Diagnostic Training and Workshops
If you are interested in sharpening your diagnostic interviewing skills or training your team on specific diagnostic instruments, please read on.
Accurate diagnosis is a foundation of effective treatment, yet semi-structured diagnostic interviewing is often underemphasized in clinical training programs. I offer workshops and individualized training on reliable, valid, and legally defensible diagnostic assessment for psychologists, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical research teams.
About Dr. Sharpless
I am a licensed clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience in clinical assessment and differential diagnosis. I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and completed post-doctoral clinical and research fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania. Precise diagnostic work has been part of my professional life since my first year of graduate and has continued to the present. I have provided extensive training and supervision on the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS-5) to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers at Penn State University, Washington State University, and the University of Pennsylvania. I trained diagnosticians at the last of those institutions for three NIMH-funded research studies that required high levels of interrater reliability. I also served as a manuscript reviewer for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5, Research Version (SCID-5-RV).
Through my research on sleep disorders I developed the Fearful Isolated Sleep Paralysis Interview (FISPI) and the Exploding Head Syndrome Interview (EHSI), both semi-structured clinical diagnostic interviews based on the ADIS-5 and subsequently used in peer-reviewed studies.
Areas of Training
Structured Diagnostic Interviewing
- Training in semi-structured diagnostic interviewing in general or the specific use of instruments such as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Personality Disorders (SCID-5-PD), Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS-5), or International Personality Disorders Evaluation, (IPDE).
Differential Diagnosis
- Distinguishing between commonly conflated or comorbid conditions, particularly in complex or atypical presentations
Specialized/Rare Conditions
- Diagnostic training specific to personality disorders, sleep disorders, and unusual or rare psychological conditions
Interrater Reliability
- Training and/or monitoring diagnosticians to meet reliability standards required for specific research projects, including NIMH-funded trials
What to Expect
Training can be structured from one-time workshops for teams to individualized, ongoing training. The choice depends upon your particular diagnostic goals.
Training is available via secure telehealth for eligible participants across many states (check the status of your home state here), with limited in-person availability in Frederick, MD.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this training suitable for research teams, not just individual clinicians? Yes. I have specific experience training teams of diagnosticians for federally-funded research projects (including clinical trials) requiring high interrater reliability. I can structure training for different research settings.
What instruments do you train on? Primarily the SCID-5, SCID-5-PD, ADIS-5, and IPDE, along with specialized interviews I’ve developed for specific conditions such as sleep paralysis and exploding head syndrome.
Can training focus on a specific diagnostic challenge rather than a whole instrument? Yes.
Do you offer one-time workshops or only ongoing training? Both. Workshops can be structured as single or multiple sessions for groups, or as ongoing training relationships for individuals or teams who want to monitor diagnostic reliability over time.
Is this different from your clinical supervision services? Diagnostic training focuses specifically on assessment and differential diagnosis, while clinical supervision covers broader treatment-focused casework. Many clinicians benefit from both; please see my Clinical Supervision & Consultation page for more detail on that service.
Contact Dr. Sharpless
If you are interested in these services, please contact me here or click the Contact button at the top or bottom of this page.