| Popis: |
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has dominated mental health practice and research. Its diagnoses and underlying rationality hold a monopoly on professional and public conceptions of human suffering, mental health, and recovery. While many theorists have criticized the DSM on a number of fronts, few viable alternatives to the DSM have been promoted and systematically researched. In this study, I present one alternative to the DSM based in Experiential Personal Construct Psychology (EPCP) and a qualitative research study aimed at understanding how four therapists construe EPCP and DSM diagnosis.This study expands upon an earlier qualitative research project where I attempted to understand how these four therapists' clients construed EPCP and DSM diagnosis. Each of these clients had experienced substantial relational injuries and had received some of the most severe DSM diagnoses. I provided each client-participant with both their EPCP and DSM diagnosis. In each interview, I attempted to understand how each client-participant experienced their EPCP and DSM diagnosis. I found that participants found the EPCP diagnosis more respectful and useful, as it allowed them to access deeper emotional struggles.In the current study, I presented these EPCP and DSM diagnoses to each client's therapist. I sought to understand how these therapists experienced their clients' diagnoses. I found that the therapists found the diagnoses equally accurate. However, these therapist-participants found the EPCP diagnosis more useful with respect to understanding clients' subjective experiences, the therapeutic relationship, and the development of interventions. Furthermore, these therapist-participants found the EPCP diagnosis more hopeful and respectful. As a result, these therapists indicated they felt closer to their clients. While they found the DSM diagnoses accurate, they found them less relevant to developing therapeutic relationships.The results of these two projects indicated that clients and therapists desired more than the DSM had to offer. In general, the participants preferred more personal diagnoses that accounted for subjective experience in the service of fostering intimate and therapeutic relationships. |
