Using Literature to Teach the Art of Diagnosing

Abstract

This article describes the use of literature to teach counseling students. Specifically, the focus is on the art of diagnosing from the historicalperspective of "knowing someone through and through." The article describes an exercise that uses Potok's The Chosen to assist the clinician in understanding the individual and how to diagnosis him or her and maintain an understanding of the system in which behaviors occur.

How Do We Teach Family Therapy Theory?

“…One of the most popular strategies for teaching theory appears to be the use of literature and the arts, especially the use of movies (e.g., Demmitt, 1998;Gladding, 1994;Hudock & Warden, 2001). Demmitt (1998) described the benefits of using literature and the arts to illustrate theoretical constructs. These benefits include the fact that this medium comes in many forms with varying sensorimotor involvement and, as a consequence, can appeal to different learning styles.…”

Challenges in Diagnosis in Couple and Family Systems Work

“…A brief review of the history of diagnosis provides an understanding of the role of diagnosis in counseling. Diagnosis came from the Greek origins of gnosis (knowledge) and dia (through and through), which meant “to know someone through and through [involving] understanding the person fully (i.e., knowing the person in the context of his/her family, culture, religion, community, and suffering)” (Demmitt, 1998, p. 148). This definition implies an understanding of a person in his or her social context (Cochran & Cochran, 2015; Scholl, McGowan, & Hansen, 2012).…”

The Diagnostic Process From a Freirean Perspective

“…This unintended consequence may impede symptom resolution in two ways. First, when a label is attached to behaviors the context in which the behaviors occur is ignored (Demmitt, 1998). This limits the clinician's ability to understand the behavior's function.…”