/sci/ - Science & Math

Hello, /sci/.

I was wondering: could any of you please tell me as to whether or not there are any laws (within the United States, or to be more specific: California) forbidding psychiatrists and/or psychologists from assessing and/or diagnosing their patients for a/any personality disorder (PD) with neither their patients' knowledge nor consent?

I ask, because: I suspect that I may had received some sort of Mental Status Examination (MSE) by a Nurse Practitioner (NP) who was signing my prescriptions for one of my psychiatric medications. That psychiatric medication being a psychostimulant (Adderall), which was supposed to be for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). At some point between the dates of: July 2013 and November 2016, I suspect that the NP (possibly along with some of her co-workers and her boss—her boss being my old psychiatrist) must have possibly assessed me for a PD. Possibly something along the lines of: Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). I may gotten myself diagnosed with a PD, and was probably receiving treatment without being told about any of it.

I am vaguely aware of certain rules and/or regulations regarding this, one rule which I think may apply to this being the so-called: “Goldwater rule”; however, the Goldwater rule does not seem to be in itself a “law” (but more of a “suggestion” made by the American Psychiatric Association). The Goldwater rule apparently forbids psychiatrists from commenting on individuals' mental states without examining them personally and without being authorized by the person to make such comments; but, it would seem that some psychiatrists and psychologists ignore the Goldwater rule.

I am also aware that under certain circumstances, that psychiatrists will not tell their patients about their diagnosis, such as certain patients diagnosed with: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Are there any laws (within the United States, or to be more specific: California) forbidding psychiatrists and/or psychologists from assessing and/or diagnosing their patients for any personality disorder (PD) with neither their patients' knowledge nor consent?

I am vaguely aware of certain rules and/or regulations regarding this, one rule which I think applies to this is the "Goldwater rule", however; it does not seem to be in itself a "law" (but more of a "suggestion" made by the American Psychiatric Association.)

I've been told that the "official" way for testing for PDs is *only* possible with the "Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory — 2" (MMPI), additionally; I've already been administered the MMPI (administered to me by a psychologist back in July of last year) and been told that I don't have a PD. However: I'm now being told by my current therapist (the subordinate of the psychologist who evaluated me for PDs) that my current diagnosis—Major Depressive Disorder—Social Anxiety Disorder—Generalized Anxiety Disorder—could completely change at any point during therapy and that she could easily decide that I actually *do* have a PD (without bothering to tell me as to how she would go about diagnosing me as having a PD.) So then: how (exactly) do people who work within the mental health care system go about testing patients for PDs?

I've read a lot about psychological and sociological experiments, and this has led me to wonder: could a mental health care worker go about conducting a "Mental Status Examination" (MSE) to examine their patient for PDs with neither their patient's knowledge nor consent? Is the MMPI (or any other diagnostic classification and rating scales used in psychiatry) really the only way to test for PDs? And if not, how else could they go about it?

Furthermore: how could a mental health care worker possibly know that a patient is being completely honest with their behavior and/or answers?