Gaf Score

[vet2010]

I was awarded 50% for depression, once I received my packet (Brown Envelope) in the mail it did not state or have a GAF score. How do I obtain this info?

Vet2010

[Pete53]

You can get your GAF score in progress notes at my VA only the shrink does it.

[Vync]

Congratulations on your win!

Request a copy of the C&P exam results.

[Cpl. B]

Most VA medical centers have a release of information office. I have been going there regularly about every 3 months to get updates on my progress notes. It is sort of confusing to me. Some days they give me a GAF of 30 from one person, then I go to my medication provider and he puts me down as a 40 on the same day. And then some days it is completely reversed.

You can also request copies of your claim file or the results of the C & P and get those scores that way.

Cpl. B

I was awarded 50% for depression, once I received my packet (Brown Envelope) in the mail it did not state or have a GAF score. How do I obtain this info?

Vet2010

[Revelation]

Most VA medical centers have a release of information office. I have been going there regularly about every 3 months to get updates on my progress notes. It is sort of confusing to me. Some days they give me a GAF of 30 from one person, then I go to my medication provider and he puts me down as a 40 on the same day. And then some days it is completely reversed.

You can also request copies of your claim file or the results of the C & P and get those scores that way.

Cpl. B

A GAF Score can change with every visit and assessment. See the GAF scoring criteria so that you are aware of what the medical personnel are looking for:

In English GAF score, Global Assessment of Functioning score Description: The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) is a numeric scale (0 through 100) used by mental health clinicians and doctors to rate the social, occupational and psychological functioning of adults. The scale is presented and described in the DSM-IV-TR on page 32. Children and adolescents under the age of 18 are evaluated on the Children’s Global Assessment Scale, or C-GAS.

91-100 Superior functioning in a wide range of activities, life's problems never seem to get out of hand, is sought out by others because of his or her many qualities. No symptoms.

81-90 Absent or minimal symptoms, good functioning in all areas, interested and involved in a wide range of activities, socially effective, generally satisfied with life, no more than everyday problems or concerns.

71-80 If symptoms are present they are transient and expectable reactions to psychosocial stresses; no more than slight impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning.

61-70 Some mild symptoms OR some difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning, but generally functioning pretty well, has some meaningful interpersonal relationships.

51-60 Moderate symptoms OR any moderate difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning.

41-50 Serious symptoms OR any serious impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning.

31-40 Some impairment in reality testing or communication OR major impairment in several areas, such as work or school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood.

21-30 Behavior is considerably influenced by delusions or hallucinations OR serious impairment in communications or judgment OR inability to function in all areas.

11-20 Some danger of hurting self or others OR occasionally fails to maintain minimal personal hygiene OR gross impairment in communication.

1-10 Persistent danger of severely hurting self or others OR persistent inability to maintain minimum personal hygiene OR serious suicidal act with clear expectation of death.

0 Not enough information available to provide GAF.Just so you are also aware, this is the criteria for a diagnoses of PTSD:

DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD In 2000, the American Psychiatric Association revised the PTSD diagnostic criteria in the fourth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)(1). The diagnostic criteria (A-F) are specified below.

Diagnostic criteria for PTSD include a history of exposure to a traumatic event meeting two criteria and symptoms from each of three symptom clusters: intrusive recollections, avoidant/numbing symptoms, and hyper-arousal symptoms. A fifth criterion concerns duration of symptoms and a sixth assesses functioning.

Criterion A: stressor

The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following have been present:

1. The person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted with an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others.
2. The person's response involved intense fear,helplessness, or horror. Note: in children, it may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.

Criterion B: intrusive recollection

The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in at least one of the following ways:

1. Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions. Note: in young children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.
2. Recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: in children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content
3. Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes,including those that occur upon awakening or when intoxicated). Note: in children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur.
4. Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
5. Physiologic reactivity upon exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event

Criterion C: avoidant/numbing

Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by at least three of the following:

1. Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma
2. Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma
3. Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma
4. Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
5. Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others
6. Restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)
7. Sense of foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)

Criterion D: hyper-arousal

Persistent symptoms of increasing arousal (not present before the trauma), indicated by at least two of the following:

1. Difficulty falling or staying asleep
2. Irritability or outbursts of anger
3. Difficulty concentrating
4. Hyper-vigilance
5. Exaggerated startle response

Criterion E: duration

Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in B, C, and D) is more than one month.

Criterion F: functional significance

The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Specify if:

Acute: if duration of symptoms is less than three months

Chronic: if duration of symptoms is three months or more

Specify if:

With or Without delay onset: Onset of symptoms at least six months after the stressor

References

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (Revised 4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

[carlie]

Revelation,

When you post material that is obviously not authored by you,

please post a link to it and put it in quotes.

Try to keep to a snippet of quoted information and members

can go to the link for further research.

Some information is covered by copy write laws.

The 2 links in this last post didn't show me anything but error code 404.

Probably a broken link.