Do therapists always tell you your diagnosis?

Oh no, I'm sorry, that was not a specific response to you.

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My ex therapist (left), doesn't use diagnosis, and the PH.D psychologist I have on standby doesn't diagnos either. I begged my previous therapist for a diagnosis, so that I couled have proof that my symptoms were legit. At the end of therapy I even payed a testing center out of pocket for a diagnosis because of all that I read on PC. After, I was told I should of saved my money, because all she detected slight anxiety, but that I can quickly regroup to change course. Therapy helped with that.

And, I have never had an issue getting the proper medical or life insurance for my needs.

Do you pay out pocket then? The reason I ask is that if they billed insurance, they did give you a diagnosis, which they reported to the insurance company.

I'm not saying that diagnoses are universally useful--but if a T gives you one, I think you have a right to know it.

If you didn't get a diagnosis, then no, you would not have trouble getting life insurance, etc.



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If you look at the billing slips they give you or send to insurance, there is a code there for the diagnosis. You can then look up the diagnosis code to see what it stands for.

There are a number of factors that come into play. For instance, some therapists won't tell you the diagnosis not because they want to hide it but because people can become obsessed with their diagnosis. Also there is long negative history of people being diagnosed by the psychiatry/pharma industry and it being used as method of control and so forth. So in our age of human potential, labels seem like something people want to distance themselves from.
In rare cases people are not told their diagnosis if they're thought to be in a real bad state of mind, like actively psychotic, and that telling them can be counterproductive. But in the age we live, of freedom of info and information sharing, if you live in North America or Europe in particular, it'd be rare that diagnosis is never shared with you.

Another reason is that therapist may not have the ability to diagnose you anyways. Psychiatrists and psychologists can of course. Or it might be they have not figured it out yet.

The simplest way is just to ask. Instead of guessing like I just did now. It will put your mind at ease. And they wont' be upset or anything if you ask, it's pretty normal and routine.

I did pay out of pocket. If I remember correctly, Scorpios37 spoke in previous posts that she uses her private health insurance and that no diagnosis is required. Maybe, there are more companies and universities in the USA that allow people to access mental health benefits without a DSM diagnosis.

And yes, I totally agree in a client's right to know.

I totally understand what you mean. Applies to medical conditions as well. Can be like finally getting answers to questions.

But with mental health conditions I just think there is way too much pathologizing of every deviation from some arbitrary "norm" and it is so specious.

I was crying on the phone with my ex T after she terminated me, and she termed this "emotional disregulation". It was just a normal response to being pushed to the breaking point rather than a pathology. It was also a way for her to distance herself from the pain she had caused.

And even with medical conditions, I prefer the Chinese medicine way of not applying a limiting and defining and pathologizing label, they identify patterns and look at the whole body/person. So "depression" is not seen as some stand alone disorder, rather it is part of a holistic pattern that links with other symptoms and imbalances. Sophisticated really. Sorry for the tangent...

My friend has a life insurance which favors me. Of course I wish her to live, but I realized she signed it under false premises. I have no idea what happens if she actually dies! She was diagnosed behind her back with something she doesn't have. I know cuz she ordered out her charts but then regretted it and didn't read them but let me read them.

This is such a long time ago (20 years) that I had totally forgot until now. She has not been in psych care for more than a few weeks 20 years ago. She set up the insurance not knowing she had a DX so she didn't lie. Can doctors get people in trouble like this if they DX people in secrecy?