DISCLAIMER

We want to be sure you know about the limitations that we think apply to this site and the Internet in general for mental health.  First, mental problems can't be diagnosed over the Internet, any more than your red blood count could be determined over the Internet. Partly for that reason, in many cases we don't give complete and precise criteria for diagnoses. Accurate diagnosis requires direct observation by a trained clinician who can take into account visual and behavioral information, not just the answers on a checklist. We do intend to give you accurate information that will help you decide whether you should consult a professional about a problem that you or a family member may have.

Accurate diagnosis is critical for mental problems, just as it is for physical problems--it would be a disaster if a physician misdiagnosed pneumonia as lung cancer and operated, and it would be a similar disaster if a psychiatrist treated a patient with schizophrenia for dementia. It takes a lot of training and experience to make an accurate diagnosis, as you will realize if you read the more than 200 categories of mental health problems that we describe here. 

Another problem is that two individuals with the same diagnosis may look very different. This happens because not all the symptoms described in each category need to be present for the diagnosis to be assigned. The site presents a very general, simplistic overview of each disorder in terms of diagnosis. It has not been set up so that you can diagnose yourself or someone else. There are many "if….then" situations related to what is presented that only a qualified clinician can identify to determine the correct diagnosis.

We also have no intention of treating problems over the Internet.  Nevertheless, you can learn a lot about what  treatments are available and what treatments are likely to be appropriate for which disorders-- enough, we hope, to make you a much smarter consumer of mental health services.

Finally, we cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information at the sites to which our site is linked. Even if we could check every fact on every site at a given time, the contents of any site can change at any moment. You should be skeptical about the information at any site you visit, including ours. We also cannot vouch for the accuracy of information provided to us by advertisers, whether the advertiser is a business or an individual offering services. Again, be an informed, skeptical, and sophisticated consumer.

Last updated  12/19/03