Psychiatric Diagnosis Revisited

Stijn Vanheule is a clinical psychologist and a professor at Ghent University, Belgium. He is also a privately practicing psychoanalyst and a member of the New Lacanian School for Psychoanalysis. He is the author of The Subject of Psychosis: A Lacanian Perspective and Diagnosis and the DSM – A Critical Review.

“Rooted in the history of critiques of the DSM while also touching on current issues and approaches to diagnosis, Psychiatric Diagnosis Revisited’s push to move beyond mere classification as the final outcome of the diagnostic process and to enrich diagnosis with case formulation will resonate with anyone who has wrestled with the inadequacies the current DSM-based diagnostic system.” (Sarah Karalunas, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol. 57 (3), March, 2018)“The latest publication … provides an alternative diagnostic approach for clinicians working in the ‘psy-disciplines’ via clinical case formulation. … a thought provoking book relevant to a broad range of theorists, academic and clinicians interested in both the scientific / epistemological status of DSM and to clinical practice. … Vanheule’s book makes the case for an evidence based practice where more time – for both direct clinical contact and case formulation practice – is a necessary condition for best clinical practice.” (Alessandro Musetti, Frontiers in Psychology, journal.frontiersin.org, June, 2017)“This book … is rigorously developed, authentic and open, and balanced in termsof taking the contextual perspective of the other as starting point. The case formulation approach is particularly suitable in the area of psychosis … counterbalancing the toxic effects of the schizophrenia diagnosis and the meaning of devastating brain disease that has become associated with it. I would recommend it to all looking for a respectful and informative way to describe mental distress in the context of psychosis.” (Jim van Os, Psychosis, Vol. 19 (2), May, 2017)

• Introduction.- Chapter 1. Dynamics of Decision Making: The Issue of Reliability in Diagnosis.- Chapter 2. Symptom and Context: The Issue of Validity in Diagnosis.- Chapter 3. From Mental Suffering to Mental Disorder and Back Again.- Chapter 4. Working with Clinical Case Formulation: Methodological Considerations.