DIAGNOSIS
Sometimes it’s difficult to find out which mental illness may be causing your symptoms. But taking the time and effort to get an accurate diagnosis will help determine the appropriate treatment.
Diagnosis requires piecing together several components and influences of an individual’s entire life. It requires advanced knowledge of how brain chemistry affects moods, thoughts, and behaviors. And it requires a thorough understanding of human growth and development, and abnormal psychology.
At Dogon Behavioral Medical Group, we use specially designed interview and assessment tools to evaluate a person for a mental illness. The doctor bases his or her diagnosis on the person’s report of symptoms — including any social or functional problems caused by the symptoms — and his or her observation of the person’s attitudes and behavior. The doctor then determines if the person’s symptoms and degree of disability point to a diagnosis of a specific disorder.