Psychology.

Is It Time We Stopped Diagnosing Mental Health Disorders?

Improve symptoms and reduce stigma without a diagnosis.

Photo by Florian Schmetz on Unsplash

There isn’t enough knowledge or consensus about mental health yet to gain much from making a specific diagnosis. In fact, studies suggest a diagnosis might actually trigger and aggravate symptoms.

“ … the regions of the world with the most resources to devote to mental illness–the best technology, medicines, and the best-financed academic and private-research institutions–had the most troubled and socially marginalised patients.” — Sami Timimi.

Psychiatry Research published a paper in 2019 suggesting psychiatric diagnoses were meaningless in that they fail to address individual needs and are not necessary for treatment.

The validity and reliability of both the most common diagnostic tools, the DSM and ICD, have been under question throughout their history, though today more researchers are reconsidering their clinical use.

Categorizing mental health disorders and diagnostic criteria have theoretical implications for academic research, but their…