MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS

Currently there are big debates about diagnosis of mental health conditions, the evidence base for these diagnoses, and the implications of receiving a diagnosis.

Positive reasons for getting a mental health diagnosis

Receiving a mental health diagnosis can give the person an insight in to why they are feeling or thinking in a particular way, it can be less isolating by showing there are other people who experience similar things. It can also help with deciding what intervention might be appropriate, give a fixed base to start from and if handled correctly give a sense of hope for the future. A lot depends on how the diagnosis is made and how that information is explained to the person involved.

Potential Negatives of Mental Health Diagnosis

There are a lot of professionals who argue that unlike physical health conditions there is no proven evidence of biological markers to state the person has a mental health illness. They go on to state that diagnosis at best, are based on interpreting visual demeanour, the person’s ability to answer questions and how that person interacts with others around them. These can be skewed by the person assessing due to their own personal bias, lack of knowledge of the persons culture and due to a multitude of other reasons.

Another problem that comes with getting a mental health diagnosis is that it can impact on lots of other areas of a person’s life, including insurance, driving, housing, employment, holiday visa’s, lifestyle, social groups, and relationships.

Mental Health Diagnosis and Permanency

Unlike physical health conditions which can be removed, stated as cured/obsolete, mental health diagnosis are very hard to challenge and extremely difficult to get removed. For example, there is evidence to suggest that a lot of people who get a diagnosis of Borderline Personality will in their later years no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for the condition but will find it very difficult to get it removed or reclassified.