How does a psychiatrist know if you have a mental illness?

Question

why have I gotten 3 different answers from 3 different psychiatrists.

Answer 1

same way they know if you have cancer or whatever

of course, it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion.

Answer 2

There is a book called the DSM.  It is the diagnostic and statistic manual.  It spells out what symptoms or features each disorder has.  The doctor asks you questions and observes your behavior and determines if you have a disorder.

Answer 3

They went to school and got educated in psychology specifically.  

Answer 4

They ask you questions and from your answers they can piece together a diagnosis.

And just because they are docs doesn't mean they know everything.  I suffer from voices and shadow people (my own term) but my pdoc refuses to put that down on my diagnosis.

I would suggest you see another doc and see what they say and then decide who you want to go with.

Answer 5

umm they studied about all mental blabla and they would know if somethings  wrong with the patient.

Answer 6

I think it's normal for your dx to change with your pdoc.  With all the new labels it's no surprise.

A good way around this is to forget the labels and treat the symptoms.Yes, it's nice some times to have an answer but making you feel better should be the main concern.

Take care and never give up!

Answer 7

They will base your diagnosis on what you tell them as well as observing you.  If you sign releases they may talk to other people, like your doctor, family, etc.  Your diagnosis can also change over time as well.  It kind of depends on how you present at first and how that changes over time.  They will gain information and insight into your condition the more they see you.  Psychiatrists use the DSM-IV, and they'll see what disorders your symptoms meet the criteria for.  They may also adminster some tests like personality tests, IQ tests, depression inventories, etc.

Answer 8

They have a book full of disorders along with the symptoms and they compare your answers to a set of questions to what's in the book. Sometimes they use results from testing that a psychologist has done.

Answer 9

they rely on their training, what you tell them and the result of test to piece together a diagnosis the book they use is called the DSM IV