A pubmed study of consensus among psychiatrists found 65% consensus in diagnosis. that's a d. how do i find any confidence in psych d(x)'s?

Diagnoses: Reaching a specific diagnosis in a particular case is a matter of not only having consensus between clinicians, but also of getting all the evidence at the time of evaluating the case. Most likely, the last professional consulted will be able to reach a more refined conclusion than the first involved in the case. In any case, agreeing is never easy and a diagnosis is a construction in progress.

Interesting question: Psychiatric diagnosis depends a lot on the information you share. Some patients simply don't reveal all pertinent details, and it may take multiple clinicians' work to piece together someone's saga. Psychiatrists also need to review corroborating data from others in the patient's life, plus drug screens, etc. Diagnosis may evolve as this longitudinal info is collected and synthesized.

Ask: Does it Fit?: Find docs you trust. Our classification systems are far from perfect. In fact anyone following the debate over the current revision of the american psychiatric assn's diagnostic "bible, " the diagnostic & statistical manual of mental disorders (going from 4th revised ed. To ed. 5.0), can see that the systems are associated w/ controversies. See recent nytimes article: http://nyti.Ms/11tld2q.