The Importance of Differential Diagnosis
In fact, according to the National Academics of Science, Engineering and Medicine, “it is estimated that 5 percent of U.S. adults who seek outpatient care each year experience a diagnostic error.”
This error rate is speculated to jump up to at least 10 percent when diagnosing mental disorders—due to the multiplicity of signs and symptoms—although this rate is not well documented.
Making differential diagnosis a part of your process
One of the key ways mental health professionals can reduce errors in mental health diagnosis is by always including a differential diagnosis as part of the diagnosis process.
Differential diagnosis is an important step in any diagnosis, but can be even more critical when a client has a history of trauma. This is because the symptoms of trauma regularly overlap with other diagnoses.
For example, when clients don’t reveal their history with trauma, their symptoms of mood swings and sleep problems could be misdiagnosed as depression or anxiety. On the other hand, if clinicians are aware of a client’s traumatic history, it can be easy to default to a diagnosis of PTSD and miss other possible disorders.
How to start differential diagnosis
Once you have conducted the initial interview and identified the client's key symptom patterns, the next step in accurate diagnosis is generating a differential diagnosis. To correctly execute differential diagnosis, you must complete two phases:
Phase One: Generate a list of all POSSIBLE diagnoses
Phase Two: Narrow the list to most PROBABLE diagnoses
Phase one requires practitioners to go broad and think of anything that could be possible given the syndromes a client has. That list is then narrowed in Phase Two, detailing the more probable diagnoses.
Learn some helpful tips on how to generate you first, broad list of all possible diagnoses in this short video clip:
Learn more about Roger, how to narrow your differential diagnosis list, and how to make the most accurate diagnosis possible in the full, FREE one-hour CE video.
Improve your clinical outcomes and streamline your processes… even with the most challenging cases.
Margaret (Peggy) L. Bloom, PhD, Professor Emerita, Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a licensed psychologist and NCC certified counselor. Dr. Bloom is nationally recognized for her knowledge and expertise in assessment, DSM diagnosis, and counselor education. She is past chair and member of the board of directors of the Center for Credentialing & Education (NBCC), an elected fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and past president of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES). Beginning her career as a psychiatric nurse and earning graduate degrees in nursing, counseling and a PhD in counseling psychology, Peggy brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to each seminar. She has published numerous journal articles and presented professional education seminars across the world on assessment, diagnosis and counselor education.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Margaret Bloom has an employment relationship with Marquette University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Margaret Bloom serves as a guest reviewer for The Clinical Supervisor and as a chair in the peer evaluations corps, Higher Learning Commission. She is a member of the American Counseling Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.
