Critical Thinking in Psychology

Unlike Biomedical problems or medical conditions, there is no laboratory tests such as blood or urine neither is there a simple x-rays to assist psychologists to diagnose accurately the mental illnesses. Instead, psychologists generally rely on listening carefully to patients' complaints; administer diagnostic instruments and observing the individuals behavior to assess their moods, motivations, and thinking (Diagnosing Disease, 2012).. Sometimes mental health disorders may be accompanied by other medical or behavioral conditions such as chronic pain or addiction. The presence of more than one disease or disorder is termed comorbidity. Employing critical thinking skills is the practice of assessing claims and making objective judgments on the basis of well supported reasons and evidence, rather than emotion and more anecdotes

The concept of optimal mental health has historically been debated from various positions in relationship to personality traits and characteristics. However, it has been somewhat easier to define and identify a mental illness by the deviations from, or the absence of mental health. Within the broad definition of mental illness, there is appears to be more agreement amongst psychologists as to the origins, nature, and symptoms of the more serious, and long- term conditions where changes in brain functioning or cognition, behavior, or mood impair the patients global functioning. In relationship to shorter term, less intense conditions that often resolve spontaneously, without treatment (Diagnosing Disease, 2012).

The World Health Organization developed educational materials and guidelines specifically designed for him and general practitioners, family practitioners, internists and pediatricians, who are currently diagnosing mental health disorders as opposed to psychiatric or other mental health settings. The guidelines describe an assessment interview as a series of screening questions for which predominantly positive answers suggest the patient has an "identified mental disorder," or a "sub threshold disorder". A Sub threshold disorder with when the patient responds positively to many questions but not enough to fulfill the diagnostic criteria for a disorder as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Practitioners are encouraged to ask open-ended questions that encourage patients to freely express their emotions, assure confidentiality, to acknowledge patients' responses, and to closely observe their body language and tones of voice thus giving the clinician an opportunity to use critical thinking in formulating the direction of the conversation.

Mental health diagnosis is complicated and often strewn with debate in regards to the definitions and classification of the malady. Additionally, referencing past versions