ABSTRACT
Family therapists have for decades been critical of the biomedical roots of diagnosis – and the DSM. Over the years, there have been efforts to put forth models that could complement or compete with the diagnostic criteria of the DSM. However, these models have typically fallen short. An example of this is relational diagnosis.
Relational diagnosis was originally designed to be built on family systems theory. Through the efforts of Florence Kaslow and others, the Handbook of Relational Diagnosis and Dysfunctional Family Patterns was completed in 1996. This volume outlined the goals of relational diagnosis and gave examples of possible diagnostic categories. Kaslow took up the effort again in 2006, and the journal Family Process again pushed for relational diagnosis in 2016. Now, it seems that the goal of relational diagnosis is to allow family therapists to get reimbursed by insurance. While this is an important goal, in doing so, relational diagnosis has lost its grounding in family systems theory. By losing its grounding in family systems theory, the clinical utility of relational diagnosis has greatly diminished.
