Ladd Peter D. - Person-centered diagnosis and treatment in mental health : a model for empowering clients

We would like to note specific considerations regarding the terminology in this manual. There are terms that need clarification because some have many interpretations that may have different meanings for different readers. The following may need clarification as to their usage.

The use of the term person-centered is commonly associated with the psychologist, Carl Rogers. The term person-centred in this manual is specifically connected to Rogers view on empowerment and focusing on the whole person as a condition of a more person-centred approach. However, there are relevant sections in this manual where Rogerian person-centered therapy was used as an effective treatment option.

The foundation of this manual is not based on a collection of facts. Nor, as with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association 2000, first published 1952), is it based on statistical probability. It is based on experiential possibility. We are most interested in creating possibilities for professionals and clients, with the hope of adding a new perspective on mental health experiences. Keeping this in mind, we have tried to minimize the use of the verb to be and have chosen to use such terms as may be, could be, it seems, it appears, instead of it is. We hope this grammatical choice will give relevance in creating possibilities through the descriptions of both contributing authors and participating clients in this manual.

Many of the mental health treatments in this manual are referenced through abbreviations such as (CBT) for cognitive behavior therapy or (DBT) for dialectical behavior therapy and others. This may be confusing for a lay person reading this manual. To counteract this, descriptions of such abbreviations can be found in Appendix 2.

The terms mental health provider, mental health practitioner, and mental health professional are used interchangeably to describe those individuals who have been trained in providing services in the field of mental health.

The terms client, student, and patient are applied according to the examples given in the manual that describe those individuals receiving services from a professional in the field of mental health.

Masculine and feminine pronouns are used alternately throughout the manual with the intent of balancing out gender bias.

The six client narratives found in the chapters pertaining to mental health disorders and mental health patterns are composites of different clients and reflect no specific client narrative. The composites were formed by understanding the essential patterns found in numerous client experiences. This approach was used in order to protect client anonymity.

The manual is primarily a reference book, which means that it can be read in different ways from choosing to read an entire chapter, picking a specific item of interest from each chapter, or using the schematic diagrams and exercises found in each chapter for collaborative purposes between client and professional.

Finally, this manual serves as a primer for a more in-depth study of different diagnoses and treatment plans. The intent was to write a practical manual with broader yet abbreviated descriptions of 15 common problems in clinical mental health.

Our thinking is changing as we move from a 20th-century Industrial Age into a 21st-century Information Age. The dissemination of information through such phenomena as the Internet and other information-sharing devices has changed our methods for perceiving and resolving problems. Traditionally, problems were perceived by experts who solved them by employing expertise established in their respective fields. For example, in most legal systems, problems were resolved by judges who upheld certain laws and rules in order to render a decision on matters pertaining to the law. In business and industry, the chief operating officer or chief executive officer practiced top-down decision making in order to analyze what was best for the company. In the field of education, administrative staff created the rules and students followed these dictates or faced the consequences of ignoring them.