Diagnoses
There’s a big, hairy problem shadowing our field: what, exactly, is a mental disorder? Is using diagnostic language helping or hurting our clients? The way... Read more
The Problem With ODD
How Neuroscience Shifts the ConversationBy obscuring the truth about kids’ adaptive responses to stress, the ODD diagnosis interferes with genuine solutions and effective treatment. Read more
The Future of Diagnosis
Traveling Beyond the Limits of the DSMTake a magical journey beyond the DSM’s pathologizing legacy to a place where therapists can name and categorize suffering, while still taking into account... Read more
"I Know What's Wrong With Me"
Social Media and the Lure of Self-DiagnosisAlthough people might benefit from the sense of certainty that accompanies a self-diagnosis, it can also mislead them into embracing a fixed—or even a... Read more
Editor's Note: September/October 2023
Our Love-Hate Relationship with DiagnosesWhen we hear the word diagnosis, it’s hard not to think of the DSM. The dreaded DSM. But hating this particular book is nothing new... Read more
Seeking the Autism Diagnosis
The Current Quest for Identity and CommunityIncreasing numbers of young people are wanting the validation of an autism diagnosis, even when assessments reveal they don’t meet the criteria. Read more
A Never-Ending Adjustment Disorder
How Therapists Navigate the Paradox of DiagnosisA lot can go awry when you identify a person with a disorder—but avoiding diagnosis altogether isn’t always the right solution either. How are therapists... Read more
Allen Frances, formerly of Duke University, wrote the clinical diagnosis for narcissistic personality disorder that first appeared in the third edition of the... Read more
VIDEO: Prolonged Grief Disorder
Does This New Diagnosis Help or Hurt?What does the diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder mean to clinicians and grieving individuals? Read more
“You Have Borderline Personality Disorder”
Sharing a Difficult Diagnosis with a ClientTherapists need to consider not only what diagnosis to give, but also the pain or hardship that can result from sharing it with a client. Read more
VIDEO: When Meds Pave the Way for Successful Therapy
Reducing Arousal with MedsSteven explains that clients are rarely cured by medication or therapy alone. Read more
VIDEO: How Meeting Condition Criteria Doesn't Equal Mental Disorder
Jack Klott on One of the Diagnostic Changes in DSM-5While the publication of DSM-5 came with many surprises, few were as shocking—or as controversial—as the number of changes made to diagnosis specifiers... Read more
Discover How DSM-5 Will Affect Your Practice
Martha Teater on One of the Major Changes in DSM-5Martha Teater discusses a huge change in the DSM-5 that many therapists are still adjusting to—diagnosis-specific severity scales. Read more
Developmental Trauma Disorder: Distinguishing, Diagnosing, and the DSM
How One Tenacious Task Force Worked to Separate Developmental Trauma Disorder from PTSD in DSM-5In 2005, a complex trauma task force began working on constructing a new diagnosis called Developmental Trauma Disorder, which, they hoped, would capture the... Read more
Examining the Most Controversial Change in DSM-5
Gary Greenberg On The Bereavement ExclusionWhen examining the various changes made in DSM-5, Gary Greenberg finds the most controversial one to be the removal of the bereavement exclusion from the major... Read more
What's The Value Of A Diagnostic Category In The DSM?
Gary Greenberg on the Role of Economic Factors in the Shaping of the DSMGary Greenberg deconstructs the DSM and how it affects the field and your practice. Read more
Unless DSM more firmly joins the march toward biological psychiatry, it’s going to be left behind by NIMH. Read more
Do childhood trauma and a chaotic family environment cause adult borderline personality disorder (BPD)? Common clinical wisdom says yes, but new results are... Read more
The Long Shadow of Trauma
Childhood Abuse May Be Our Number One Public Health IssueAs the battles and controversies over the forthcoming DSM-V heat up, a determined group of trauma experts and researchers are mounting a passionate challenge... Read more
The Missing Piece
Helping Asperger's Clients Find ConnectionTo go through life with Asperger's as an adult is like walking onto a stage and being the only actor who doesn't know the lines or plot. But as the condition... Read more
Emerging from the Shadows
Looking Beyond the Borderline DiagnosisIn the minds of many therapists, the borderline diagnosis has come to be a code word for trouble. To get past our sense of helplessness with these clients, we... Read more