The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is a test used by mental health professionals to evaluate psychiatric symptoms, often with patients who have severe psychological impairment. It has 18-24 sections with a rating scale of 1-7, and is used for diagnosis and to assess patient progress. Observation by the healthcare professional is critical, as well as patient self-disclosure.
The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is a test used by mental health professionals to evaluate a patient’s psychiatric symptoms. It is most often used with patients who have severe psychological impairment, especially bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia. This scale has between 18 and 24 sections, each of which focuses on a different set of symptoms. It usually has a rating scale of one to seven, with a rating of one for minimal or no symptoms and a seven for severe symptoms. The patient’s response to the test questions and the health care provider’s observations are both factored into the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. The test can be used both for diagnosis and to assess patient progress, and is also employed by researchers in the development of new treatments.
Concern for physical health and levels of anxiety, depression or hallucinations are some of the sections of the BPRS test. When working on the hallucinations section, the mental health professional might ask the patient a question such as, “Do you hear people talking to you when you fall asleep?” After listening to the patient’s response, the health care provider might elaborate on the patient’s symptoms by asking about the quality of the voice or sounds the patient hears.
Generally a score of seven on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale is used for symptoms that completely disrupt daily activity and do not allow the patient to work, socialize and be independent. For example, when assessing anxiety levels, a score of two means that the individual experiences some infrequent anxiety, which is quite normal. Extremely severe anxiety, or a score of seven, means that the patient is focused on her worries all day and that the anxiety completely disrupts daily activity. The patient may also experience physical symptoms, such as a racing heart, panic attacks, and sweating.
While patient self-disclosure is an important element of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, observation by the mental health professional is also critical. In some sections of the test the patient is interviewed by the healthcare professional about her symptoms. In other sections, the healthcare professional makes independent observations about the patient. These observations focus on areas such as disorganized thought patterns or speech and lack of emotional expression. A mental health professional, for example, might observe that a flat tone of voice, a motionless facial expression, and rote gestures indicate that the patient cannot express emotion.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
