Assessing Common Mental Health and Addiction Issues With Free-Access Instruments

Katie M. Sandberg, MA, is a national certified counselor, mobile mental health counselor, and a member of both Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, and Chi Sigma Iota, the International Honor Society in Counseling. She has authored numerous textbook chapters, supplemental instructional materials, and a professional journal article currently undergoing publication in the fields of lifespan, and human development and assessment. Taryn E. Richards, MEd, is a national certified counselor and a professional secondary school counselor in Maryland. She has authored textbook chapters, supplemental instructional materials, and a professional journal article currently undergoing publication in the fields of lifespan, and human development, treatment, and assessment. Bradley T. Erford, PhD, is the 2012-2013 President of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and a professor in the school counseling program of the education specialties department in the School of Education at Loyola University, Maryland. He has authored or edited more than 15 books. He has received numerous awards for his scholarship and service to the counseling profession from ACA and the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education (AACE).

• 1. Introduction and Use of Free Access Assessment Instruments  2. Assessment of Anxiety Disorders  3. Assessment of Mood Disorders  4. Assessment of Addiction and Related Disorders  5. Assessment of AD/HD, Disruptive, Impulse Control, Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders  6. Assessment of Disorders on the Autistic and Schizophrenic Spectrums  7. Assessment of Eating Disorders  8. Assessment of Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders  References

"To those who have tried sorting through the plethora of free-access assessments available on the Internet, Assessing Common Mental Health and Addiction Issues With Free-Access Instruments is a real treasure! Covering a wide range of free-access assessments addressing a broad array of mental health disorders, Sandberg, Richards, and Erford provide concise, relevant, and helpful reviews of these instruments. These reviews will allow counseling practitioners to make efficient determinations as to which free-access assessments will be useful in their clinical practice."—Spencer G. Niles, editor, Journal of Counseling & Development and professor and department head of educational psychology, counseling, and special education, Penn State University"Sandberg, Richards, and Erford offer a comprehensive review of the most efficient free-access instruments for mental health assessment across common diagnostic categories. The description of each instrument provides concise, yet complete, information about its purpose, administration, targeted symptoms, scales and scoring, interpretation, psychometric quality, strengths, and weaknesses. This book is a valuable reference for mental health professionals and can also be used to complement textbooks in graduate courses on assessment in counseling."—Dimiter M. Dimitrov, PhD, professor, George Mason University "Assessing Common Mental Health and Addiction Issues With Free-Access Instruments is a wonderful resource for clinicians and social science researchers. In an era where reimbursement for assessment is challenged more by third-party payers and instruments are more costly, Sandberg, Richards, and Erford provide an overview of free instruments with strong psychometric properties to facilitate the counseling process and improve the quality of care for clients."—Richard S. Balkin, PhD, associate professor and addictions program coordinator, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, and editor-elect, Journal of Counseling & Development