How do psychologists diagnose people?
Hello! Diagnosing a mental illness can be really difficult. There’s no blood test or anything simple like that to tell you what mental disorder a person has and what medication would help them best. Unfortunately, some diagnoses come after long periods of puzzling over the symptoms; it’s possible to even get misdiagnosed a few times before they find out what you’re really suffering from. For some disorders, you can take a “test:” you answer with numbers a lot of times (like, on a scale of 1-5) and then tally up the score at the end. The score helps the therapist determine what’s most bothering you. You may see this if you visit a doctor for symptoms of depression or ADHD. Other times, it may take a few sessions with a counselor for them to decide on a preliminary diagnosis. That diagnosis may change as they get to know you further! So it’s important to be patient. Another uncertainty comes with the medication. Scientists still don’t know a whole lot about the brain and how it functions
