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Deciding how to treat – the relevance of psychiatric diagnosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Paul Williams
Paul Williams*
Affiliation:
General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Paul Williams, General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF.
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Synopsis

A distinction is drawn between ‘diagnostic decisions’ and ‘management (or treatment) decisions’, and a model for the process of making a management decision is suggested.

Evidence is reviewed which suggests that psychiatric diagnosis does not strongly predict treatment, and an extension of diagnosis, the problem oriented approach, is advocated.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , February 1979 , pp. 179 - 186
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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