When you visit your primary care physician for an annual exam or to address a physical complaint, you aren't asked a question about every symptom of every known biomedical condition, or you'd be there for days or weeks! Instead, your PCP generally asks you a small number of screening questions. If you answer "yes" to one of these questions, the physician knows to move on to a 2nd or perhaps even 3rd level of questions that narrows the focus to a smaller cluster of potential problems or disorders, eventually (hopefully) arriving at a very precise and specific diagnosis.
The same process applies to mental health professionals conducting mental health evaluations. Fortunately, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), upon release of the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the subsequent text revision of the DSM-5 (DSM-5-TR), published a system of free online assessment measures, including Level 1 and Level cross cutting symptoms measures, severity specifier questionnaires, a cultural formulation interview, personality assessment measures, and disability assessment measures, all of which can be used by mental health professionals to narrow focus to a specific and refined diagnosis.
In this 1-hour webinar, you will be introduced to these online assessment measures and shown how to use them. Whether you are a therapist working in a therapeutic setting or a forensic evaluator hoping to supplement a more advanced testing battery with tools that help you refine your diagnosis during a clinical interview, this webinar ought to equip you with several helpful tools. You will also be introduced to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration's online screening tools.
Learning Objectives:
About the Presenter
Presented by: Aaron Norton, PhD, LMHC, LMFT, MAC, CFMHE, CFBA, CCMHC, CRC
Executive Director, National Board of Forensic Evaluators
Dr. Aaron Norton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with certifications in addictions, alcohol and drug counseling, rehabilitation counseling, clinical mental health counseling, trauma treatment, forensic mental health evaluation, forensic behavioral analysis, and forensic psychometry. He serves as executive director of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators, assistant professor of instruction at the University of South Dept. of Mental Health Law & Policy, southern regional director, Ethics Committee liaison, and International Counseling Task Force chair for the American Mental Health Counselors Association, chair of the Government Relations Committee for the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association, and consulting editor for AMHCA’s The Advocate Magazine. He co-authored the Forensic Evaluation section of the "AMHCA Standards for the Practice of Clinical Mental Health Counseling,” authored the proposal for AMHCA’s Clinical Mental Health Specialist in Forensic Evaluation (CMHS-FE) credential, authored the DSM-5 to DSM-5-TR update article published in the American Counseling Association's Counseling Today magazine, and served on the expert panel that created the standards and written exam for the Florida Certification Board’s Certified Telehealth Practitioner (CTP) credential. He has 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor, was awarded Mental Health Counselor of the Year by the American Mental Health Counselors Association in 2016, Counselor Educator of the Year by the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2016, Researcher of the Year by the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2019, and he was awarded AMHCA’s Public and Community Service Award in 2020. An experienced writer, presenter, and trainer, he has been published in several academic journals and professional magazines in the counseling profession.
Continuing Education Information
The National Board of Forensic Evaluators (NBFE) has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6189. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. NBFE is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.
This workshop has been approved for 1 contact hour with the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, & Mental Health Counseling, CE Broker Tracking # 20-642629 (CE Broker Provider #50-15823).
NBFE is recognized and endorsed by the American Mental Health Counselors Association.
Click here for NBFE Cancellation/Refund Policy.
