Posted by Emily Elizabeth on July 5, 2005, at 23:12:10
In reply to Re: What makes a dx official? » alexandra_k, posted by thuso on July 5, 2005, at 22:46:47
Whoa! Did you say that the child pdoc was your EMPLOYER that said you were AS??? In my opinion (and I believe the American Psychological Association) that sort of behavior is extremely unethical. If he is not your doctor, he should not be giving you a diagnosis. That sort of dual relationship is a problem b/c since he knows you in a different context, he is likely to be biased in a unique way. He has his own (probably more complex and less neutral) opinions about you that are influencing his diagnosis.
As for the grad student who did testing, in probably all cases they are supervised by an experienced licensed psychologist. And, as a grad student who has done a lot of these type of assessments, I can tell you that they are typically MORE thorough than your average assessment. AND at least two (if not more) people are thinking about the information that the testing provides. It is possible that the grad student did a poor job, but I'd say that it was also pretty unprofessional to be so dismissive of another professional's work. Perhaps it was part of the pdoc's insecurity?
A side note...there can be a lot of hostility between psychology and psychiatry. Each seems to always want to prove that they are better and they can be pretty rude to each other. I myself have experienced a lot of disrespect from pdocs (not my own, she is great--pdocs that work w/ my clients). I know that is something that psychologists at all levels of education complain about.
I know I've gone off a little here, but I REALLY don't want to see you hurt by someone's lack of professionalism. As I mentioned, I am a grad student and I work with psychologists. In pretty much every example I can think of--when a colleague or boss throws out their own diagnosis it is destructive. My advice is that if you want a 2nd opinion you should go see a private psychologist and/or pdoc.
As for your question about "official dx"...kmy sense is that it matters what you need it for. For sometings you need an MD to sign off, but I would think that most mental health professionals would respect a well-written and thorough report (assuming that is what you have).
I hope that this helps. Your post just really set off some alarm bells for me...
EE
poster:Emily Elizabeth
thread:523892
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050628/msgs/524059.html