Edward L. Zuckerman, PhD, consults and creates effective practice tools for clinicians. He found his life's passion while working as a psychiatric aide at New York's Bellevue Hospital in the 1960s. Dr. Zuckerman has worked with adults in a variety of clinical contexts, acted as liaison with state hospitals, taught undergraduates, and maintained an independent practice in general clinical psychology for many years. He lives in rural western Pennsylvania.

Getting Oriented to the Clinician's Thesaurus
A Functional Guide to Report Construction
I. Conducting a Mental Health Evaluation
1. Beginning and Ending the Interview
2. Mental Status Evaluation Questions/Tasks
3. Questions about Signs, Symptoms, and Other Behavior Patterns
II. Standard Terms and Statements for Wording Psychological Reports
A. Introducing the Report
4. Beginning the Report: Preliminary Information
5. Referral Reasons
6. Background Information and History
B. The Person in the Evaluation
7. Behavioral Observations
8. Responses to Aspects of the Examination
9. Presentation of Self
10. Emotional/Affective Symptoms and Disorders
11. Cognition and Mental Status
12. Abnormal Signs, Symptoms, and Syndromes
13. Personality Patterns
C. The Person in the Environment
14. Activities of Daily Living
15. Social/Community Functioning
16. Couple and Family Relationships
17. Vocational/Academic Skills
18. Recreational Functioning
19. Other Specialized Evaluations
D. Completing the Report
20. Summary of Findings and Conclusions
21. Diagnostic Statement/Impression
22. Recommendations
23. Prognostic Statements
24. Closing Statements
III. Useful Resources
25. Treatment Planning and Treatment Plan Formats
26. Formats for Reports, Evaluations, and Summaries
27. Treatments for Specific Disorders and Concerns
28. Listing of Common Psychiatric and Psychoactive Drugs
29. Psychiatric Masquerade of Medical Conditions
Appendices
A. Abbreviations in Common Use
B. Annotated Readings in Assessment, Interviewing, and Report Writing
Feedback Solicitation Form
References
About the Clinician's Electronic Thesaurus, Version 7.0