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Child mental health assessments are complex and involve the analysis of data from multiple sources to inform treatment decisions. Question sequences are central to mental health assessments; however, little research has examined the functions of questions in child mental health interactions, particularly questions that aim to elicit information from children that might be used to inform diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we utilize a large corpus of video-recorded child mental health assessments to examine the use and function of a particular kind of wh-question-circular questions-that is, questions that seek clients' views on other family members' feelings, actions, and thoughts. Using conversation analysis, we identified three "broad" functions of circular questions in child mental health assessment. Our findings provide clinicians with clinically relevant examples for using circular questions to more fully involve children in the assessment process and acquire valuable information for diagnosis.

Central to a contemporary understanding of childhood is the developmental and clinical-medical construct of the 'normal' child. When judged to fall outside of culturally, socially and historically situated parameters of 'normality', children become labelled as 'deviant from the norm'; for instance, in mental health contexts where this may provide the basis for psychiatric diagnosis. However, judgements of a child's 'normality' are further complicated by the range of individuals who may have a stake in that construction, including parents/carers, professionals and the child themselves. Using discursive psychology, we analysed 28 video-recorded UK child mental health assessments, to examine ways that parents presented concerns about their children's development. They did this by drawing on notions of 'ab/normal', in ways that functioned to legitimise their need for services and built a rhetorical case to demonstrate clinical need; often by contrasting the child with other 'typical' children and/or contrasting the same child's behaviour in different settings or contexts. We concluded that given the growing crisis in child mental health, initial assessments play a crucial clinical role in determining diagnosis and labelling, and therefore, a critical discussion of these concepts and processes is essential., (© 2019 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.)

This community-based study explored the lived experiences of being in and going through the rural HIV care continuum among 15 gay and bisexual men (GBM) with HIV who live in a rural area of a Midwestern state. Our analysis adapted a six-step interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five themes emerged that reflected the five continuum stages: 1) Diagnosis means death, 2) Linkage to care means uncertainty, 3) HIV care improves the quality of life lost pre- or peri-diagnosis, 4) ART implies life, and 5) Undetectable addresses the medical but not social aspects of HIV. Participants recalled they faced and continue to face social determinants, stigma, and chronic and mental health conditions. Findings provide future research directions and practical implications to address social determinants of health, promote chronic and mental health, and reduce interpersonal stigma throughout all HIV care continuum stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In everyday conversations, people put forward versions of events and provide supporting evidence to build a credible case. In environments where there are potentially competing versions, case-building may take a more systematic format. Specifically, we conducted a rhetorical analysis to consider how in child mental health settings, families work to present a credible 'doctorable' reason for attendance. Data consisted of video-recordings of 28 families undergoing mental health assessments. Our findings point to eight rhetorical devices utilised in this environment to build a case. The devices functioned rhetorically to add credibility and authenticate the case being built, which was relevant as the only resource available to families claiming the presence of a mental health difficulty in the child was their spoken words. In other words, the 'problem' was something constructed through talk and therefore the kinds of resources used were seminal in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applied Conversation Analysis (CA) is broadly accepted to be a qualitative methodological approach associated with the discursive turn. Although some argue for a distinct observational science paradigm, the current methodological dichotomy positions this work under the qualitative rubric. Applied CA focuses on the sequential design of social interaction, examining language and meaning within institutional settings. It emphasises informing practice and provides a useful form of evidence for therapists and counsellors, as the work is grounded in real‐world therapeutic practices. In therapy, language and talk are fundamental to the process and outcomes. Studying therapeutic social interaction through Applied CA can illuminate processes, improve practice, and utilise best practice to inform care. The focus of this article is our perspective on the value of Applied CA as a form of evidence in counselling and psychotherapy, and to encourage partnership working between academics and clinicians working in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective was to identify how children's knowledge positions were negotiated in child mental health assessments and how this was managed by the different parties.Methods: The child psychiatry data consisted of 28 video-recorded assessments. A conversation analysis was undertaken to examine the interactional detail between the children, parents, and practitioners.Results: The findings indicated that claims to knowledge were managed in three ways. First, practitioners positioned children as 'experts' on their own health and this was sometimes accepted. Second, some children resisted this epistemic position, claiming not to have the relevant knowledge. Third, some children's claims to knowledge were negotiated and sometimes contested by adult parties who questioned their competence to share relevant information about their lives in accordance with the assessment agenda.Conclusion: Through question design, the practitioner was able to position the child as holding relevant knowledge regarding their situation. The child was able to take up this position or resist it in various ways.Practice Implications: This has important implications for debates regarding children's competence to contribute to mental health interventions. Children are often treated as agents with limited knowledge, yet in the mental health assessment they are directly questioned about their own lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]