Yes my therapist has diagnosed me with dysthymia. I'm ok with that. It is reasonably accurate. As far as I know he hasn't added any other diagnoses, although I have most definitely developed an anxiety disorder (probably a specific phobia, and/or an acute stress disorder) since I started seeing him. Historically I have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, which was accurate, but I no longer meet the criteria for that. My other therapist, who is strictly self-pay, says that she has not diagnosed me. Since she doesn't take insurance she doesn't have to.

I don't care if they diagnose me or not as long as it is accurate. I spend a lot of time researching things, and I have a mental health background, so I'm pretty sure I can do as good of a job as they can diagnosing me. So if they are wrong, I'm not happy. I once had a therapist diagnose me with personality disorder NOS...that's it. No depression, no anxiety, nothing else. I don't believe that I have a personality disorder, but if I did have one, I want a real one, not a "not otherwise specified" one. That sounds like "there is something chronically wrong with you, but I'm not going to say what."

Since then I always ask. I also make sure to list specific symptoms to point them in the correct direction. Once I told a therapist that I had dysthymia and major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate, without psychotic features, and my GAF was 58. I should have double checked. She probably wrote down OCD or something else completely wrong. She wasn't that bright.