How I Work with Diagnosis as a Holistic Therapist

Diagnosis can harm.
Diagnosis can help.

Diagnosis can confine.
Diagnosis can liberate.

Diagnosis can instill fear and confusion.
Diagnosis can provide context and clarity.

In my work as a holistic therapist, I understand diagnosis as a tool.
And like any tool, they are to be used with care, intention, and precision.

A knife can cause harm when used to wound.
A knife can help when used to eat nourishing food.

A knife is not inherently good or bad.
A diagnosis is not either.

What matters is how, when, and why it is used.

A Holistic Lens on Diagnosis

I work with many clients who report being harmed by the medical and mental health care systems—through overdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, or never having their experiences named at all.

Some clients come in having received multiple diagnoses from different providers—sometimes even from the same provider—such as generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and major depressive disorder. Rather than feeling helped, they often feel over-pathologized, defective, or defeated, as if something is fundamentally wrong with them.

Others report being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, only for us to months later discover—through careful, attuned exploration—that many of their symptoms overlap more clearly with trauma-related responses.

And some clients enter therapy having never discussed diagnoses at all. Through our work together, patterns may emerge that align with established diagnostic criteria for experiences such as post-traumatic stress or obsessive-compulsive symptoms—providing language, context, and structure that was previously missing.

What a Diagnosis Actually Is

The word diagnosis comes from Greek roots meaning “to distinguish” or “to discern.”

According to Merriam-Webster, diagnosis refers to:

• the art or act of identifying a condition from its signs and symptoms

• an investigation or analysis of the nature or cause of a condition or problem

In my clinical role as a Marriage & Family Therapist who practices holistically, part of my job is to observe patterns over time—including affect, mood, nervous system responses, relational dynamics, behaviors, and coping strategies.

From this longitudinal observation, I may develop clinical hypotheses that align with diagnostic criteria outlined in the DSM-5. These hypotheses help inform treatment planning, pacing, and the therapeutic approach I use.

I do not view diagnoses as fixed identities or definitive truths about who someone is. They are descriptive frameworks that can help a client for a season of their lives, for years of their life, for decades, and—for some— for their entire lives. Every individual is unique.

Ethical Responsibility & Clinical Discernment

As a therapist, I hold a position of influence. With that comes responsibility.

A central ethical question I continually return to is: Will sharing this diagnostic framework support this client’s healing—or could it cause harm?

My guiding intention is to do no harm. That intention is grounded in my code of ethics, clinical training, and ongoing consultation and supervision with a trusted mentor.

I also hold deep respect for client autonomy. I do not impose diagnostic language. Instead, I assess readiness, context, history, and the client’s relationship to labels and authority. Then, I let my intuition lead.

When Diagnosis Is Not Helpful

For some people, diagnostic language feels overwhelming or reductive. It can feel like another label being placed upon them—especially for those who have been overdiagnosed or misunderstood in the past.

In these cases, diagnosis can feel demoralizing, flattening, or even re-traumatizing, particularly when it ignores the relational, systemic, cultural, spiritual, and somatic dimensions of a person’s experience.

When diagnosis does not serve the client, I prioritize working through a non-pathologizing, nervous-system-informed, relational lens, without centering diagnostic frameworks.

When Diagnosis Can Be Supportive

For others, diagnostic frameworks can be grounding and, potentially, liberating.

For example, when someone is experiencing chronic hypervigilance, nightmares, emotional reactivity, migraines, anxiety, and irritability, contextualizing these experiences within trauma-related diagnostic criteria can be profoundly relieving.

Rather than feeling broken or defective, clients often feel seen, reporting things like, “This makes total sense!” or “There’s a very real reason my body responds this way.” or “I’m not alone, I’m not defective, and I’m not beyond help.”

When diagnostic criteria are paired with a non-pathologizing lens—one that views symptoms as adaptive responses to lived experiences—they can offer both clarity and self-compassion, which creates fertile ground for healing.

A Collaborative, Non-Hierarchical Process

Whenever I do share diagnostic hypotheses or frameworks, I do so collaboratively. I invite curiosity rather than certainty. I ask how the language lands. I welcome disagreement, uncertainty, and nuance.

We explore together:

• Does this framework feel supportive or constricting?

• What parts resonate—and what parts don’t?

• How might this understanding guide our work, without defining and confining you?

My aim is to dissolve hierarchy as much as possible and to meet clients as partners in meaning-making—not passive recipients of labels.

Closing Statement & An Invitation to Work with Me

When used thoughtfully, ethically, and collaboratively, diagnosis can offer context, relief, and direction. Used carelessly, it can obscure the wholeness of a person and cause harm.

My commitment—as an LMFT who practices holistic and somatic therapy—is to hold diagnostic frameworks loosely, ethically, and in service of healing.

If you live in Connecticut or New York and are seeking a therapy experience that honors your wholeness and meets you with depth, care, and reverence, you can learn more about my approach and book a free consultation here.

With care,
Heather

ETHICAL NOTE
As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I approach diagnosis as a collaborative, clinical framework rather than a fixed or defining label. I do not provide medical diagnoses, nor do I replace psychiatric or medical evaluation when those are indicated. Any discussion of diagnostic criteria in my work is offered as a clinical hypothesis, informed by the DSM-5, and is used solely to support understanding, treatment planning, and therapeutic care. I work within the AAMFT Code of Ethics, seek consultation and supervision as needed, and prioritize client consent, autonomy, and non-pathologizing care at every stage of the therapeutic process.