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clicktoreboot -> RE: would a therapist worth their salt diagnose a diagnose th first visit? (9/16/2014 9:13:59 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: DesFIP
Look, ADHD could be diagnosed within half an hour. So could depression and many other things. There are diagnostic tests. Say yes to 6 or more and you're most probably suffering from that. After 50 years or so, it's not that hard to diagnose the more common ones.
If a doctor can diagnose strep throat in 5 minutes, why do you think they can't diagnose depression in that time?
The reason a Doctor can't diagnose a psychiatric issue within half an hour is that there has to be a clear differential diagnosis. Psychiatry is not anywhere near as cut as say Oncology. A symptom that might appear as ADHD to a lay person can be indicative of depression, one of numerous personality disorders, even a psychosis like schizophrenia. The prescribing will have to be carefully considered. My experience is in these matters is two fold. First, I've been clinically diagnosed with ADHD and Dysthymia. In the case of the former, the Doctor took a year before prescribing a stimulant to help with it. He wanted to be clear that it was not a mood disorder/Manic Depression. The diagx of dysthymia took forever because it was not taken seriously by numerous physicians DESPITE having taken numerous tests. It's something of a "stealth" depression. Tests are debatable as to their efficacy in depression to a great extent. As well, I'm a trained mental health professional with 25+ years experience working out of hospital Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric units as well as community based psychiatric programs. It was rare to see a file of someone who had chronic mental health challenges that didn't have numerous changes in diagnosis depending on the psychiatrist. One Dr.s depression is another's manic depression, and another ones schizophreniform disorder and yet another ones schizotypal personality disorder. besides what is prescribed, the diagnosis will often dictate whether any form of psychotherapy is recommended, or cognitive behaviour therapy, occupational therapist involvment etc.
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