Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. Psalm 139:14
In speaking with a client recently, I indicated to her that, as we spoke about her teenage daughter, our identity is not in our diagnosis. A diagnosis is a tool we use for clients for several reasons, one of which is for reimbursement purposes. Another aspect of diagnosis is because it is a sort of shorthand to give a category for a collection of symptoms that may be helpful in the treatment of that client. It should never be taken as an identity. For example, it should never be used to be a shorthand for understanding our clients.
The client is not the “Major Depression”, or the “Bipolar I” client, or the “Borderline” client. Rather, these are people who exhibit symptoms consistent with the diagnosis as defined in the DSM 5 or the ICD10 clinical manuals.
I had gotten concerned when the client stated that her daughter was on the internet, chasing down how clients with the diagnosis “RADS” (Reactive Attachment Disorder) typically behaved. I wondered if her daughter was trying to chase down her diagnosis in order to explain her behaviors. Was her daughter trying to “live into” the diagnosis?
Whatever the reason, I emphasized that her daughter is not defined by a diagnosis. She is defined by her unique God-given gifts and strengths. She is defined by how she uses those gifts and talents in this world, especially in the service to others. In other words, we are defined by how we respond to the gift of life that God gave us, and the unique imprint he has upon us.
So, diagnosis can be a helpful tool to clinicians, but it is not a definer of who we are.
Prayer: Lord, give us the understanding to see ourselves as you see us, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 