PAC 240 Module 2 Assessment and DSM Diagnosis Example

Course	PAC 240 Helping Skills
Module	Module 2
Paper type	Assessment and diagnosis paper
Length	About 1,036 words, 6 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Aspen University
Program	Psychology and Addiction Studies
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for PAC 240 Module 2

Five of Eleven: Screening, DSM-5 Criteria and a Moderate Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnosis for a Teacher Who Drinks Alone

Student Name

Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University

PAC 240: Helping Skills

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title states the criterion count that sets the severity level. APA 7 student title page.

Five of Eleven: Screening, DSM-5 Criteria and a Moderate Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnosis for a Teacher Who Drinks Alone

Rachel is thirty-four, a middle school science teacher and the mother of two young children. Her physician noticed elevated liver enzymes at a routine visit and, after a conversation about drinking, referred her to Riverside Recovery Services, the fictional outpatient program in these papers, for an assessment. Rachel told me, the intern conducting her intake, that she does not think she has a problem: she never drinks before evening, never misses work and never drinks in front of her children. But most nights, after the children are asleep, she drinks most of a bottle of wine, and some nights more. This paper describes her assessment and diagnosis. She is a composite created for teaching; the research is real.

The Assessment Process

The assessment included a structured clinical interview, the AUDIT screening questionnaire, a review of her physician's laboratory results with her consent and questions about mental health, family history and her life. Rachel was told at the start what the assessment involved, who would see the results and that she would hear the findings and have a chance to respond.

The AUDIT Screen

Saunders et al. (1993) developed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test in a World Health Organization project across six countries, as a quick way for primary care staff and others to spot drinking that was already risky or causing harm. The test has ten questions in three areas: alcohol consumption, symptoms of dependence and alcohol-related problems. Scores range from zero to forty. The developers recommended a score of eight or more as an indicator of hazardous or harmful drinking, and later guidance described higher score ranges as indicating increasing levels of risk, with scores of twenty or more warranting further evaluation for dependence.

Rachel's score was nineteen. Her consumption items scored high, she reported failing to stop once started on several nights a month, feeling guilty after drinking and her doctor's concern. Her score placed her well above the threshold for harmful drinking and indicated a full diagnostic assessment.

The DSM-5 Criteria

Hasin et al. (2013) described the changes made to substance use disorder criteria in the fifth edition of the DSM. The earlier distinction between abuse and dependence was dropped, because research showed the criteria formed a single dimension and because the abuse category caused confusion. The two were combined into a single substance use disorder with eleven criteria. The legal problems criterion was removed, because it was rarely endorsed and added little information, and craving was added. A diagnosis requires two or more criteria within a twelve-month period, and severity is set by the number met: two or three is mild, four or five is moderate and six or more is severe. The criteria fall into four groups: impaired control, social impairment, risky use and pharmacological criteria, meaning tolerance and withdrawal.

Applying the Criteria

Five criteria are clearly met, which places Rachel in the moderate range. Tolerance appears likely, and if confirmed it would bring the count to six, at the boundary of severe. I recorded the diagnosis as alcohol use disorder, moderate, with a note to revisit tolerance.

Criterion	Evidence from the assessment	Met?
1. Drinking more or longer than intended	Plans one glass; finishes the bottle most nights	Yes
2. Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down	Tried "no wine on weeknights" twice this year; lasted four days	Yes
3. Much time spent obtaining, using or recovering	Evenings after nine o'clock; mornings slow but on time	No
4. Craving	"By eight o'clock I'm thinking about the wine"	Yes
5. Failure to fulfill major role obligations	No missed work; grading slipping slightly	No
6. Continued use despite social or interpersonal problems	Husband has raised concern; she drinks anyway	Yes
7. Important activities given up or reduced	Stopped her book club, which met on wine nights she now avoids	No, reason unclear
8. Recurrent use in physically hazardous situations	Denies driving after drinking	No
9. Continued use despite physical or psychological problems	Continues after learning of liver enzyme elevation	Yes
10. Tolerance	Two glasses once relaxed her; now needs most of a bottle	Yes, possibly
11. Withdrawal	No shaking, sweating or morning drinking	No

What this page is doingFive criteria are clearly met; tolerance is likely but not counted until confirmed.

Differential Considerations

Rachel described feeling flat and tired for about a year and said wine helps her switch off from worry. A depressive or anxiety disorder could be contributing, either as a cause of drinking or as an effect of it. Because heavy drinking can produce depressive symptoms, a screen for depression was completed and a reassessment planned after several weeks of reduced drinking. Her physician will follow her liver enzymes.

The Diagnosis in Context

Rachel's situation is common. Grant et al. (2015), using a national survey of adults conducted in 2012 and 2013 with DSM-5 criteria, estimated that about fourteen percent of adults had an alcohol use disorder in the past year and about twenty-nine percent at some time in their lives. Most cases were mild or moderate. Very few people with alcohol use disorder had ever sought treatment; among those with a lifetime diagnosis, fewer than one in five had received any. Rachel's coming in at all, even reluctantly, puts her among a minority.

Sharing the Results

I planned a feedback session in a motivational style. I would share her AUDIT score and what it means, explain the criteria and which apply, and ask her what she makes of the results, rather than telling her what to conclude. I would avoid the label alcoholic, which she fears, and describe the diagnosis as a description of a pattern that can change. I would highlight her strengths: her concern for her children, her steady work and her decision to come in.

Conclusion

Rachel's assessment combined a validated screen, a structured interview and her physician's findings. Saunders and colleagues' AUDIT identified harmful drinking, Hasin and colleagues' account of DSM-5 guided the application of eleven criteria and Grant and colleagues show how common her diagnosis is and how rarely people seek help. Five criteria are met, a moderate alcohol use disorder, and the diagnosis will be shared with her as the starting point of a conversation, not a verdict.

References

Grant, B. F., Goldstein, R. B., Saha, T. D., Chou, S. P., Jung, J., Zhang, H., Pickering, R. P., Ruan, W. J., Smith, S. M., Huang, B., & Hasin, D. S. (2015). Epidemiology of DSM-5 alcohol use disorder: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(8), 757-766. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0584

Hasin, D. S., O'Brien, C. P., Auriacombe, M., Borges, G., Bucholz, K., Budney, A., Compton, W. M., Crowley, T., Ling, W., Petry, N. M., Schuckit, M., & Grant, B. F. (2013). DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorders: Recommendations and rationale. American Journal of Psychiatry, 170(8), 834-851. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12060782

Saunders, J. B., Aasland, O. G., Babor, T. F., de la Fuente, J. R., & Grant, M. (1993). Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption II. Addiction, 88(6), 791-804. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x

PAC 240 Module 2 instructions, in plain terms

Assessment and diagnosis is the second module of PAC 240, and the typical assignment asks you to assess a client with a validated instrument and current DSM criteria and to reach a supported diagnosis. Follow the Module 2 wording Aspen gives you; Rachel is a teaching composite. Describe the assessment process and the instruments used. Explain the DSM-5 substance use disorder criteria accurately, including severity levels. Apply each criterion with specific evidence. Avoid outdated terms such as abuse and dependence. Place the diagnosis in context. Plan how to share the results with the client, and reference the instrument and the criteria in APA 7. Name what more you would need to know before confirming any uncertain criterion.

How the PAC 240 Module 2 example is put together

Rachel came in after her doctor noted elevated liver enzymes. Her AUDIT score is nineteen, using Saunders and colleagues' Addiction article to interpret the zones. Hasin and colleagues' American Journal of Psychiatry article explains the DSM-5 changes, including the added craving criterion and the removed legal problems criterion. An eleven-row table applies each criterion with evidence from the interview, finding five met, a moderate alcohol use disorder. Grant and colleagues' JAMA Psychiatry study supplies national prevalence and treatment rates. The paper discusses differential considerations, such as depression, and plans a feedback session that shares results in a motivational style, avoids the word alcoholic and invites Rachel's response.

PAC 240 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks

Assessment papers earn credit for accurate criteria, specific evidence for each criterion and a diagnosis that follows from the evidence. This example applies all eleven criteria individually rather than summarizing, and it explains why some were not met. It uses current DSM-5 language and explains the rationale for the changes from earlier editions. The AUDIT is interpreted with its developers' cutoffs. Differential considerations show clinical judgment, and the feedback plan shows that diagnosis is shared with clients, not done to them. National data place Rachel's experience in context without minimizing it, and the paper keeps her strengths in view alongside the criteria. Uncertain criteria are flagged rather than counted.

PAC 240 Module 2 help: mistakes that cost marks

Assessment papers often use outdated language, such as alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence, which DSM-5 replaced with alcohol use disorder. Apply each criterion separately with evidence. Count criteria accurately and use the correct severity levels: two to three mild, four to five moderate, six or more severe. Note that tolerance and withdrawal do not count when they occur only with medications taken as prescribed. Use a validated screen and interpret it correctly. Consider other explanations, such as depression or anxiety, that may need their own assessment. Plan feedback that respects the client. Keep identifying details out of the paper, and note any criterion that needs more information. Share the result with the client before writing it into the record.

Write yours, or have the desk draft it

This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

More PAC 240 and Psychology and Addiction Studies sample papers

PAC 240 Module 2 questions, answered

What does PAC 240 Module 2 usually ask for?

Aspen's PAC 240 covers assessment and DSM diagnosis in this module, so assessing a client with a validated instrument and DSM-5 criteria is typical. See your Module 2 prompt.

What is the AUDIT?

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a ten-item screen developed by Saunders and colleagues for the World Health Organization, covering consumption, dependence symptoms and harms.

How is alcohol use disorder severity determined?

DSM-5 counts eleven criteria over twelve months: two to three is mild, four to five moderate and six or more severe.

Where can I find a free PAC 240 Module 2 sample paper?

Above, at no cost: an AUDIT screen and DSM-5 criteria applied one by one to reach a moderate alcohol use disorder diagnosis.

How common is alcohol use disorder?

Grant and colleagues estimated that about fourteen percent of US adults had alcohol use disorder in the past year and about twenty-nine percent at some point in their lives.