A Case for Psychiatric Diagnosis.
Abstract
Psychiatric diagnosis has been severely criticized by many clinicians and researchers. Studies in clinical judgment and diagnosis leading to this criticism were reviewed. Research designs were evaluated in terms of their relevance to diagnosis. Most projects were extremely narrow in scope and it was inappropriate to apply their conclusions to the process of diagnosis. Research evaluating diagnosis in real clinical settings showed that diagnosis accurately and consistently assessed the patents' capacity for successful post-hospitalization readjustment. In an effort to evaluate diagnosis as practiced in the clinical setting, the grid method was used. Psychiatrists rated patients from their practice, generating their own dimensions for comparison. Patients within a diagnostic category were consistently evaluated as being more similar to each other than patients from different diagnostic categories. The use of this highly individual technique assured that even analysis of grouped data would not obscure the basic strength of the diagnostic process. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- ADA070820
Entities
People
- Darrel Edwards
- J. Susan Fichman
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center