[wittyreference]

> A problem with modern psychology is the diagnostic criteria aren't very much based on underlying causes as on being able to reliably diagnose patients based on symptoms regardless of physician. This leads to people agreeing what your diagnosis is

That is true. The groupings persist because they are useful in facilitating communication regarding potential complications, prognosis, and patterns of response to treatments.

People seem intent on throwing away the above utility with a backhanded “but that’s not the Real Diagnosis.” It’s not, but within the limitations of our current understanding of neurology, it’s the best we have come up with so far (allowing for some limitations due to the pace of spread of innovations, politicking, etc.)

[maybelsyrup]

Clinician and researcher in mental health here. In my view, you're being too charitable.

> The groupings persist because they are useful in facilitating communication regarding potential complications, prognosis, and patterns of response to treatments.

These are reasons, but they're a distant second. Mainly, they persist because those groupings - diagnoses, in other words - have become necessary for billing. The DSM, for instance, is an economic document, not a scientific one. For most people, it sits on a shelf, gathering dust.

As for "the best we've come up with so far", you'd perhaps be interested to learn how often the decisions about these groupings are made because of politics and economics, and not by science [1].

[1] https://www.amazon.com/They-Youre-Crazy-Paula-Caplan/dp/0201...

[podgaj]

Thank you for coming out with us! I tell my doctors all the time, I’m tired of being diagnosed, I want you to listen to how I feel. That has got to be so much further in helping me than any diagnosis has.