Every so often, the clinician can check with the caregiver on the information the youth is providing to see if they have observed things similarly “from the outside.” Acknowledge from the outset that it is “normal” for the youth and caregiver to have different perspectives on a given situation and that both perspectives are important for the assessment. [...] The adolescent may decide to not have the caregiver in the room for a large portion (or any) of the assessment, which may make the caregiver feel “shut out.” A few ways to address this include: • Validate the caregiver's concern about feeling “shut out.” The caregiver may have been used to being highly involved in the adolescent’s care when they were younger, but it is normal for adolescents to ta. [...] Over the past two weeks or more, do you think Describe recent pattern of depressed mood: you have been depressed (i.e., had low mood or felt persistently sad) more than half of the time? For how long has the depressed mood been present for more than half of the time? What percent of the time would you guess you have been depressed in the past two weeks (e.g., more than three quarters of the time o. [...] Do you use weed (cannabis/ marijuana)? In the past two to three months, how often have you used weed? When do you typically use (e.g., what time of day, which days of the week)? How many grams do you use in a day, on the days you do use? Do you use a bong, joints, edibles, concentrates? Do you know what percentage of THC is in the cannabis you are using? What does it do for you? Do you or your car. [...] If the adolescent answers yes to any of the following questions, it is important to follow up with an open invitation to describe the experience in their own words as they are comfortable (e.g., “To the extent that you are comfortable, tell me more.”) It is important to avoid further yes or no questions as this may influence the answers.
- Pages
- 35
- Published in
- Canada
