What is the impact of mental health diagnoses on people who receive them?
02 October 2018
We are developing a scale to measure of the impact of mental health diagnoses on those who receive them.
Our aim is that the measure can be used for both clinical and research purposes. Clinically, it is hoped that the use of this scale will empower people who receive diagnoses and encourage a dialogue with professionals on the experience of receiving and having them. Research-wise, we are hoping to broaden knowledge on diagnosis from the point of view of people with diagnoses.
Keywords
Ethical approval
This study has been approved under the procedures of the University of Roehampton Ethics Committee on 16/11/16 (Ref: PSYC 16/237).
About the researcher
I am a trainee counselling psychologist at the University of Roehampton, London, UK. I am in my final year of the Practitioner Doctorate in Counselling Psychology.
I have been providing psychological therapy in a variety of mental health settings, both hospital and community, in London for the past four years.
Through my work and personal life, I have seen the profound impact, both positive and negative, that receiving and having a mental health diagnosis can have and was very surprised to discover that there was no instrument to measure this impact and consequently no statistically generalisable evidence on the effect of such diagnoses.
