How is psychiatric illness diagnosed? Are there blood tests or brain scans to prove diagnosis?
Psychiatric diagnosis is more subtle and intangible than diagnosis in other branches of medicine because it is harder to measure feelings and thoughts in the same way as a lump, body temperature or blood glucose. Moreover, mind is a complex and adaptive self-organizing system and does not easily reveal its complex working. At this time most Psychiatric diagnosis is clinical without blood test or brain scan validation. It is important in making Psychiatric diagnosis, however to rule out physical causes of psychiatric symptoms.
