misdiagnosed as a teen.

Recreational Therapists who work in mental health settings don’t diagnosis patients. At least, not that I’m aware of.

The psychiatrist or psychologist diagnosis a patient using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is currently in the 4^th volume. I think the 5^th volume is due out in 2013.

Some mental health counselors make a diagnosis when needed to provide treatment.

However, all of this varies from state to state.

I do know that some mental health services won’t be reimbursed by third-party payers, insurance companies, or Medicare/ Medicaid if the patient doesn’t have a diagnosis. I’m not 100% certain, but this could put pressure on an individual to give a patient a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes. Of course, the ethics behind that is for another discussion.

Today’s real point is on the harm of a misdiagnosis. What harm can come from a label that isn’t true? It has happened before.

You’ve probably heard of surgeons who have performed surgery on the wrong patient or on the wrong ligament.

Sometimes a person is diagnosis with a mental health problem that has similar symptoms to an actual physical health problem that wasn’t ruled out. A mental health diagnosis can have

 Max is reports that he was misdiagnosed as having Type I Bipolar Disorder as a teenager and now he is writing a book about his experiences.

I think this could be a very interesting book to read.

Watch his video here.