Psychoanalytic Diagnosis 2

 The DSM ( Diagnostic Manual of Mentall Illnesses) is the official manual of mental health disorders used by all mental health professionals to diagnose their patients. Your primary care physician also uses a version of this manual to diagnose their patient's mental disorders. This manual, like the manual for physical illnesses, is based in an assessment of a patient's symptoms. If you come to me or your family doctor we are going to ask you about your symptoms. " Where does it hurt? What hurts? In what way does it hurt? How long have you been hurting? How bad is your your mental pain and suffering? What are your symptoms ? "Let's say you answer the questions this way: " I am having trouble sleeping. I have lost weight. I have been crying a lot. I feel sad. I do not want to do anything. I have lost pleasure in everything. I have no joy. I feel worthless and I sometimes feel that the world would be a better place without me. I have seriously thought of suicide." Your doctor and your therapist will know that these are the symptoms of depression and we will diagnose you with a depressive disorder. We will choose the depressive disorder found in this manual that best describes your symptoms. In this case we would diagnose you with Major Depressive Disorder. ( More to come. )

2Bill Huffman and David Moore