Outline and Evaluate Issues Surrounding the Classification and Diagnosis of Depression

It is sometimes argued that “the creators of DSM-III and DSM-IV sacrificed validity for the sake of reliability”(Wakefield, 1992, cited in Gray, 2002, p 614). This refers to greater emphasis being placed upon superficial symptoms and less upon underlying symptoms and possible cause which could have an important influence upon individuals (Gray, 2002). Since behavior always involve interaction between the individual and their environment, it can be difficult to assess whether the disorder is within the person or whether it is an environmental influence such as a traumatic experience or related to poverty (Gray, 2002, p.612). This can cause problems when diagnosing is extremely difficult to scientifically distinguish between people’s normal responses or whether it is something more (Gray, 2002).

Within this unit I will be showing my past and learnt knowledge of the main forms of mental health problems according to the psychiatric classification system. I will be looking at the strengths, Limitations and alternative frameworks for understanding mental health. I will also demonstrate ways in which mental health problems can and do impact the individual and there social network.

These disorders focus on the evaluation which is to identify the psychological disorder that the client

The ideology that seems implicit is the principle that “mental disorders are neurobiological and dimensional and lack a cut-off from normality (Kupfer & Regier, 2011) (Paris p. 26).In using dimensionality accompanied with a spectrum of normality, psychiatric disorders can be seen to lack no exact boundary with normality. As seen in previous editions of DSMs, various diagnoses have failed to separate mental disorders from common experiences of life. If this is the case, there is always the chance that diagnoses can be wrong, and wrong diagnoses do have consequences.

Mental illness is a serious health problem and its affect many people. Increasingly, clinical decision support systems are being used for diagnosis and it is important to improve the performance and validity of these systems. Missing a potential clue or wrong diagnosis can have a detrimental effect on the patient's quality of life and could possibly lead to a fatal outcomes.

Some issues of reliability and validity of the systems is that they only hold the knowledge that we hold based on psychological description of disorders. Most psychiatric disorders are based on recognised clusters of symptoms and so to classify behaviour without any biological evidence may not be an objective process and may make both systems unreliable. They are valid in the sense that they hold the information that is widespread knowledge about psychological disorders and are useful in recognising conditions. However, many conditions such as schizophrenia have speculation on the causation of symptoms and so the systems only have as much knowledge as we do and do not not include guidance or ability to show markers of condition through biological tests.

While mental health professionals have had mixed feelings about the use of diagnostic labels in counseling, the diagnosis is another common outcome of the assessment process. Mears (2010) reports the advantage of diagnostic classifications as their usefulness in written and verbal interactions about the specific problems a client might experience. An example of this is when a diagnosis documented in a case conceptualization or treatment plan increases the ease of communication between clinicians or billing agencies.

Many—event most—mental disorders are diagnosed by identifying clusters of symptoms that cannot be detected by science. That is, they do not show up in a chemical test or under a microscope. There are medical tests that can be run to detect cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease; but there is no medical test for detecting depression.

Have you ever wondered what really causes depression? Or how people are even depressed and not just sad? The reason I chose this topic is because I have depression. Not only that but I only know a limited amount of this disorder, and also considering the fact that depression runs along side both of my mom’s and dad’s side of the family. My curiosity grows as I wonder, what does this really mean? Why was i diagnosed with depression? Is depression permanent or can it be cured? How? Where does depression come from? On this journey as i take you into the world of mental health knowledge, you will also get to know a little bit about depression, and maybe answer some of your questions.

It is important to note that the intensity of emphasis placed accuracy of diagnosis is somewhat unique for the mental health profession. Haslam (2013) invokes a comparison with the fluctuating diagnostic categories of Rheumatology to lament that the outdated plight of the mental health profession is to be considered in opposition to the objectivity of physical illness and thus subject to harsher criticisms of inaccuracy and validity. This is an ongoing and pervasive challenge for mental health professionals and patients alike, it is therefore critical that major barriers to the accuracy of diagnosis such as mental health stigma, both professionally and socially, be reduced. Ultimately, the resultant discourse concerning false diagnosis in light of DSM-5 changes suggest that DSM-5 has prompted a shift in the burden of responsibility of diagnostic accuracy from the Manual to the clinician, a burden that can be alleviated incorporating broader diagnostic tools in diagnosis and addressing underlying mental health

Perhaps Freda agrees with Welfel and emotionally responded her frustrations because she doesn’t agree with this method. Because the term diagnosis emcompases more than the medical model expressed in the DSM, Freda might have a different and approved method that June isn’t privy to know. Perhaps a more sound relationship between the two could point this out. Again, I don’t like to jump to conclusions without valid facts. Would you want me jumping to conclusions as a pilot and making a mistake because I was emotional versus logical and practical? Welfel said that diagnosing is one of the most influential activities in which a professional engages and applying a diagnosis name to clients’ problems can powerfully affect many aspects of their functioning such as self-esteem, career opportunities, eligibility for insurance, vulnerability to rejection and ridicule by others, and educational placement (Welfel, 2016). Perhaps Freda is more conservative than the DSM and wants to take care of the individual first versus use the DSM as a cookbook?....just some thoughts to

There are a number of risks and benefits of receiving a psychological diagnosis. One risk that many face when receiving a psychological diagnosis is the negative label that is attributed with it. For instance an individual that is diagnosed with depression may be looked at as attention seeking, or a negative Nancy. After receiving the diagnosis, or exhibiting the symptoms and not receiving the proper support or help could have severe consequences. The individual may make a life-altering decision as a result such as suicide. This is because depression is not looked at in the same degree as schizophrenia, bi-polar or any other mental disorders.

What precisely is a diagnosis? In medical terms, it could be a concise technical description of the cause, nature, or manifestations of a condition, situation, or problem, but what is a psychiatric diagnosis, and is it reliable? A Psychological Diagnosis is a classification or labeling of a participant's' stated and perceived difficulties following a formal assessment by a psychologist or trained professional. The DSM is used by Psychiatrists to aid in these diagnoses. Additionally, the DSM and psychiatry as a whole has been questioned for its reliability since its widespread hit society. People, like David Rosenhan, have questioned what is factual and what can be proven inside the DSM, moreover modernized people like Lauren Slater and Robert

Have you ever heard of a person that has visited a psychiatrist for minor depression, and was then prescribed with heavy drugs, and diagnosed with a more severe mental illness? The idea of this treatment has been presented and manifested into society and reinforced by stories that make the discipline of psychiatry much less than delightful. Why is it that people lack trust in psychiatry? Christopher Lane, a citizen that studies psychiatry, wrote a book called, Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness; and in this book he explains how “behaviors [that were] once understood as reactions to one’s environment [are now seen as chemistry within the brain that results in dangerous levels of neurotransmitters], like serotonin.” He later recognizes that because of this, individuals that grew up shy are at risk of becoming diagnosed as mentally ill and the growth in new disorders, such as this, have been added to the (DSM), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, and rings like “music to the ears of drug companies”(Cooper, 2012).

Convergent validity refers to two measures that should be theoretically related (Furr, & Bacharach, 2013). Bagby et (2004) used thirteen scales to compare the validity. Some of the scale used were the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Major Depression Inventory, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Raskin Depression Scale, Clinical Global Impression Scale, Carroll Rating Scale for Depression, and the Global Assessment Scale. Convergent validity is considered to be adequate when a scale shows Pearson’s r values of at least 0.50 in correlations with other measures (Bagby et al.,2004). Bagby et al., (2004) alluded that the HRSD showed adequate convergent reliability, because it met the correlations with the majority of the scales. One of the scales that the HRSD failed to meet the correlation with is the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (.37). This is important to note because the DSM-IV is the standard for definitions and diagnoses of mental disorders (Bagby et al., 2004). Failing to meet the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV is consistent with the rationale for failing to meet content validity.