Writing Your Best DA: Staying Ethical, Efficient, and Compliant
Writing a Diagnostic Assessment is central to the treatment process and a core component of most mental health practitioners’ roles. Despite this, many mental health practitioners do not have the opportunity to master this skill, learning primarily on the job with little training or feedback. It is essential that mental health practitioners feel that they can engage in this practice in a way that is trauma-responsive, client-centered, ethical, meets the needs of their agency and third-party payers (especially MN DHS requirements), and is efficient.
Diagnostic Assessments live on for clients in their mental health records, court files and outcomes, relationships with service providers, and most importantly affect the ways that they see themselves in the context of their mental health. It is incumbent upon practitioners to ensure that we continue to hone our skills for diagnosis and assessment writing to ensure an ethical process that centers the client’s needs while maintaining compliance with statutory requirements.
This course is intended for both folks new to writing DA’s and to folks that want to brush up on skills and learn strategies for interviewing and writing more efficiently to DHS rule.
After completing this online, interactive course, participants will be able to:
- Learn strategies for client interviews to aid in efficient writing of diagnostic assessments, with a focus on interviewing to assess safely for trauma history.
- Review MN DHS statutory requirements for writing a Diagnostic Assessment, with special focus on cultural influences.
- Practice with comprehensive clinical summaries, written to statute, which integrate data obtained in the interview with their clinical justification for the chosen diagnosis and assessment of client needs and referrals.
After completing this online, interactive course, participants will be able to:
- Learn strategies for client interviews to aid in efficient writing of diagnostic assessments, with a focus on interviewing to assess safely for trauma history.
- Review MN DHS statutory requirements for writing a Diagnostic Assessment, with special focus on cultural influences.
- Practice with comprehensive clinical summaries, written to statute, which integrate data obtained in the interview with their clinical justification for the chosen diagnosis and assessment of client needs and referrals.
Continuing Education Hour Pre-Approvals
Participants in this workshop series are eligible to receive up to 3.5 CE Hours approved by the Minnesota Board of Social Work (#CEP-204). For participants needing clinical clock hours (CCH), this workshop meets the requirements, as defined by the Board of Social Work:
- Differential diagnoses and biopsychosocial assessment, including normative development and psychopathology: 2.5 CCH
- Clinical intervention methods informed by research and current methods of practice: 1 CCH
- Cultural Responsiveness: 1 Hour
This asynchronous offering is not pre-approved for NBCC credit.
Pricing and Registration
Individual Registration
About the Presenter
Angie Lewis-Dmello, MSW, LICSW
Angela Lewis-Dmello, MSW, LICSW is the President & CEO of Northeast Youth and Family Services (NYFS). She received a bachelor’s degree in global studies and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota. At NYFS, Angela supports the mission of a community based mental health and social service nonprofit dedicated to ensuring access to trauma-informed and culturally responsive care for clients across the lifespan. Angela was a Community Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work from 2012 to 2021 and owns a training and consulting practice in Minnesota which works with public, not-for-profit, and private organizations focused on trauma-informed care, trauma treatment interventions, and organizational management of secondary/vicarious trauma. Angela has a background in behavioral health administration, program development and evaluation, clinical training and supervision, and community-based participatory research (CBPR). She was a trauma therapist in domestic violence, child sexual violence, and torture treatment.