Diagnosis and Labeling Psychology Writing Assignment

Diagnosis and Labeling
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Labeling refers to the words or phrases used to either classify or categorize a person and a group. On the other hand, diagnosis refers to a form of labeling whereby psychologists and psychiatrists group persons into classes. Notably, psychologists and psychiatrists have over the years labeled individuals into varied diagnostic groups in a bid to categorize and establish psychopathology and communicate with other mental health specialists in the most efficient manner possible CITATION Sop10 \l 1033 (Dziegielewski, 2010). Diagnosis provides an efficient way of providing initial general information about a patient for a range of professionals working with the same patient. This is because, in more than one occasion, diagnoses are direly needed in a bid to make clients eligible for access to basic services such as educational and mental health. The act of making an official diagnosis and labeling of a client comes with both positives and negatives as discussed in this short essay.
Pros
Notably, specific diagnosis and labeling come in handy, especially regarding helping individuals to pinpoint empirically supported treatments with a good track record for the reduction of symptoms and pain relief. For example, in the case of an obsessive-compulsive disorder, the ideal treatment would be the exposure and response prevention. In the case of erratic behavior, psychological assessment and testing of the client would be necessary in order to define passable treatment, and this is because assessment helps to distinguish reversible from irreversible cognitive disorders (Lasalvia et al., 2015). Therefore, getting clarity on diagnosis and label gives room for easy referrals to suitable professionals not only in getting access to such services as educational or vocational assistance but also in accessing appropriate medication. Also, a...