Diagnosis

“Owning” Bipolar Disorder

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Recently I had a chance to review a new book called “Owning Bipolar: How Patients and Families Can Take Control of Bipolar Disorder.” I found the book to be very interesting and a good resource. Subsequently, I was able to get some additional information from the book’s author, therapist Michael Pipich. I think you’ll find the conversation with Michael very interesting and illuminating. Why did you decide to focus on bipolar disorder? After over 30 years of therapy practice, I …

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Deciphering Your DSM Diagnosis

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If you’ve ever heard the terms “OCD,” “PTSD,” or “ADHD,” you probably know they’re all abbreviations for mental health diagnoses. Respectively, they stand for “obsessive-compulsive disorder,” “post-traumatic stress disorder” and “attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.” No wonder we tend to use the abbreviations since the complete descriptions are quite a mouthful. These diagnostic terms (and over two hundred others!) are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Text Revision, better known as the “DSM-5-TR,” but often referred …

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How Do You Diagnose a Mental Illness?

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I’m often asked a lot of questions about how mental illnesses are diagnosed. What’s the diagnostic process? How is a specific diagnosis determined? Are diagnoses helpful or harmful? Let’s try to address some of these frequently asked questions now. How are mental illnesses diagnosed? The word diagnosis is defined in two different ways. It not only means “the act of identifying a disease, illness, or problem by examining someone” but it also refers to “a statement or conclusion that describes …

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