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Psychology vocabulary · Assessment and Diagnosis

Diagnosis

Meaning in psychology, with examples

/ˌdaɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/nounCore term

In psychology, diagnosis means: The process of identifying which mental or physical condition explains a person's difficulties, or the name of the condition that is identified.

In Turkish: tanı, teşhis

How it is used

Usually based on DSM-5 or ICD-11 criteria. You make, give or receive a diagnosis, and a person is diagnosed with a condition. Clinicians also talk about a provisional diagnosis and a differential diagnosis. The plural is diagnoses.

Example sentences

  1. The diagnosis was confirmed after a structured clinical interview.

  2. He was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 32.

Common collocations

  • make a diagnosis
  • receive a diagnosis
  • be diagnosed with
  • differential diagnosis
  • diagnostic criteria
  • assessmentThe process of gathering information about a person through interviews, observation and tests in order to understand their difficulties and plan help.
  • DSM-5Short for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition: the American Psychiatric Association's classification of mental disorders and their diagnostic criteria.
  • symptomA change in thinking, feeling, behaviour or the body that a person experiences and reports, and that may point to a health problem.
  • comorbidityThe presence of two or more disorders in the same person at the same time, such as depression together with an anxiety disorder.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Assessment and Diagnosis

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.