Abstract
Malingering is the gross exaggeration or fabrication of physical and psychological symptoms for secondary gain. Though a client's potential secondary gain may be apparent to the counselor, determining the client's situational stressors and motivation for that gain complicates definitive detection of malingering. Adopting the adaptational model of malingering in assessment can reframe the deception and misrepresentation as possibly an adaptive way to meet basic needs. Because malingering is a diagnosis of exclusion, it must first entail differential diagnosis with somatoform and factitious disorders. Assessment requires a solid clinical background in understanding malingering response style, target symptoms, psychotic symptom manifestation, and the subsequent differentiation between genuine and malingered psychosis. This article provides practical strategies for detecting feigned psychotic symptoms and briefly surveys psychometric tools counselors can use to detect malingering.
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