Use of The Patient Health Questionnaire (Phq-9) to Diagnose Depression in Young Adults

SMART Goals
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SMART Goals
Experiential assessment is vital for understanding whether a patient is suffering from depression. Notably, depression usually causes a host of diverse mental stresses for the population in both developed and underdeveloped nations. In order to eliminate this burden, utilizing experiential assessment is vital for an understanding of depression as one of the significant health challenges. On the other hand, the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a vital health scale that ensures individuals can cope with the challenges arising from depression. In this regard, the scale acts as a screening tool that tracks the depression severity in patients, including the critical improvements recorded over a certain period. The paper aims to compare experiential assessment with the use of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to diagnose depression in young adults. Notably, in order to understand the effectiveness, the discussion will consider the SMART goal technique and discuss which of the two proposed techniques is effective in achieving the goals of the analysis.
SMART Goal
In order to compare the effectiveness of these two techniques, it is vital to understand the level of SMART-ness in achieving the intended aims. In the proper diagnosis of depression, there is a need to have specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. SMART goals aim to achieve the job obligations. Therefore, practitioners can focus their attention and resources on the most vital aspects (Leigh, n.d.). In this regard, the tools must assist the practitioners in understanding the aspects of SMART goals.
Specific
In the development of SMART goals, it is vital to be specific on what must be accomplished. In this regard, there should be elaborate actions that must be taken to diagnose the existence of depression. Hickie et al. (2007) noted that experiential does not have specific aims, clearly defining goal attainment. The occurrence of depression is based on the experiences and awareness of the individuals on diverse symptoms related to the condition. Moreover, the technique does not have specific activities that can be used to assess the behaviors, specify required support, and quantify performances. On the other hand, PHQ-9 is an objective scale that assists in tracking symptoms and diagnosis of depression. It is shorter and specific and applies to individuals above 12 years. It is a technique that was specifically designed to evaluate behavioral care. Concerning specificity, experiential assessment is vague compared to PHQ-9.
Measurable
In order to be able to achieve the goals, there are specific measurements that must exist to understand whether depression exists. In this regard, measurable entails a clear definition of what data will measure the goals. The technique must have clear metrics to evaluate whether an individual has depression or not (University of California, 2017). Experiential assessment relies on patient experiences, which are usually subjective rather than being objective. Therefore, in experiential assessment, there are no explicit measures to demonstrate whether certain attitudes, ...