Psychological diagnostics in health care

Psychological diagnosticsin health care is the translation of Psychologische diagnostiek in de gezondheidszorg (fourth edition) and is intended for students in the fields of psychology, (special needs) education, mental health education and for advanced students in applied psychology. This publication gives a comprehensive overview of psychological diagnostics in the health care sector. Various types of psychological tests play a central role in this book. They represent a unique contribution by psychologists to making diagnoses with medical practitioners and social workers. The book consists of three parts. Part I provides an explanation of the psychologist’s way of thinking and methodology. Starting with the empirical cycle, Chapter 1 discusses the five basic questions of diagnostics, after which a range of quality aspects are addressed in Chapter 2. Part II examines the main diagnostic methods: interview, observation, indirect methods, intelligence tests, neuropsychological methods, personality tests and specifi c questionnaires. Subjects like the use of computers in diagnostics, ethical aspects and the reporting of diagnostics are subsequently addressed. Part II concludes with a discussion of the dynamic profi le interpretation. To illustrate the theory of Parts I and II, Part III contains four case studies from a variety of fields in the health care sector. Editors Frans Luteijn and Dick Barelds have compiled contributions from 17 different experts on the topic of psychological diagnostics.