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katiebridgers
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Default May 31, 2021 at 08:56 PM
  #1
i’ve been seeing my therapist for quite some time now but have no been given a diagnosis. she doesn’t believe in labels or diagnoses but i have been put on a SSRI. i feel that to better understand what is wrong with me i need a diagnosis. is there a reason a therapist will not give a diagnosis?
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Default Jun 01, 2021 at 08:05 AM
  #2
Well, taken at face value your therapist said she doesn't 'believe' in labels and diagnosis. So that's it. Personally, I would also want some sort of diagnosis too though, so as to understand and to find ways to manage my group of symptoms better too. My hunch is that some of them don't believe in diagnosis because they don't think it would help. But they forget that it's you who is struggling with your mental health, and not them. Very lackadaisical approach on their part.

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Default Jun 01, 2021 at 08:30 AM
  #3
Hello and welcome to MSF!

It doesn’t make sense to me either. If you were prescribed an antidepressant, it’s purpose is to treat depression. Depression is a diagnosis. Why would she prescribe a medicine for someone without any diagnosis? It is not logical.

She keeps a chart on patients. Insurance requires a diagnosis to pay her. She had to list a diagnosis in order to prescribe the med. I would assume your chart does list something as a diagnosis…but she refuses to tell you.

I have had this same thing happen to me with psy doctors. It seems it’s a strategy they use because they don’t want to tell patients a diagnosis. Research may have shown that people who know their diagnosis don’t recover as well as those who do not know perhaps???

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Default Jun 01, 2021 at 10:11 AM
  #4
I don’t know about research, but I would think common sense would suggest people generally do better if they do know their diagnosis. Sometimes similar symptoms have different causes - thus, different treatments are needed - and if the person with XYZ condition has to manage symptoms themselves, they really ought to know what it is they’re dealing with. I will concede in some cases it can be more of a hindrance.
Personally I have benefitted very well from having a diagnosis.
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Default Jun 01, 2021 at 10:21 AM
  #5
Quote:
Originally Posted by katiebridgers View Post
i’ve been seeing my therapist for quite some time now but have no been given a diagnosis. she doesn’t believe in labels or diagnoses but i have been put on a SSRI. i feel that to better understand what is wrong with me i need a diagnosis. is there a reason a therapist will not give a diagnosis?
looks like you answered your own question...

Question title of post .... "why wont my therapist give me a diagnosis?"

Answer from your post ....."she doesn’t believe in labels or diagnoses"

as for why she doesnt believe in labels or diagnoses only she can answer that.

my suggestion is next time you see or talk to her ask her.

speaking for me my own therapists do not give diagnoses. they leave that up to psychiatrists who I see for going through special testing to find out what my diagnoses are.

the way my therapists explained it to me was that they did not believe in giving someone a diagnosis with out actual testing to back it up. too many mistakes can happen where people end up labeled things they may not have if a therapist just said ok you have this or that, thats your diagnosis label.

Im very glad my therapists dont believe in just sticking diagnosis labels on me, this gives them and I more time to work on my problems not focus on a name. I can work on being depressed with out sticking a diagnosis on it, I can work on being anxious with out sticking a diagnosis name on it, I can go to my therapist and say this week I had trouble with this and that, with out worrying about a fancy name or label for it.

diagnosis labels are just that names for a whole mess of problems stuck together. having a diagnosis label does not mean I cant talk to a therapist, tell the therapist what my thoughts and behaviors are, what my fears are, learn how to get better at managing my problems.

labels and diagnosis's are just that labels and names they dont define a person and they dont help or hinder a persons own abilities to walk into a therapist office and say this week I had a problem with nightmares. this week I had a problem with being anxious, or what ever.

my suggestion is give your therapists way a try. dont worry so much on labels and diagnosis and just tell her what your thoughts and behaviors are that you want to make changes to. tell her whether your medications is working, just talk to her about your problems.
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Default Jun 01, 2021 at 02:17 PM
  #6
So Sorry you're struggling! Please do not give up! i agree with the other wise and wonderful posters about talking about this to your own therapist when you meet her. Try to ask her why she doesn't believe in lables and diagnosis and perhaps bring up whether or not you'd like to have one if you do want one. i do think it is your right to know. Every therapist is different i think so i'd say that each one has different working methods. i think in general having a good talk about what her methods are may prove to be Beneficial to both of you. That is just my opinion of course but i don't think or at least i Hope so that it won't hurt to try. Give it a try if you want to. Sending many safe, warm hugs to BOTH you, @katiebridgers, your Family, your Friends and ALL of your Loved Ones! Keep fighting and keep rocking NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, OK?!
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Default Jun 01, 2021 at 02:19 PM
  #7
Who prescribes your medication? That person should give you a diagnosis. I understand how you feel - I would want a diagnosis, too.

btw, welcome to MSF!

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Default Jun 05, 2021 at 11:55 PM
  #8
My therapist that I had for 4 years refused to tell me my diagnosis because I would then start acting that way.

Which makes no sense. How do I have whatever she thinks I do if I don’t act that way in the first place?

I think it’s illegal not to tell a client their diagnosis actually.

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Default Jun 08, 2021 at 03:55 PM
  #9
I think your therapist is showing some wisdom. "Therapists" are not doctors and are not really qualified to be handing out diagnoses. At least that's the opinion of the U.S. federal government, which requires a psychiatrist to diagnose as a basis for claiming Social Security Disability income. I take it that this therapist is not the one prescribing your SSRI. That med would be coming from a doctor. You have a right to get a diagnosis from your MD who prescribes for you.

A therapist's job is to help you learn to cope better with the challenges of living. You really don't need a practitioner to diagnose you as "having depression" in order to know that you are depressed. Obviously, the SSRI was prescribed in hopes it would help you feel less depressed.

Lately, even many psychiatrists are recognizing that psych "diagnoses" are often little more than "circular thinking." To tell someone that "You are depressed because you suffer from depression." doesn't really tell you anything, does it? The important question is, "What can you do about it?" That is the therapist's job to help you figure out.

Generally, people are unhappy because they have an approach to life that isn't working for them. Unfortunately, no one wants to hear that. We tend to want to hear that we have a "chemical imbalance of the brain" or that "my amygdala isn't working right, due to all the stress I've been subjected to." Thinking about that kind of stuff will get you nowhere, IMO.

Your therapist wants you to focus on what you can do different from what you've been doing, so you can have a better life, so you will be a happier person. Go ahead and read up on depression and watch YouTube videos about depression, so you will gain some general insight, if that interests you. In therapy, however, focus on what behavior you can change. That is really the only power you have to change how you feel.
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Default Aug 12, 2021 at 12:24 PM
  #10
I'm going through the same thing! I'm trying to find a psychiatrist
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Default Aug 13, 2021 at 07:53 AM
  #11
I was going to ask what @BethRags asked. Who prescribes your meds?

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