TPC-Journal-V4-Issue3

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 3 223 The Severity Measure for Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)—Adult and Severity Measure for Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)—Child Age 11–17 (Craske et al., 2013i, 2013j) are 10-item measures completed on a scale of 0 ( never ) to 4 ( all of the time ). The social situations described in the measures are the same as those described in the DSM-5 for social anxiety disorder (social phobia; APA, 2013g). Items 1, 2 and 3 on the measures are similar to criteria A and B in the DSM-5 . Physical symptoms such as racing heart and tense muscles are included in the measures but are not included in the DSM-5 criteria. Avoidance of social situations is included in both the measures and the DSM-5 criteria. There are items included in the measures that are not included in the DSM-5 criteria, such as “spent a lot of time preparing what to say or how to act in social situations” and “distracted myself to avoid thinking about social situations” (Craske et al., 2013i, 2013j). One DSM-5 criterion states that “the social situations almost always provoke fear or anxiety” (APA, 2013g, p. 202), an item which is not present in the measures. In the DSM-5 there are a few differences for children with social anxiety disorder. Anxiety has to take place with peers and not only with adults. Furthermore, fear/anxiety can be expressed through crying, tantrums, freezing, clinging, shrinking or not speaking. These differences are not included in the child version of the measure (Craske et al., 2013j). The Severity Measure for Panic Disorder—Adult and Severity Measure for Panic Disorder—Child Age 11–17 (Craske et al., 2013e, 2013f) are 10-item measures completed on a scale of 0 ( never ) to 4 ( all of the time ). The measures provide a definition and the symptoms of a panic attack in an individual (Craske et al., 2013e, 2013f). This information is similar to the definition of panic disorder in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013g). The measures include six of the 13 symptoms included in the DSM-5 . Items on the measures that are not included in the DSM- 5 criteria include “left situations early, or participated only minimally, because of panic attacks,” “spent a lot of time preparing for, or procrastinating about (putting off), situations in which panic attacks might occur,” “distracted myself to avoid thinking about panic attacks” and “needed help to cope with panic attacks” (Craske et al., 2013e, 2013f). The DSM-5 includes certain symptoms that the measures do not, including choking feelings, pain in chest, nausea, sensations of chills or heat, sensations of numbness or tingling, and derealization or depersonalization (APA, 2013g, p. 208). The measures have an item on sleeping issues, which was not included in the DSM-5 . The Severity Measure for Agoraphobia—Adult and Severity Measure for Agoraphobia—Child Age 11–17 (Craske et al., 2013a, 2013b) are 10-item measures to be completed on a scale of 0 ( never ) to 4 ( all of the time ). The instructions for the measures include situations on which to base the items (e.g., being in crowds or public spaces, traveling). The criteria for agoraphobia in the DSM-5 include significant distress caused by at least two of the following five situations: “being outside of the home alone,” “using public transportation,” “standing in line or being in a crowd” and being in “open spaces” and/or “enclosed spaces” (APA, 2013g, p. 217). The fear and anxiety experienced and the avoidance of situations are included in both the measures and the DSM-5 criteria. Although avoidance is included in the measures, the reason for the avoidance is not. Items included in the measures but not in the DSM-5 criteria include “had thoughts about panic attacks, uncomfortable physical sensations, getting lost, or being overcome with fear in these situations”; “spent a lot of time preparing for, or procrastinating about (putting off), these situations”; “distracted myself to avoid thinking about these situations”; and “needed help to cope with these situations” (Craske et al., 2013a, 2013b). Also, two items on physical sensations from the measures are not present in the DSM-5 criteria (APA, 2013g; Craske et al., 2013a, 2013b). The Severity Measure for Generalized Anxiety Disorder—Adult and Severity Measure for Generalized Anxiety Disorder—Child Age 11–17 (Craske et al., 2013c, 2013d) are 10-item scales completed on a scale from 0 ( never ) to 4 ( all of the time ). Differences are found when comparing the measures to generalized anxiety disorder in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013g). The measures do not include the following DSM-5 criteria: anxiety