According to their ethical code...which usually becomes part of a state's licensing statutes...the unethics of diagnosing mental disorders by clinical psychologists is a problem.

Clinical psychology has its roots in psychometrics...the scientific measurement of mental functions. The earliest and most commonly known example of this is IQ testing.

For a Ph.D. in clinical psychology...students had to know and use the scientific literature...then to design and carry out publishable scientific research.

If they couldn't...it didn't matter how caring they were in the clinic. They didn't get a Ph.D. because the Code of Ethics For Psychologists -- Standard 2.04 says clearly...

Psychologists' work is based upon established scientific...knowledge of the discipline.

And the 'disorders' in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)...the diagnostic bible...are not determined by scientific investigation. Scientific knowledge is missing in the diagnostic practice of clinical psychology.

A clinical psychologist diagnoses a 'disorder' by matching symptoms to descriptions in the DSM. Good science requires a standard of what's normal before you can decide what is abnormal. But normal and disordered are never defined to differentiate them. So the extent of any 'disorder' can't be measured.

Despite its requirement to be scientific in its activities...the profession became 'medicalized' and adopted the procedures and the jargon of psychiatry -- which has never claimed to be a scientific discipline. It uses borrowed terms like...mental health...psychotherapy...psychopathology...psychiatric diagnosis. And it often relies on medication to manage symptoms in patients.

Why would psychologists use unethical methods?

Unfortunately the incentives...or pressures...are great for psychologists to use unvalidated diagnoses. Insurance companies...who pay psychologists...and the courts...that use them as expert witnesses...put great emphasis on diagnosis of mental disorder.

How could this affect me?

It wouldn't be such a serious matter...except a diagnosis of psychiatric disorder can have unexpected negative consequences in people's lives. When they don't know who uses diagnostic data or how...people even can lose their liberty based on unvalidated disorders.

If you see a clinical psychologist and you use insurance to pay for psychotherapy...a diagnosis is usually required...and may legally be shared with the insurer's affiliated companies.

This data sharing may have negative results (e.g., denial of employment)...which the therapist may not have explored with you. If not...then your agreement to put diagnostic data on the insurance form was not informed consent.

However, the Code of Ethics For Psychologists requires informed consent to share information (Standard 3.10) by discussing...

1. the involvement of third parties (e.g., an insurance company or credit card company and their affiliates) and limits of confidentiality. (Standard 10.01).

2. by discussing the foreseeable uses of the information generated through their psychological activities. (Standard 4.02)

How do I know psychiatric diagnosis isn't scientific?

With the DSM-III the American Psychiatric Association tried to validate the psychiatric diagnosis of 'disorders'...using scientific methods to answer the question: Would clinicians...independently evaluating the same symptoms...arrive at the same diagnosis?

The results were discouraging. Clinician agreement was very variable. This makes almost all mental health diagnoses arbitrary. But they are put in medical records as facts.

And this arbitrariness infects the next edition of the manual (DSM-V). The physicians candidly assert they may never establish the scientific validity of these 'disorders'...

Limitations in the current diagnostic paradigm...embodied in the current

DSM-IV...suggest that future research efforts...exclusively focused on

refining the DSM-defined syndromes...may never be successful...in

uncovering their underlying [causes].

So, the 'disorders' are...and will remain scientifically unreliable opinion.

You can read about the future DSM-V at the url listed below.

How are psychiatric disorders discovered if they're not scientific?

They aren't discovered...most are created. Committees of physicians (and a few non-physicians) decide...intuitively...what a mental disorder is.

For example...if a child is no good at arithmetic...she may be diagnosed with 315.1 Mathematics Disorder. Difficulty with arithmetic may be due to lack of interest. But that's not a disorder. Or it may be due to neurological problems. Which makes it a genuine medical issue...not an arbitrary psychiatric disorder.

What should I do?

You can remember that psychologists are required to practice from established scientific knowledge. They must have your informed consent to share information...such as a diagnosis. So...lacking those things...you should have concerns in this age of massive government and corporate data bases.

And you should raise any concerns about the unethics of diagnosing mental disorders with your psychologist or other therapist. But first know what their ethical requirements are. The url for psychologists is below. For other professions just type into a search engine "ethics for..." and add the name of the profession.

If you and your clinical psychologist haven't discussed these things...which might make you decide not to use insurance benefits...your relationship may be on vague ethical grounds...which are inadequate to protect you...the consumer...from unwanted consequences.

Can I still see a psychologist if I don't want a psychiatric diagnosis?

Of course. It's very doable. And I'll cover how in another article.

Research Includes Work to Reduce Petroleum Dependence and Better Air
Quality SAN DIEGO, March 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of San
Diego Chemistry and Biochemistry Department have been awarded more than than $2
million in finances from the National Science Foundation and other private
foundations. The finances will back up research that could cut down the United
State's dependance on crude oil and better air quality. (Logo: ) USD Assistant Professor of Chemistry Simon Peter Iovine received the
prestigious $475,000 career Award from the National Science Foundation. The
Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is the NSF's top awarding in
support of the early career-development activities of those
teacher-scholars World Health Organization most effectively incorporate research and education. The awarding will back up work in the survey of dendrimers, perfectly
branched polymeric molecules with possible applications as new materials,
drug bringing agents and enzyme mimics. One aim of the grant is to
use "sticky-ended" dendrimers to chemically modify a renewable material
called lignin. By attaching the "sticky-ended" dendrons, Iovine trusts to
create novel synthetic loanblend stuffs that could be used as an
eco-friendly plastic. "If the ends are achieved, the work may impact our
reliance on foreign oil by reducing the demand for traditionally synthetic
polymers derived from petrochemicals," he says. Associate Professor of Chemistry Saint David Delaware Haan, have received a major
research grant of $310,000 from the NSF, funded through the Research in
Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) Faculty Research Projects programme and
NSF's Directorate of Geosciences. His research focuses on the interactions between dicarbonyl compounds
-- such as as glyoxal -- and Zanzibar copals triggered by droplet evaporation. Dicarbonyl chemical compounds are believed to lend to the formation of haze in
the atmosphere. Since the major beginning of glyoxal over Southern
California's skies is from constituents of unburned evaporated gasoline,
DeHaan's research may propose a manner to cut down haze in the part through
gasoline reformation. The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department was also awarded a $500,000 Department Development awarding from the Tucson, Ariz.-based Research
Corporation that volition be matched by finances from USD for a $1 million-plus
investment in scientific discipline and an awarding of nearly $600,000 from the Henry Luce
Foundation to set up the Clare Booth Henry Henry Luce Professorship in chemical science and
biochemistry. The Research Corp.'s awarding is one of lone six national awardings made by
the foundation in the last 10 old age and required extended rating and
site visits, along with a five-year development plan. "It's wish winning a national championship," states Seth Thomas Herrinton, USD
Associate Provost and chemical science mental faculty member. With the completion in 2003
of the state-of-the-art Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology
and outstanding faculty, USD is carving a niche as a comprehensive,
national university that not only offers but necessitates research
opportunities for undergraduate pupils in chemical science and biochemistry. "We
want the University of San Diego to be among the best topographic points to analyze and
practice chemical science and biochemistry at the undergraduate level," he says. About the University of San Diego The University of San Diego is a Catholic establishment of higher
learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls some 7,500 pupils and is
known for its committedness to teaching, the broad arts, the formation of
values and community service. The startup of the Joan B. Kroc School
of Peace Studies will convey the University's sum figure of schools and
colleges to six. Other academic divisions include the College of Humanistic Discipline and
Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Leadership and
Education Sciences, Law and Nursing and Health Sciences.

By Lisa Marchesoni- April 11, 2008 - 3:34 PM Charges are pending against a male child accused of whipping a Coffee County sheriff’s deputy sheriff transporting him Thursday to the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center, Murfreesboro Police reported.Coffee County Deputy Andy Wade, 62, of Manchester suffered a terrible cut over his right oculus and a big cut to his left ear when the male child apparently struck him with a flashlight, Military Officer Chris Ethel Waters reported. Virginia Wade was injured when he brought the male child to the hold center.Wade was taken to Cornelius Vanderbilt University Checkup Center in Capital Of Tennessee but no information was available because of federal privateness laws.Murfreesboro Police spokesman Kyle Herbert Mclean Evans said serious complaints are pending because of the nature of the deputy’s injuries.Waters reported when the male child exited the patrol police cruiser he “struck the deputy sheriff sheriff sheriff respective modern times in the head,” causing the deputy to lose consciousness.Detention Director Lynn Duke said centre employees saw the male child allegedly beating the deputy and called 911.Detention Cpl. Tre Rubin ran outside and reached for the male child who took respective swings at him, she said. Employees hushed the male child with common pepper spray.“I really experience like if it wasn’t for my employees, the whole thing would have got turned out differently,” Duke said. “If it hadn’t been for their speedy response, it would have got been a totally different scene.”Murfreesboro Police picked up the officer’s duty arm lying nearby and gave it to throw military officers to hold for Coffee County deputies.The male child is being held on a misdemeanor of probation from Coffee County. He is scheduled for a hold hearing next hebdomad in Juvenile Court.