Differential Discrimination in Mental Health Treatment

A differential diagnosis in mental health is performed by a clinician who can compare and contrast similar symptoms and discriminate between different types of diagnoses possible for the patient. The differential diagnosis determines the plan for treatment.

Significance

• Discriminating between symptoms of psychiatric conditions that appear similar to one other is a process of elimination. The differential diagnosis in mental health treatment is used to differentiate between separate conditions that initially look similar to each other.

Function

• Diagnosing mental health conditions is complicated; the same symptoms can occur in completely different disorders. Professionals use clinical interviews, assessment, psychological testing and observations to determine the differential diagnosis.

Identification

• Identifying an accurate diagnosis is partly based on discriminating between mood, anxiety and thought disorders. For example, sleep disturbance as a symptom is found in Major Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Schizoaffective Disorder. A mental health provider will differentiate between these diagnoses using clinical skills.

Considerations

• Discriminating between the effects of drug use, substance abuse and an organic psychiatric condition necessitates the use of differential diagnosis. A mental health diagnosis cannot be determined if the patient is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Misconceptions

• Suffering psychiatric symptoms as a result of a medical condition is possible. It is a misconception that mental health is separate from physical health. There is a brain/body connection to consider when discriminating between differential diagnoses.