Three advantages of the dimensional approach will be discussed. Firstly, this approach is able to account for the high degree of heterogeneity and variations whereas the categorical approach failed to address (Esterberg & Compton, 2009). This approach is able to capture the “grey areas” and hence reducing the frequency of NOS uses. This provides more heterogeneous and valid treatments to subjects with the disorder rather than providing criterion-driven interventions (Andrews, et al., 2009).
Secondly, a dimensional approach serves to account for the co-occurring symptoms of disorders (Esterberg & Compton, 2009). This approach removes the excessive diagnostic co-occurrences and introduces a clearer rating on co-occurring …show more content…
A mixed dimensional-categorical approach will be necessary to account for individual differences on the symptoms when a disorder is present. This new approach increases clinical utility by engaging higher diagnostic reliability and validity and has gained much support in the mental health and research community (Andrews et al., 2009; Jones, 2012; Krueger, Skodol, Livesley, Shrout, & Huang, 2007; McEvoy, Watson, Watkins, & Nathan, 2013).
Current Categorical Approach in Psychotic Disorders
The first and most obvious presentation of a categorical approach in psychotic disorders is the disorders themselves. The defining of different psychotic disorders along with its diagnostic criterions is a required categorical approach so as to provide a consistent and reliable diagnosis across practitioners.
Secondly, the addition of Differential Diagnosis section provides a clear and distinct way to distinguish between other disorders that might present with similar prescribed symptoms.
Current Dimensional Approach to Psychotic …show more content…
The categorical approach has a number of advantages including high user acceptability which aids in decision-making by clinicians and facilitating communications between practitioners on this highly reliable diagnostic system. Nevertheless, the categorical approach has several disadvantages that limit its validity. This includes its excessive diagnostic co-occurrence, arbitrary diagnostic boundaries, failure to account for heterogeneity of symptoms. In respond to these disadvantages, the dimensional approach aims to increase clinical utility through accounting for these drawbacks of the categorical approach. However, the user acceptability and clarity of this approach is questionable. It is suggested that a new transdiagnostic approach be employed to overcome the drawbacks of both approaches while maintaining their benefits especially on psychotic disorders. In particular, the transdiagnostic approach should address the issue of excessive use of NOS in diagnosis and the suitable treatments in respond to individual differences, so as to increase clinical utility of the diagnostic