The field of psychology has long had a nuanced claim to medical authority. As the humanistic nature of therapy makes it distinct from coldly clinical approaches. While accepted treatments have been scientifically established as sound and effective, psychologists are still grappling with the mind. The mind is a phenomenon far more mysterious than the body. In order to bring a semblance of medical consensus to the field, psychologists have developed the DSM-5. In the DSM-5, clusters of symptoms are defined as a mental health diagnosis. The reception of a diagnosis can cause a variety of feelings for a variety of clients. It’s important for clients to understand why and how diagnoses are used. Then, they can come to their own understanding of how they relate to them.
What Are Mental Health Diagnoses?
The DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, was first created in 1952 by the American Psychiatric Association. It was an attempt to standardize the then disparate data from a variety of medical sources and census accounting. Since then, several editions have been developed, as the field of psychology shifts and new empirical determinations are made, bringing us to the current fifth edition. The DSM-5 serves as a catalogue of mental illnesses, based upon clusters of symptoms and diagnostic criteria. Its uses are numerous, including assisting clinicians in diagnosis and treatment, creating frameworks for public health initiatives, facilitating a more standardized approach to research, and, notably in our current system, justifying health insurance coverage.
What Does My DSM-5 Diagnosis Mean?
When working with a patient, a clinician will assess symptoms and history with their client. Then, they use the descriptions and criteria available in the DSM-5 in order to make a diagnosis. Training for social workers, mental health counselors, and psychologists all involves mastery of this process. It should be noted that diagnoses are never set in stone, and the clinician may alter them as time goes on and a deeper understanding between client and clinician forms. While one purpose of the diagnosis is to get the client coverage, the other purposes are clinical. When certain symptoms emerge, the clinician may use a potential diagnosis to assess for other symptoms that cluster with it.
They may also use the diagnosis to help guide the creation of a treatment plan and to work with their colleagues and supervisors on how to best approach treatment. Crucially, it is used as a guide and not a bible. Each client is a fully unique human being, with life experiences and perspectives far too nuanced and deep to be encapsulated in one definition. However, when used as one of many resources, a clinician can get good use from the manual.
Read more about different types of therapists who can treat mental health disorders.
The Benefits of a Diagnosis
The benefits of a mental health diagnosis does not just extend to the clinician. There are several ways that it can benefit the client as well. A client can read about their own condition, reach out to others with the same diagnosis for support, and put words to their experience with the condition. Additionally, a mental health diagnosis can have a powerful effect of normalization and destigmatizing. Often an undiagnosed condition can lead to a client asking “what is wrong with me?” and attributing what is in reality symptoms of a condition to character flaws. A client may feel completely alone and ashamed of how they feel, think, or behave. Being able to put a name to what they’ve been experiencing, and to understand that others have faced it and that treatment is well researched and possible, can be enormously beneficial to how they see themselves and approach their life.
The Drawbacks of a Diagnosis
It would be incomplete not to acknowledge potential downsides to diagnoses. Just as good clinicians see their patients as more than a label, it is crucial that a diagnosed patient sees themself as more than a label. If a client views their diagnosis as an inherent and inalterable encapsulation of their being, one that determines the trajectory of their life, it can undermine the sense of autonomy necessary for healing and thriving. Furthermore, a diagnosis could be used to excuse destructive behavior, rather than explain it. Even with a diagnosis, we must take responsibility for our actions in order to end destructive cycles. Additionally, it should be acknowledged that clinicians can make incorrect diagnoses. If you believe that you’ve been misdiagnosed and it’s negatively impacting the effectiveness of your therapy, you should have a conversation with your clinician to address it.
Learn about whether therapy is working for you.
Diagnoses serve an important role in psychological treatment. It is, however, only a piece of the puzzle. Utilizing the DSM-5, a clinician can recognize your symptoms and find the category they fall under to better communicate and treat the mental health struggles you face. Ideally, this can create a sense of normalcy and even community in the face of the confusion and shame associated with psychiatric conditions. When diagnoses are treated as a label that defines you, they can stifle growth. When they are treated as a tool for greater understanding, they can serve as a stabilizing force. Ultimately, far more important than your diagnosis is your strengths, your lived experiences, and your unique internal world. You are not a chapter in a mental health manual; you are an expression of the human condition.
Are you interested in exploring your diagnosis in therapy? Reach out to myTherapyNYC to find out which of our therapists would be a good fit for you!
What has been your experience with diagnoses? Join the conversation in the comments below!
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