnis, W. P., & Bruce, T. J. (2014). The adolescent psychotherapy treatment planner (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Assignment DIAGNOSIS AND GOAL SETTING
For this assignment, review the four case studies provided in the Assignment Case Studies media and select one child and one adolescent case study to use as the basis for your work. Use the Week 5 Assignment Template [DOCX] to guide and complete your work. For each case study, you will complete the following:
Determine an appropriate DSM-5 diagnoses.
Develop a minimum of appropriate long-term goals.
Develop a minimum of two short-term goals for each identified long-term goal.
Identify a minimum of three current or potential legal issues that may impact the client’s treatment in counseling.
Identify a minimum of three current or potential ethical issues that may impact the client’s treatment in counseling.
Be sure to support your work with a minimum of four recent peer-reviewed journal articles in addition to other academic resources (DSM-5, APA code of ethics, et cetera). Also, communicate in a manner that is scholarly and professional, adheres to current APA standards, and is consistent with expectations for members of the counseling professions.

Additional Requirements
As you complete your assignment, be sure to:
Write coherently to support your work with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics as expected of a counseling professional.
Correctly apply current APA style and format. Visit Evidence and APA for more information.
Cite only recent (published within the last 5 years), relevant academic literature to support your work.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 3: Assess for legal responsibilities and applicable ethical standards when planning counseling for children and adolescents.
Identify current or potential legal issues that may impact the client’s treatment in counseling.
Identify current or potential ethical issues that may impact the client’s treatment in counseling.
Competency 6: Develop diagnoses and treatment plans for child and adolescent mental and emotional disorders.
Determine correct DSM-5 diagnoses.
Develop appropriate long-term goals for a client.
Develop appropriate short-term goals for each identified long-term client goal.
Competency 7: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the counseling professions.
Support work with recent peer-reviewed journal articles and other academic resources.
Communicate in a manner that is scholarly and professional, adheres to current APA standards, and is consistent with expectations for members of the counseling professions.

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