Question: This module taught you that considering the whole person when diagnosing is a vital component of the diagnostic and treatment process. However, before a counselor can assess a person, it is important for him or her to consider all the factors that can potentially influence the diagnosis; in other words, the counselor must understand how to utilize an integrative approach and why this multidimensional approach is beneficial. For example, a client comes in for an assessment, complaining of irritability; however, you do not assess for potential medical conditions that could influence the diagnostic process. You provide counseling, but the counseling does not work because the person has a medical condition, Diabetes Mellitus Type I, that was not stabilized. In this instance, you would have attempted to treat a medical condition with mental health treatment. When situations such as these arise, a counselor must be aware of the different factors that can influence symptoms presentation in order to effectively diagnose and treat individuals.

To ethically diagnose a client, the assessment process needs to be comprehensive and integrate all factors that may influence the diagnostic process. A counselor should always be mindful of the impact a diagnostic label can have on a person and discuss this with the client. In addition, a counselor must be aware of the pros and cons associated with diagnostic labeling and the roles of emotion and stress. This assignment will explore the use of a multidimensional approach, the differences in the types of classification systems used by the DSM, and the roles of emotions and stress in psychopathology.

Tasks: In a minimum of 300 words, post to the Discussion Area your responses to the following:

• Identify and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of psychiatric diagnosing and mental illness labels.

• Discuss why using a multidimensional perspective is important when diagnosing.

• Discuss the roles of stress and emotions and how they influence medical conditions.

Support your rationale and analysis by using at least two resources from professional literature in your response. Professional literature may include the Argosy University online library resources; relevant textbooks; peer-reviewed journal articles; and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (websites ending in .edu or .gov).