Psychopathology & Diagnosis: Categorical Thinking

Psychopathology and Diagnosis Your Name Your Institution of Affiliation April 1, 2018 1 Discuss how issues of diversity might impact categorical thinking? Categorical thinking in psychopathological assessments refers to the classification of mental illnesses based on an established checklist that determines whether an individual possess or does not possess a specific trait. While a significant number of assessments are made based on a categorical scheme, certain revisions on the standardized manual prompt to use a more holistic approach. For example, the DSM-5 was born using the categorical approach. Nonetheless, scholars pushes for the inclusion of another axis (axis VI), that is generally aimed to assess the psychosocial and environmental factors that contribute to the complexity of the diagnosis (Garcia & Petrovich, 2011). Particularly speaking, realizing the complexity of the human mind and in the pursuit of scientific accuracy, some revisions of the DSM-5 added certain assessment resources such as the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF) and Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) (Garcia & Petrovich, 2011). The addition of these assessment resources then provided a more encompassing guidelines which allowed for “a diagnosis that is both interpersonal, intrapersonal, and environmental” (Garcia & Petrovich, 2011). In retrospect of the effects of diversity (and human complexity in general) in terms of Categorical thinking, it becomes obvious that categorical thinking could be insufficient for providing accuracy of diagnosing mental illnesses. As of today, most scholars and practitioners alike, advocate for a h...