Psychiatric Diagnosis and Labels do not Help People

Psychiatric Diagnosis and Labels do not Help People

Introduction

The ever-increasing number of people who are suffering from mental disorders is very alarming. Above 164 million people suffer from one mental disorder a year in the European Union which is over 38 per cent of the people. Most people have anxiety disorders which lead with 14 per cent. (Boseley, 2011). In the UK, one in every four consultations with family doctors is for problems related to mental health (Great Britain Parliament, 2007). Looking at these numbers definitely makes classification of mental disorders very important so that patients can be diagnosed and treated but at the same time, the current systems of classification have several shortcomings because of which patients at times just get labelled and face other problems too which hamper their treatment and recovery.

Discussion

The Rationale Behind Classification and Diagnosis of Disorders

The first question that comes to mind about mental disorders is that do we need to classify them and if yes then why. Emil Kraepelin was the first one to properly classify mental disorders in the late 19th century. He did that based on the symptoms of the disorders (Elder, Evans, & Nizette, 2009). The reason behind classification of mental disorders is to put into order so many different kinds of psychological problems and their symptoms. That way it becomes easier to treat patients by identifying different indicators of mental disorders. It is done so that psychiatrists world over would use the same terminologies which makes it easier to discuss patients with similar conditions. In addition, it is necessary so that research can be done on these disorders and they can be taught at educational institutes and to understand and recognize diseases that have not been identified yet (Sadock, & Sadock, 2008). It helps group different related phenomena together in a standardised way. The main classification systems for diagnosis that we have today are based on the system created by Emil Kraepelin (Elder, Evans, & Nizette, 2009).

Two main systems that are used today are the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by American Psychiatric Association (DSM) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) by WHO (Elder, Evans, & Nizette, 2009).

Classification helps in diagnosis too. Without proper diagnosis, it would be impossible to treat patients. Diagnosis is an important purpose that is served by the DSM-IV because it not only states the problem but also the symptoms. It also provides other related features of the disease thus making it easier to diagnose (Schultz, & Videbeck, 2009).

Function of Classification and Diagnosis

The classification of mental disorders serves several functions. First, diseases are divided into several categories. Looking at DSM-IV, it can be seen that there is a big number of distinct categories of these disorders. DSM-IV uses a multiaxial system for the evaluation of mental disorders. Since 1952 when the first edition of DSM came out, each time that a new edition of DSM comes out, it has more categories for mental ...