What Is Differential Diagnosis In Mental Health

Differential diagnosis is the bread and butter of our task as clinicians patients come into the office seeking relief from broad symptoms such as depressed mood or fatigue and clinicians must consider which of all the disorders in dsm could account for those symptoms.

What is differential diagnosis in mental health. From the information gathered in the history and examination the following differential diagnosis can be posited. Unfortunately there are currently no lab tests to identify depression. Your doctor must differentiate between these to determine the actual diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan. Purposes behind diagnosis accurate diagnosis allows for consistency and standardization throughout all disciplines that address mental health concerns.

Rule out malingering and factitious disorder step 2. Rule out malingering and factitious disorder. Medicinenet does not provide medical advice diagnosis or treatment. Differential diagnosis sometimes abbreviated ddx or or δδ is the systematic method used to identify the condition syndrome or disorder causing a patient s signs and symptoms.

A differential diagnosis is used to help diagnose physical or mental health disorders that cause similar symptoms. The process of weighing the probability of one disease versus that of other diseases possibly accounting for a patient s illness. 1 major depressive disorder lucy s unhappy childhood and psychiatric history of depression support this diagnosis. Rule out a disorder due to a general medical condition step 4.

The method of differential diagnosis was first suggested for use in the diagnosis of mental disorders by emil kraepelin. Steps involved in a differential diagnosis when performing a. A differential diagnosis is a list of possible conditions or diseases that could be causing your symptoms based off of this information. Instead the diagnosis is based on your medical history and your symptoms.

In addition she meets at least five of the dms iv criteria on mental state examination. During a health history you ll be asked about your symptoms lifestyle and previous health problems. Medical nursing psychiatric psychological counseling social work marriage and family therapy accurate diagnosis allows for common ground to be established in terms of research. The process of differential diagnosis step 1.

A differential diagnosis means that there is more than one possibility for your diagnosis. How will my provider make a differential diagnosis. Most differential diagnoses include a physical exam and a health history.