Discussion Board DUE 6.7.2020 @ 9pm EST

Original Discussion Board:

Many clinicians will argue, privately, that an exact diagnosis is not necessary as long as it is

billable. Read pages 5-25 of your DSM-5 and my power point presentation on changes to

the the DSM-5 and discuss, exactly, what a diagnosis is. What does a diagnosis mean for a

clinician (an LPC)? What does it inform? What does a diagnosis mean for the client?

Classmate Response 1:

A diagnosis is an assessment of mental disorders for clinical use on the basis of how an

individual’s experiences, symptoms, and behaviors differ from societal norms and difficulties in

adaptation within a given culture. For a clinician (an LPC), a diagnosis means a prognosis

determination, an informed treatment plan, and potential treatment outcomes for patients. In

conjunction with the use of the DSM, a diagnosis informs the clinician of the symptoms,

behaviors, cognitive functions, personality traits, physical signs, syndrome combinations, and the

durations that the individual may exemplify. For the client a diagnosis can mean either of two

things, there is enough evidence to qualify the patient as having a mental disorder or the

symptoms do not meet the full criteria for a mental disorder but demonstrate a need for treatment

or care.

References:

APA. (20130522). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5®).

[VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from

https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781337517065/cfi/0!/4/2@100:0.00

Classmate Response 2:

As a tool in clinical settings, the DSM-5 is the main source which identifies currently-known

mental disorders and classifies them in a manner that includes a medical code to quickly convey

the diagnosis to other clinicians, medical providers, and insurance companies. As a resource for

clinicians, the DSM framework helps a clinician coalesce a client’s symptoms into a diagnosis. A

clinician includes various factors in making a diagnosis, such as the client’s gender, stage of life,

culture, genetics, incident or incidents of trauma, relationships, and socioeconomic status, to

name a few. Making a correct diagnosis may be a challenge for a clinician because of symptoms

of additional conditions (comorbidity) that could contribute to what may be a client’s primary

diagnosis. While symptoms of a diagnosis described in the DSM-5 do not inform a clinician of

all the aspects of a client’s disorder, the DSM-5 provides common descriptors of symptoms, and

language to communicate with other mental health professionals and to help a clinician to gain

further understanding from other resources. The DSM-5 assists clinicians in devising treatment

plans, but it must be noted that the DSM-5 does not offer guidance in making treatment plans or

treating disorders. Since clinicians need to make a living from the service they provide, an

additional use of the DSM-5 is to provide medical coding of mental disorders so clinicians can

get paid.

For a client, receiving a diagnosis may be encouraging or disheartening. Having a label placed

on symptoms that previously made no sense could be motivating and give him hope of being

able to change his life. For another client, a diagnosis could be frightening, particularly if the

diagnosis is one of a disorder that could progress, or if a certain disorder tends to run in the

family and he observed the decline of a loved one. A client’s medical care or legal status could

be greatly influenced by a diagnosis. For this reason, a clinician should exercise great care before

writing down a specific diagnosis that may create difficulties for a client in the future.