Pam prefers to stay away from more general diagnostic labels unless it is important to a particular person to have one. Pam finds it helpful to point out commonalities to particular diagnosable disorders however she sees symptoms and issues as very specific to an individual’s particular life circumstances and internal processing. Pam only uses a persons diagnosis, existing or suspected, if it informs the therapy plan and aids specific interventions that have therapeutic evidence to work with particular issues.
In general Pam does not like to label people’s responses to life events and circumstances as abnormal but rather look at positive ways to help people find more helpful ways to deal with these life challenges.