As many of you may know, a couple of years ago I was enrolled in a master's program for expressive arts therapy. It seemed like a really perfect fit, but many of the topics we covered hit too close to home and triggered me into distress. By the middle of the second semester, I was also doubtful that I would be able to continue this work professionally. It was heavy and emotionally taxing work, and as a neurodivergent woman, I already carried enough on a daily basis.
Still, I am very proud of some of the essays I wrote and I wanted to share them. This paper was for my psychopathology and psychological assessment course, and reflects on the role of diagnosis from a personal and professional lens. I hope you enjoy, and maybe can relate with some of my experiences and findings. And, for the record, I got a perfect score :)
Reflection Paper 1
Rivi Dollinger
January 28, 2024
MCP 5108: Psychopathology & Psychological Assessment
Introduction and Personal History
If you knew me a decade ago, you would never recognize me today. Due to various mental health issues and serious challenges surrounding my own misdiagnosis, I was a shell of the person I am today. My misdiagnosis destroyed me. An accurate diagnosis, however, led to remarkable levels of growth, meaningful work, and self actualization.
Needless to say, I have very mixed feelings on the role of diagnosis, and deeply personal experiences with the benefits and pitfalls of the diagnostic process. Because of my own experience with misdiagnosis and overmedication, I am quite hesitant around the blind support of our current biomedical model. As an adolescent, I was misdiagnosed with Bipolar disorder. I am sure there are many reasons why this happened– a lack of understanding around the presentation of autism in women, mistaking emotional dysregulation for psychotic mood swings, and numerous other causes. But in the end, whatever the reasons, it was because of this diagnostic process, specifically, that I suffered for years. I was given antipsychotics with numerous side effects, and seen more as a collection of symptoms rather than as a full person.
