A Systematic Approach for Making a Psychiatric Diagnosis

Diagnosis and the DSM

“…The third idea that the neo-Kraepelinian psychiatrists put forward was that diagnosis in psychiatry comes down to detecting psychiatric conditions by classifying symptoms, complaints, and behaviors based on pre-established criteria (Feighner et al, 1972;Welner, Liss, & Robins, 1974). This brought them to make the now famous statement that "classification is diagnosis" (Robins & Guze, 1970, p. 983, my italics).…”

Diagnosis in the field of psychotherapy: A plea for an alternative to the DSM‐5.x

“…This implies that ‘concepts, strategies, and jargon of general medicine are applied to psychiatric disorders: diagnosis, differential diagnosis, etiology, pathogenesis, treatment, natural history, epidemiology, complications, and so on’ (Guze, 1992, p. 4). The second idea is that diagnosis in psychiatry comes down to classifying symptoms, complaints, and behaviours based on pre‐established criteria (Feighner et al , 1972; Welner, Liss, & Robins, 1974). This brought them to make the now famous statement that ‘classification is diagnosis’ (Robins & Guze, 1970, p. 983,emphasis added).…”