Diagnoses
Understanding Mental Health Diagnoses: What You Should Know
When we're physically unwell, we often consider our symptoms and past experiences to identify the cause of the illness or to seek the right treatment. If we can't pinpoint the issue ourselves, we turn to medical professionals for diagnosis and care. This model of diagnosing and treating physical illness has shaped the fields of psychiatry, psychotherapy, and mental health counseling, as well.
While physical illnesses are often diagnosed with objective tests, mental health disorders are more subjective and complex. These conditions are diagnosed based on symptoms that significantly interfere with a person’s thoughts, emotions, or behavior, and cause distress in relationships, work, or daily life. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version 5 (DSM-5 TR) is the most current American Psychiatric Association (APA) manual documenting criteria for mental disorders.
Unless you want to wade through reading the DSM-5 TR, what exactly characterizes a mental disorder?
Defining Mental Disorders:
Significant disturbance in mental functioning that causes distress or impacts daily life and relationships
Constantly evolving definitions that change based on ongoing research
Influenced by social norms, but mental disorders are not defined by social deviance
Symptom-based criteria based on research findings and consensus of the DSM compilers
The Pros and Cons of Mental Health Diagnosis
Like any medical field, there are benefits and drawbacks to receiving a mental health diagnosis.
Benefits of Diagnosis:
Insurance coverage: A diagnosis is typically required for insurance reimbursement, making mental health care more affordable.
Validation of concerns: Knowing there’s a name for what you’re experiencing can offer relief and provide clearer direction for treatment.
Research-based treatment: With a diagnosis, clinicians can use evidence-based treatments that have been proven effective for similar cases.
Detriments of Diagnosis:
Symptom focus: Sometimes, the diagnosis process emphasizes symptom relief without addressing the root causes of distress.
Stigma: Mental health diagnoses can carry societal stigma, which may discourage people from seeking help or lead to negative labels.
Loss of individuality: A diagnosis may cause someone to feel reduced to a label, rather than seeing themselves as a whole person.
Excusing responsibility: For some, a diagnosis might be used as a reason to avoid personal responsibility for certain behaviors.
Finding the Balance in Diagnosis
Diagnosis is essential for many practical reasons, such as qualifying for insurance or guiding evidence-based treatment. However, it’s important to remember that mental health conditions manifest differently for each individual due to unique life experiences and personal perspectives.
At Mark Jones Counseling, we prioritize understanding each client’s specific concerns, focusing on their personal goals and needs. While diagnosis helps guide treatment, we believe that it should not overshadow the individuality of each person or their potential to grow and flourish. Our approach aims to find a balance between using diagnosis as a tool and fostering an environment that supports personal growth and fulfillment beyond labels.
Coming Up:
Diagnoses can sometimes feel like unwanted labels. We don’t like to be labeled or stereotyped, because we are unique and rarely fully endorse the criteria of any label. However, we readily label other people. Avoiding labels is the topic of our next blog.