The Polydiagnostic Approach

Abstract

Psychiatrists have tried to solve their nosological problems by arbitrary definition of entities like’ schizophrenia’. Scientists investigating the cause and treatment of mental illness have seized on these definitions in the hope that their patients will be comparable with those of other groups using the same definitions, wherever they may be. Unfortunately a large number of rival diagnostic systems have been introduced, each with its limited zone of influence. The ‘polydiagnostic approach’ is a possible remedy for this confusion. It consists of applying several different diagnostic systems to the same series of patients, enabling the relationship between clinical concepts to be examined directly and empirically.