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THE SUMMARY OF “DROP THE LANGUAGE OF DISORDER”

The University of Winnipeg

Responsive Writing to the Article “Drop the Language of Disorder”

Assignment No. 1

Submitted to
JAN DEFEHR, MSW, PhD
Instructor
Faculty of Education

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
Education 5001 Section 052
ST: Mental Health in Schools: Evaluating Premises and Practices

Submitted by
JESUS TANOTE
Post Baccalaureate Program
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THE SUMMARY OF “DROP THE LANGUAGE OF DISORDER”

In the article, “Drop the language of disorder,” a group of psychologists and psychiatrists, led

by Peter Kinderman discusses the suggestion to implement the American Psychiatric

Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) 5th edition of Mental Disorders that could

work in a group of people arrange according to their category of psychological suffering.

Unclear Kinderman, Read, Moncrieff, and Bentall (2013) thought that their suggestions are

more likely to be effective for diagnosing and provides a “more scientific grounded and

clinically useful system” (p. 2).

The group of professionals identified that the diagnostic systems in psychiatry were not

useful for a clinical setting due to not enough criteria no, it isn’t a problem of not enough

criteria and the scientific methods are professionals used are not applicable. Not that they

aren’t applicable but that they are not scientifically valid In addition, the statistical the

scientific findings indicate lack of valiadity and reliability, not the statistical findings

findings in psychiatric studies have insufficient evidence for its “reliability, validity, utility,

epistemology and humanity” (p. 2). 1

They believe that, in reliability testing, it is invalid in terms of diagnoses: “the mere

agreement between diagnosticians is no guarantee that diagnoses correspond to meaningful

clusters of symptoms, with distinct pathophysiology and aetiology, which predict the

effectiveness of particular treatments” (p. 2). Other criticisms are about their wrong options in

choosing as a more effective treatment, and not allowing the people to the right resources which

might be helpful to minimize their mental illness. The article questions the very idea of mental

illness, since illness/pathology has not been able to be found in the body, so they want to

minimize human distress, but they don’t aim to minimize mental illness
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THE SUMMARY OF “DROP THE LANGUAGE OF DISORDER”

The professionals thought that they needed to make a change in psychological distress to get

rid of the problem. Not clear to me what you are saying in this previous sentence By

following the course of action that they should do based of what the authors? they agreed upon,

they should recognize a problem and the patient could react conditionally when he is distressed,

no, I don’t think this is what they are writing about … however the overwhelming evidence

that psychiatric symptoms lie on continua. They should understand an evidence with common

factors that they might be helpful in knowing the mental side effects. I’m also not certain what

this past sentence means This what? could be considered as the most cause of many kind of the

mental distress. They should make a list of problems that are easily to understand yes on how

the reliability and validity works. But the last half of the previous sentence is unclear … They

should think a better way in finding a right solution to the identified problems of a person. 1

Guidance counselors are professionally trained and knowledgeable in the field of research in

counselling, and have experienced or involved in revision task forces. Guidance counselors play

a vital role in managing the diagnosed student. Guidance counselors serve as a bridge between

the parent of a diagnosed child with mental disorder and the psychiatrist or psychologist. The

counselors communicate with professionals to talk about the results of what the diagnoses, and,

afterwards, the counselor informs the parent of what is written in the medical records in

understandable language and to gain their consent. The medical records are properly filed and

secured inside the office of the guidance counselor in case the family seeks a second opinion.

The guidance counselor is working as a helpful partner of the psychiatrist or psychologist in

regulating the family’s or student’s emotions in order to grow morally and socially responsible.

Lastly, the guidance counselors should be aware of what psychological manual is useful for

assessing and diagnosing the disorder.

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THE SUMMARY OF “DROP THE LANGUAGE OF DISORDER”

I learnt a lot from the article because I see myself as a person whose role is to manage my

students diagnosed with mental disorders. I would not see this as your role; it is not so much

about managing students, and assuming that their distress is caused by mental disorders,

but rather, this article, and our course, encourages teachers and guidance counsellors to

provide practical and compassionate support for students with both debilitating and

commonplace distresses and challenges, and the course further encourages educators to

examine widely held assumptions, and ensure that no harm is done in the provision of

services. I will gain knowledge of how to work with the parents, and I will show the educational

institution I am a teacher with heart. That is, I am not only teaching students mathematical skills,

but I care no matter what the disorder.

2/5 summary

0/2 relevance to guidance counsellors. Your section on guidance counsellors explains what

they do in their everyday work but does not discuss the implications of the article for their

work in schools.

1/1 APA

0/2 Strength

Total: 3/10, 30%, F

Hello Jesus,

What an outstanding effort and the document you produced is well organized, reflecting

the course outline description of the assignment. I can readily see that you did a lot of work

with the tutor and I admire and respect your dedication.

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THE SUMMARY OF “DROP THE LANGUAGE OF DISORDER”

I’m afraid that your work cannot receive a passing mark because your paper does not

sufficiently show your understanding of the article and it does not show your ability to

connect the article with guidance counsellor and teacher work in schools.

I’m guessing that the barrier is the English language! Please see me if you would like to

discuss the assignment further.

Sincerely,

Jan DeFehr