The diagnostic process can be hierarchical, and at times, dehumanizing. It positions the therapist as the absolute expert, and the client as the passive recipient of that expertise, in some cases, diminishing rather than elevating them. Because clients are more than their symptoms, clinicians must transition from a reductionistic perspective to one that embraces their lived experiences, the circumstances of their lives, and their stories. In this rich webinar experience, Psychotherapy.net’s Travis Heath, along with renowned diagnostic expert, Dr. Jason Buckles, will provide you with powerful clinical ideas and tools to work intimately interconnected with clients and the diagnostic process.
Developed over the course of his extensive career in scholarship and clinical practice, Buckles believes that diagnosing is both an art and a science. It should expand awareness beyond traditional Western notions of normalcy to consider the client’s lived experience and avenues for treatment and decision-making. Buckles articulates the importance of balancing the need to assign a label with the need to deeply, fully understand and develop a relationship with the client.
After watching the diagnostic interaction between Buckles and three clinically unique clients, hearing the post-session discussions with Heath, and fielding questions from a global audience, you walk away with a sense of how to humanely and holistically orient yourself in the diagnostic interview and invite your clients into conversation rather than impose it upon them.
You will come away from this invaluable learning experience by recognizing that the traditional symptom-focused diagnostic process can be limiting. In its place, should be a process that values compassion over labeling, understanding over marginalization, and presence over detachment.
