Assessment Versus Diagnosis Part 1

by on November 17th, 2010 § 0

I find formal DSM diagnosis useless. It is a remnant of the medical model, which I call upon psychologists to discard. Our embrace of the medical model was a “deal with the devil”. However, lucky for us we can still get out souls back. Clients come to us, not with medical illnesses, but rather with problems in living. If someone comes to you with a medical illness seeking help, then refer to a physician, because that type of treatment is outside our expertise.

What we can address our issues where patients are stuck in some way that they define as dysfunctional. I emphasize that they define as dysfunctional. Fisch and Schlanger in their excellent book, “Brief Therapy with Intimidating Cases makes this point clear. They state, ” We see problems as behaviors that someone strongly considers undesirable, rather than as manifestations of pathology. They depart from a framework of normality and abnormality, and instead are complaint based.

In this context we can ask about what is it that the client is complaining about rather than asking ourselves what is the proper diagnosis. We are now dealing with what the client wishes to deal with, rather than serving as the behavior police, attempting to get clients to act according to some norm. This is instant culturally sensitive therapy, because we are not laying our values on the client. Also, this allows for greater client-therapist cooperation as resistance is reduced. What is it that the client is complaining about is an excellent place to start treatment, and very natural for most clients.

As simple question to get this information is, “What is the problem that brings you in now?” Now is very important, because we can only deal with ongoing difficulties not change what has happened in the past.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada: Scripts, Schemas and Redefining American Myths

by on January 16th, 2010 § 0

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a politically charged re-telling of the American myth of the Western.  Through the use of film, director and star Tommy Lee Jones, and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga comment upon social aspects of American culture, while using catharsis as a means to mediate across ideological and cultural borders, and to do justice for the victim of a discriminatory crime and its cover-up.  The U.S and Mexican borders appear as both a character and a metaphor in the film.  Lee and Arriga de-construct the frontier myth by means of casting a dark eye on social, racial and sexual scripts and schemas.  Elements of earlier films that have attempted to do so, such as Pekinpah’s Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia are evident as their narrative journey unfolds.

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Cultural Factors In Problem Gambling Among The Chinese

by on January 3rd, 2010 § 0

The most current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (APA, 2000) provides only a single gambling-related diagnosis: Pathological Gambling. This diagnosis requires that an individual meet at least five out of ten criteria which are representative of problem gambling among Western samples. However, even in the West, many individuals suffer significant financial and interpersonal consequences from gambling without meeting full criteria for this mental disorder. The literature typically refers simply to “problem gamblers,” a category which is inclusive of these subclinical cases as well as those which would meet diagnostic criteria (Raylu & Oei, 2004). In this paper we will follow the same convention, referring to problematic gambling behavior as that which is subjectively “out of control” for the gambler, whether or not it meets the Western diagnostic criteria. We will also see that conceptions of normative and problematic gambling vary across cultures, such that culturally-appropriate practices of diagnosis and treatment are called for.

Mahjong Fun

In this article we will examine the differences in the ways that problem gambling is conceived of and presented within Chinese culture versus Western culture. We will review literature on the role that culture plays in the etiology and progression of problematic gambling behavior in general, as well as the specific cultural factors affecting its development among the Chinese people. We will see how the cognitive and emotional factors that lead to problem gambling in the Chinese are similar to and different from the factors that drive these behaviors in Western samples. Finally, we will examine whether our understanding of problem gambling among the Chinese may also inform our understandings of problem gambling in other Asian cultures. » Read the rest of this entry «

Welcome Cultural Psychologists!

by on January 3rd, 2010 § 0

Welcome to the cultural psychology group blog on Chicago Psychology. This community blog is for sharing and discussing the latest research and theory related to the cultural factors at play in the development of individual psychology and their implications for psychotherapy. Post your own ideas about cultural psychology and comment on the ideas of others.

Participating is very simple: once you’ve set up your free account on ChicagoPsychology.org, just join the Cultural Psychology group and then ask a group administrator to grant you access to post on the Cultural Psychology group blog. This will allow you to post your own thoughts and ideas, experiences, announcements about new findings or events, or anything else you think is relevant to the cultural psychology community. Other members will be able to post comments on your post, or write their own separate posts in response.

An account on ChicagoPsychology.org also allows you to create your own free web site or blog to promote yourself and your practice, or to just share information and ideas that you think others will find interesting or helpful.