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Old Feb 06, 2015, 11:21 PM
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amandalouise amandalouise is offline
Wise Elder
 
Member Since: Mar 2009
Location: 8CS / NYS / USA
Posts: 9,171
Angelwings Im wondering if this could be a language or vocabulary difference....

here in america SMI is not a name of a mental disorder, it is the first letters of the words ...Seriously Mentally Ill..... its short hand abbreviations treatment providers use.

it is a psychological term that just means a persons mental illness is affecting them in severe/very hard ways ie instead of treatment providers writing a long detail of whats going on they can write the letters SMI and the corresponding number for what ever the problem is ....SMI 300.14 means the person is having a serious mental illness issue due to their DID.

other countries SMI may mean a name of a mental disorder that america does not yet recognize ....

and some USA states use the term SMI (seriously mentally ill) when its clear a person has a mental problem but they dont fit into any one diagnostic criteria for a definitive mental disorder, just a general term to tell whether a persons mental problem is serous or minor. example Arizona uses this general term to say someones mental problems are causing them to have functioning problems in their daily life.

my suggestion talk with your treatment providers they can tell you why they coded your mental problems under the general term of SMI rather than an actual mental disorder diagnosis.
Thanks for this!
eskielover