The Art of Diagnosis

Ethics, Subjectivity, and the Art of Diagnosis

[WLO: 8] [CLOs: 4, 6]

Although psychology prides itself on being a science, the art of diagnosis goes beyond a simple checklist of symptoms. Clinicians generally recognize that any diagnostic exercise must include a culturally sensitive interpretation and analysis of symptoms. Considering that only a bachelor’s degree in psychology does not prepare you to do diagnosis, it is important to consider how having this knowledge could support you in other careers. It is also important to consider that even a doctorate in psychology does not license you to treat with prescription medicine. To perform this level of diagnosis and treatment, you would have to earn a medical degree in psychiatry. To learn more, read the article Psychology vs. Psychiatry: Do You Know the Difference? (Links to an external site.)

To successfully complete this journal,

• Identify at least three disorders that you studied during this course and summarize what the disorders entail.
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Dementia
• Separation anxiety disorder

• Discuss how an understanding of these disorders could support you in a career, prior to achieving expertise in a graduate program, by addressing the following:
  • Consider the knowledge application to working with others in a team setting or working with families, etcetera.
  • Relate this to the career you have now or one you wish to obtain after earning your bachelor’s degree. Current career: Eyecare Exam Tech/…..wish to obtain social worker for CPS (child protective services)
  • If you do not plan on gaining employment after graduation, how could this understanding support you in your personal and social contexts?
• Analyze the rationales, including the ethical considerations that exist for becoming more educated prior to personally performing diagnosis.

Your journal, this week, should be between 400 to 500 words and have an introduction and a conclusion as described in the Ashford University Writing Center’s resource Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.). You should exhibit obvious attention to critical thought and understanding of the content, as demonstrated in Samantha Agoos’s TED-Ed animation 5 Tips to Improve Your Critical Thinking (Links to an external site.). You should include APA citations (Links to an external site.) as needed to support your ideas. As this is your personal reflection about the material this week, your journal should limit the use of quoted material. Proper grammar should be applied, for which you should consider using the Ashford Writing Center’s Grammarly: A Free Proofreading Tool (Links to an external site.) resource. At minimum cite your text to support your assertions in your explanation, but you may also use additional scholarly sources. The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. References should be listed following the reflection. You will have until 11:59 p.m. on Day 7 (Monday) to deliver this journal reflection.