Millon or MMPI

[docma]

I am interested in impressions of which is a more valuable instrument for interns to gain experience with--and why. Our training site will purchase one or the other soon and multiple factors will go into the decision--but I'd actually like anecdotal experience or researched opinions from early career psychologists from across a range of sites and settings and perspectives.

Among factors that matter will be: versatility, utility/practicality. This is a community-based site serving clients with co-occuring disorders.

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[AcronymAllergy]

The MCMI is obviously shorter and can be interesting to interpret (particularly in an individual without significant psychopathology) because of its "personality"-based factors. I might consider it if the setting were one in which you expected to be working with a predominance of minimal or mild psychological distress. However, owing to its much greater popularity (read: more generalizability in terms of a trained skill) and better validity scales, I'd personally go with the MMPI, especially in a community-based site with frequent comorbidity.

 

[cara susanna]

I like the MCMI better because it gives information on personality styles.

 

[futureapppsy2]

The MCMI is obviously shorter and can be interesting to interpret (particularly in an individual without significant psychopathology) because of its "personality"-based factors. I might consider it if the setting were one in which you expected to be working with a predominance of minimal or mild psychological distress. However, owing to its much greater popularity (read: more generalizability in terms of a trained skill) and better validity scales, I'd personally go with the MMPI, especially in a community-based site with frequent comorbidity.

I agree. From everything I've read, it seems like the MMPI is more sensitive to pathology and has more utility with clinical samples while the MCMI is more focused on broader personality and has more utility with less severe or community samples, although these are just broad, general terns and not my area of study.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

The MMPI is my preference for populations that have known or strongly suspected pathology. For a community population I'd look at the PAI. The CPI (California Psychological Inventory) isn't bad either, but less popular than the previously mentioned options.

*edit*

Thanks for the correction cara. I don't use the MCMI much, so I forgot about the sampling. I liked the MCMI for work with Veterans, as they have/had a higher than expected rate of invalid profiles on the MMPI. Of course, I rarely do personality assessment...so I'll defer to those who do. 😀

 

[cara susanna]

You're not supposed to use the MCMI on community samples. The base rates were derived from a clinical sample and supposedly the reliability of the scales goes down if you do not use it in a clinical sample. Furthermore, the MCMI tends to over-pathologize in a non-clinical sample.

For a community sample, I'd use the PAI.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

Are you sure there isn't enough money for both? They are pretty different measures.

I work in an outpatient private practice with generally high-functioning clients. I typically only give such measures in the context of a larger assessment (such as an adult ADHD assessment). When I do need a measure of this sort I usually start with the PAI unless I suspect Axis II pathology off the bat (in that case I start with the MCMI). I agree with the above comment that the MCMI over-pathologizes, so I don't give it unless I suspect something is going on there. In a few cases, I have given the PAI and decided that the MCMI would add additional understanding based on the results of the PAI so I give that too.

I don't use the MMPI a ton. Honestly, I felt my training on it was pretty limited so I tend to find it pretty time-consuming to interpret. I'm not one of those people who can look at an MMPI profile and immediately come up with a bunch of brilliant interpretations. I also like that the PAI is shorter. If you are using computer scoring, PAI is also cheaper than MMPI.

Best,
Dr. E

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Let me add that in general, I also tend to prefer the PAI to the MMPI (in no small part because it's much shorter).

For an internship, though, between the MMPI and MCMI, if I had to choose one that I'd want to train interns in, it'd be the MMPI owing largely to the frequency with which its used in various settings.

 

[docma]

I will look more into the PAI--but I should also add that while this is a community setting, it is one that serves SMI and co-occurring disorders as the target population and almost all clients are what would be considered a clinical population with low GAF and multiple environmental stressors (definitely not "higher functioning"). MMPI use would most often be with folks who have gotten into the criminal justice system as a function of SMI. Any opinions on MMPI-2 vs. MMPI-RF, which is somewhat shorter form?