Beyond Diagnosis (FutureLearn)

You’ll find out about some of the benefits of psychiatric diagnosis, as well as the possible negative outcomes.

You’ll understand the principal criticisms of psychiatric diagnosis, including validity, utility and underlying theoretical assumptions.

You’ll explore some of the possible alternatives to psychiatric diagnosis.

What topics will you cover?

- The nature of psychiatric diagnosis.

- The practice and uses of psychiatric diagnosis.

- The controversies surrounding the benefits and possible negative consequences of psychiatric diagnosis.

- Possible alternatives to psychiatric diagnosis.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

- Describe what psychiatric diagnosis is, and the current debates and issues surrounding it.

- Describe the practice and uses of psychiatric diagnosis

- Explain the benefits of psychiatric diagnosis

- Explain the possible negative consequences of psychiatric diagnosis

- Summarise the main criticisms of psychiatric diagnosis