Work on the assumption that the assessments of others are wrong because they have probably operated on some idiosyncratic rule of thumb to save time. My cynicism about the assessments of colleagues was heightened recently, two years ago I saw a lady who had a phobia about driving and travelling as a passenger in a car and needed CBT. I’ve just discovered that her GP has decided she has PTSD and she is consequently, about to undergo 12 sessions of CBT.
In a previous post I talked about the importance of ‘Watching and Waiting’ but if this is done without the appropriate measuring instrument, a standardised reliable diagnostic interview all is in vain. My suspicion is that the GP, like many clinicians has in mind a ‘cardinal symptom’ of PTSD such as flashbacks and/or nightmares and uses this rule of thumb (heuristic) to determine treatment. The advantage of heuristics is that they are quick, the disadvantage is that they are usually wrong
see Daniel Kahneman’s book, resulting in a waste of resources and the client likely defaulting from CBT
Dr Mike Scott.