The purpose of this assignment is (1) to provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate acquired knowledge and skills pertaining to advanced social work practice treating Bipolar Disorder at different periods across the lifespan, and (2) to provide you with clinical guidelines and material for current and future practice.

You will be provided with clinical cases across the lifespan and will select the appropriate assessments, working diagnosis, and treatment recommendations.  You may also select a case that you currently work with at your placement to workshop. The brief assignments will address course material covered in the course (weeks 1-6).  Additional details will be provided and reviewed in class.

You will answer questions about two case vignettes which will be available on Canvas in the “Assignments” tab.  For each case, please answer the questions in one word or phrase if possible (or short answers where needed).   The assignment is due on March 2nd uploaded to Canvas.

1.  Assessment and working diagnosis

a.  Name the screening tool(s) will you use to measure symptoms.

b.  State your working diagnosis.

2.  Differential diagnosis

a. List the key symptoms/criteria that led you to your working diagnosis.

b. List the condition(s) that you are ruling out.

c. State the criteria upon which you are ruling out those conditions.

3. Key concern

a. State the main concern/issue/symptom that you will target first. Consider life threatening symptoms first, etc.

b. Explain why you will target that symptom first.

4.  Intervention techniques

a.  State the intervention technique that you will use to specifically treat the primary symptom/behavior/cognition that you selected in #3.

b.  Name any additional symptoms that you would like to address with this client.

c.  What intervention techniques will you use to specifically treat the other symptoms?

5.  Lifespan, identity, and contextual considerations

a.  Describe developmental, cultural, gender, ethnic, race, etc. aspects that need to be taken into consideration in the diagnosis and treatment of this client.