Psychological Assessment of Emotional Dysregulation in Children and Adolescents: The Bipolar Spectrum and Beyond

This book explains the process by which assessment psychologists can evaluate and report the nature and severity of emotional dysregulation in their young patients.

As referrals for clinical assessment of complex children and adolescents frequently involve questions about emotional regulation in general and the possibility of bipolar spectrum conditions in particular, trainees and practitioners will find this to be an invaluable resource. Challenges with emotional regulation are common among patients of all ages who are referred for formal psychological assessment. Understanding the nature and severity of such challenges is crucial if evaluators are to make accurate formulations and develop meaningful treatment implications. This book will illuminate the process by which an assessment psychologist evaluates and reports the nature of emotional dysregulation. It will also serve as a reference book to tailor test batteries, interpret findings related to differential diagnosis, and link test findings with meaningful treatment implications.

Topics explored include detailed case examples addressing real-world referral questions, challenges around differential diagnosis, and explanations of treatment implications. Discussion of various assessment measures are considered as well, including more common measures like BASC-3 and performance-based measures as well as disorder-specific measures which may be less familiar to many clinicians. Providers will learn how to differentiate bipolar disorders from other co-occuring mental health disorders that feature dysregulated emotion, including OCD, PTSD, ADHD, and others.

Anthony Bram, PhD, ABAP, FABP, is a licensed psychologist with extensive experience in the evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Bram is currently a part-time lecturer in psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School and is on the faculty of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. He has published clinical, theoretical, and research articles in numerous professional journals and is the author of Psychological Testing That Matters: Creating a Road Map for Effective Treatment (APA 2014). He has received a fellowship from the American Psychoanalytic Association, the Martin Mayman Award from the Society for Personality Assessment, the Scientific Writing Award from the Menninger Clinic, and the Johanna Tabin Book Proposal Prize from APA Division 39 (Psychotherapy)