www.scalesandmeasures.net

www.scalesandmeasures.net

Tools for Practice Tuesday

 Scalesandmeasures.net is a database of 1,480 health and mental health scales covering a variety of topics. I have found it helpful to find scales for clinical practice. Most appear to be on the public domain.  Some are not in which case they will provide the link for purchase. It is user friendly although it is a little challenging using from a mobile phone.

As a social worker, I find scales helpful to give clients feedback.  Sure there are times when scales are fairly transparent and clients will “tell you what you want to hear.”  When a client answers honestly the feedback can be valuable.  Sometimes just pulling a few questions from a scale can be helpful.

I had a 15 year old client self-rate ADHD symptoms (using the Vanderbilt Rating Scale) higher than both her teachers and her parents. The parent/teacher ratings were very high as well. This was a young lady who was highly against medication. Providing the feedback on this discrepancy helped her make an informed decision to take a stimulant medication. As a result her academic performance improved. The answer to lack of progress might be found on scalesandmeasures.net.  Happy measuring 🙂

Basketball is Life…

To my 12 year old client struggling with ADHD, a learning disability, and mood problems, this statement is true. He eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball. In a few moments The National Championship between Kentucky and Connecticut will start. As a basketball lover myself I think about this client almost every time I watch.

Despite his mental health diagnosis and other disabilities, he is an incredible athlete. The way he conducts himself on the court, you would know little about his limitations. He is able to manage his anger well and work with others. This is not true in other settings. I adopted the typical strengths-based approach with him but I decided to add narrative layer in my interventions with him.

I attempted to turn his passion into small therapeutic lessons. For instance, he listens to referees and disagrees with them appropriately. However when it comes to teachers and others in authority he often becomes verbally and at times physically aggressive. I challenged him to tell me why this was. He could not.  When you pass the ball and the other team gets it you will soon have another opportunity. He understands this well but when he fails a test in school he becomes so discouraged he will refuse to do work for the entire day. He was able to internalize this and does not give up for the entire day as frequently. He still struggles with his mental illness and disabilities but has made significant progress.  About once a month I come up with a basketball narrative for him. Sometimes he finds them helpful, sometimes he does not. I hope that if I continue to do this he will continue to internalize and learn from them.

We sometimes have to find what someone is passionate about and run with this. The strengths-based approach is perhaps one of the most important contributions to social work practice. For those who are feeling hopeless, it often gives hope. Think about how you can integrate with other practice theories to get yourself or clients “unstuck.”