Therapist Reluctant To Give Me Diagnosis

[goatgirl]

Has anyone else ran into resistance from therapist when trying to get their full diagnosis? I really like my therapist but I had a bad reaction to her telling me that she thought I had major depression and anxiety after a month after starting therapy. After being in therapy for a year now I know she was right but it still threw me to have it said in such a matter of fact way. She has since told me I have PTSD, I'm okay with that. But last week I saw my psychiatrist and he began talking about my dissociative disorder. My therapist never told me that. I flipped out and demanded she tell me everything she tell me everything she said to the psychiatrist. She hesitated and asked why I was so surprised about the dissociation diagnosis. I think that is separate or would be in addition to my PTSD diagnosis. She said do not get caugt up in labels. But now I'm afraid what else maybe wrong with me. Or am I just being to sensitive?

 

[PerfectEmpire]

Remember, most of these labels are merely a way of classifying behaviors and symptoms. It's not like having 5 labels means you have 5 root problems, it just means you have 5 symptom clusters. It's not that you have all of those things "wrong" with you. It's just a way to organize your symptoms and challenges.

If I were to say you are a guardian, aunt, and friend it wouldn't mean that anything about your insides are any different than if I said you were a sister, daughter, god-mother, and cousin. It's just a way of classifying, organizing, and describing what you deal with.

 

[Heather]

Remember, most of these labels are merely a way of classifying behaviors and symptoms. It's just a way of classifying, organizing, and describing what you deal with.

That's a really good way to look at it. When my therapist had to fill out my form for SSD. He had to put on there PTSD, depression, hypo-mania, labile mood, history of trauma from childhood sexual abuse etc. etc.

When I read that I was like damn..... that's a lot of sh*t.

But I agree with P.E. It doesn't change anything. Don't get caught up in the "labels" as your therapist said.

 

[Innordinate]

Theres lots on here about labels and diagnosis and multiple diagnosis but really.... you have PTSD - that comes attached with a whole lot of other shit, some people more than others. Depression and anxiety and dissociation and personality disorders and blah blah blah.......

Read more on here. I don't explain things well. Others do.

 

[sea]

The diagnosis doesn't change your issues. It just changes their treatment. If the treatment doesn't work, move on to a new treatment - but if you are treating the wrong diagnosis, you will get f*cked up results. It's like in physical medicine. Saying you have lupus or multiple sclerosis doesn't change what you live with on a daily basis, but it would change how you treat the problem. So on some level a diagnosis is pretty important.

In the long run, though, your symptoms are always going to be the same as they are. You don't have some "new thing" wrong with you. You are still you. You might have a co-morbid disorder, but your symptoms are generally the same. Flashbacks, dissociation, hyper-arousal, hyper-alertness, whatever other symptoms you present with, etc. So what they are doing is trying to figure out how to diagnose what you have, so that they can form a targeted "treatment plan". Just like if a doctor were doing the same to your body.

Don't worry so much. You're still the same person you always were. They're just now trying to attach the diagnosis in a more accurate way so that they can treat you for your problems in a more accurate way.

With psychiatric diseases it gets a bit trickier because the mechanisms aren't as widely understood and you could diagnose someone with the wrong psychiatric disease, treat it, but fix the right one. So it's trickier because you're dealing with the mind, and if you think the brain isn't understood yet, the mind might as well be doctors playing with sticks.

 

[ronin47]

Your problems don't become more or less real with diagnostic labels. And like Empire said, they're classifications, nothing more. I've been diagnosed with PTSD, and that's all I need to know. Any other diagnosis or label anyone attempts to give me (that's mental health related mind you) is just symptomatic of that. Just focus on healing instead of labeling.

 

[Gamereign555]

My therapist didn't want to tell me at first month, after the second month though she made it clear after I questioned myself to her.
I had a couple doctors while trying to get care established for myself and I swear they knew exactly what was wrong with me but wouldnt tell me squat, they would just say what symptom I was experiencing or whatever.