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Re: Topic 2 DQ 2 (Obj. 2.2)

Good afternoon Dr. Koch, and class,

The mental health diagnostic protocols remain ambiguous, and most of the medical field personnel, as well as the patients, have continuously doubted the credibility of their use in the mental treatment process. Over time, the blanket negative feeling persists as regards the use of labels in the process of diagnosing the psychological procedures. One challenge that most therapists have never come to reveal to the clients is the measure of the subjectivity of the interpreter’s mind. The interpretation can take different paths depending on the digestion of the symptoms by the individual conducting the diagnosis. In a similar case, the fact that there is not a distinctive parameter to measure in the psychological diagnosis makes the patient say their subjective feeling of the symptoms which may not the correctly mapped on the mental diagnostic protocols (Yanos et al., 2015).

According to Kraemer (2015), the DSM is oversimplified to express the continuum of human expression of behavior. In the argument of the researcher, reducing the complex mental problems into labels and numerical the while system will quickly lose the essence of the uniquely human element. There are high risks of misdiagnosis in such cases or even a couple of cases showing overdiagnosis. In such cases, a group of individuals is likely to be labeled to be having a disease which their symptoms do not match up as the ideal. One disease that has been pointed out over and over is ADHD. Still, by attaching the labels to the individual, there can be a generation of stigmatization. In such cases, the clinicians must be careful not to overexpress the labels of the patients and attach them individually to the patients.

References:

Yanos, P. T., Lucksted, A., Drapalski, A. L., Roe, D., & Lysaker, P. (2015). Interventions targeting mental health self-stigma: A review and comparison. Psychiatric rehabilitation journal, 38(2), 171.

Kraemer, H. C. (2015). Research domain criteria (RDoC) and the DSM—two methodological approaches to mental health diagnosis. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(12), 1163-1164.

V/r,

Rosa

Dianna response to my post:

Re: Topic 2 DQ 2 (Obj. 2.2)

Hi Rosa,

Thank you for your post. I found it rather interesting in the way how a misdiagnosis can transform an individual’s life in a negative manner as you made reference to the high risk that can occur from misdiagnosis. Therefore, as the counselor tries to identify the problem that seem to exist, it is very important that great care is take in such matter, realizing that that diagnosis is information written and might be on record about the client and possibly also be one that follows the client throughout his/her life. With that, paramount interest is required in ensuring that where doubts about a diagnosis exist, the correct thing to do is to seek an opinion from the supervisor or colleague. Hence, acknowledging that information contained in an official file can have long-lasting implications and should not be treated lightly (Kaplan 2006). Furthermore, by this the counselor is upholding the manner of “do no harm” and maintaining the point that the welfare of the client is the counselor’s responsibility (American Counseling Association 2014).

References

American Counseling Association (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author

Kaplan, D., (2016). Permission to refrain from making a diagnosis. Retrieved 2019, May 12 from ct.counseling.org/2006/08/ct-online-ethics-update-6/

My response:

Good afternoon Dianna, Thank you for reading my post.

Re: Topic 2 DQ 2 (Obj. 2.2)

As with anything there are advantages and disadvantages. Though the DSM is an amazing resource for a clinician even it has its pros and cons. 

Some advantages of the DSM according to Lisa Fritscher’s website article titled, “Advantages and Disadvantages of Diagnostic Statistical Manual” are: “Beyond the standardization of billing and coding, the DSM provides a number of important benefits to both the therapist and the client. Standardization of diagnoses helps to ensure that clients receive appropriate, helpful treatment regardless of geographic location, social class or ability to pay. It provides a concrete assessment of the issues and assists in developing specific goals of therapy, as well as a standard of measure in assessing the effectiveness of treatment. In addition, the DSM helps guide research in the mental health field. The diagnostic checklists help ensure that different groups of researchers are actually studying the same disorder—although this may be more theoretical than practical, as so many disorders have such widely varying symptoms. For the therapist, the DSM eliminates much of the guesswork. Proper diagnosis and treatment of mental illness remain an art, but the DSM diagnostic criteria serve as a sort of guide map. In the age of brief therapy, a clinician may see a specific client only a handful of times, which may not be long enough to delve fully into the client's background and issues. Using the diagnostic criteria contained in the DSM, the therapist can develop a quick frame of reference, which is then refined during individual sessions” (2018).

Lisa Fritscher goes on to point out some disadvantages as well: “Many critics of the DSM see it as an oversimplification of the vast continuum of human behavior. Some worry that by reducing complex problems to labels and numbers, the scientific community risks losing track of the unique human element. Possible risks include misdiagnosis or even over-diagnosis, in which vast groups of people are labeled as having a disorder simply because their behavior does not always line up with the current "ideal." Other risks involve the possibility of stigmatization. Although mental health disorders are not viewed in the negative light that they once were, specific disorders can be perceived as labels. Some therapists take great care to avoid attaching labels to their clients, although for insurance reasons, a specific diagnosis may be required” (2018). 

The DSM is an amazing tool for clinicians, especially since it lists other symptomatic similarities with the depressive, anxiety, dissociative and other disorders discussed in the DSM-V.  For instance, consider one that has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Those with an anxiety disorder often have symptoms of a depressive order as well. (Reiger, Kuhl, & Kupfer, 2013) Those with a depressive disorder often present with an anxiety disorder as well. Those with dissociative disorders can have a wide range of symptomatic similarities listed too. It is helpful for clinicians that this resource lists these similarities because it assists them in creating a better and deeper diagnosis. When a client is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder but is still presenting with other symptoms, this resource can help narrow down the playing field and help the clinician to diagnose all aspects related to the client. 

Reference