Diagnostic Model

I think that depending on a client’s personal makeup (personality; emotional, social, and academic intelligences; various coping skills; quality of care they receive from their prescribing physician, as well as other professional support team members familiar with the various formal diagnoses; and other factors), they might take a formal diagnosis differently. Some might feel relieved that they have a diagnosis of bipolar, instead of a vaguely similar diagnosis but one with a worse prognosis, such as schizoaffective disorder (also giving a name to what was once an invisible and faceless internal wound). Clients might take the opportunity of being formally diagnosed (assuming the diagnosis is accurate) to educate themselves about mental health and
I would explain that using the categorical model, their presentation would suggest a diagnosis of social phobia, for example. However, I would explain to my client that other mental health experts believe that it is more effective and appropriate to use a dimensional diagnostic model—which might view my client as, alternatively, very low on the extraversion continuum. Perhaps client knowledge of different views about the same psychopathology would help to make things easier to ‘digest’ by putting it in perspective. It’s also possible that a client would adhere to the model that they felt more accurately represented them and their mental health (and what’s the harm in that if both diagnostic models point to the same presentation of symptoms, I’ll add?) My diagnostic focus as a clinical psychologist would certainly incorporate formal diagnoses, but I believe that using multiple models to try to help in reframing things (an aspect of healthy appraisal) may aid in mitigating some of the more unfavorable aspects of using formal diagnoses for clients, such as