I’m a pathology giver, but I’m not allowed to give you – personally – your pathology, because I’m only allowed to give you your pathology in person, once I directly inquire as to your symptoms.
I’m kind of like a pathogen. I cause pathology. Before the child enters my office the child has symptoms, but they don’t have a pathology. Not yet. When the child leaves my office, the child has a pathology. I’ve given it to them.
I’m a pathology giver – I’m a form of pathogen… I cause pathology. You have ADHD, you have schizophrenia…
Now imagine if I could give people pathology over the Internet. I might accidentally cause an epidemic. Best that we confine pathology givers to one patient at a time.
But I’m still going to give you your pathology, now, in this post. By the time this post is done, you will have your pathology, given to you by an authorized pathology giver.
But you will need to go to your own local pathology giver to get your pathology attached. You’ll be kind of like Peter Pan, you’ll need your shadow sewn on. I’ll tell you how to find a pathology giver to sew on your pathology-shadow, and what to tell the pathology giver to get them to sew on your shadow.
You have a trauma pathology. The symptom is traumatic grief. There are five possible trauma pathologies I can give you in the DSM-5. Two of them are early childhood attachment trauma pathologies, and they don’t apply to you.
Of the three remaining, Adjustment Disorder does not apply to you because the stressor for Adjustment Disorder is normal-range, and the loss of children is not a normal-range stressor.
That leaves two trauma pathologies. The DSM-5 specifies that Acute Stress Disorder pathology becomes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder pathology after one month. Your pathology is longer than one month, so that leaves only one trauma pathology as your pathology; PTSD. But I can’t give it to you yet.
Because the DSM-5 PTSD pathology requires a death-trauma (exposure to death) not a complex trauma (relationship-based trauma). Your trauma is complex trauma, a relationship-based trauma – not a death-related trauma.
I am a pathology giver. I will give you your pathology. I have several paths and choices available to me.
I could give you no pathology: V71.09 No Diagnosis.
You have a pathology. It is not captured by the DSM-5. I will not use No Diagnosis. I will give you your pathology.
I could give you a “Provisional” temporary pathology or a “Rule-Out” pathology of possible differences. This just delays. I will give you your pathology. I am a pathology giver.
I could turn to another DSM-5 pathology category, apply those symptoms and give you that pathology category (if it applies).
No other DSM-5 pathology captures your symptoms of traumatic grief. You have a trauma pathology. I am a pathology giver, I will give you a trauma pathology.
I have another choice in the DSM-5 trauma category… and this is my first actual choice; Unspecified Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder. This is the “Other” non-specified trauma category.
When a symptom set is within a category but does not match a specific DSM-5 pathology, the first available option for the pathology giver is the “Other” category of pathology – a general category pathology, but not a specific pathology.
But a pathology giver does not select the “Other” category as the first option, only as the last option. I have other choices available to give you your pathology. The other options are more accurate. The other options give you an accurate pathology.
I am allowed to bend DSM-5 pathologies, when certain conditions apply. I am a pathology giver, under certain conditions I am allowed to bend the DSM-5 pathology in order to give someone their pathology.
Those conditions apply here.
Pathology givers are allowed to bend the DSM-5 pathologies under two conditions… the point of bend must be minor, and we must indicate in the pathology I give you what the point of bending is.
This is the pathology I am going to give you. I am going to exercise my ability as a pathology giver and I am going to bend the DSM-5 trauma-related pathologies to give you yours.
Are you ready. Do you want to invite anyone to join you right now? It’s not everyday you get a pathology from a licensed and authorized pathology giver. Remember, once I give you your pathology you’ll have to go to a local pathology giver to get your pathology sewn on, like Peter and his shadow.
Your DSM-5 pathology, bestowed to you by an authorized pathology giver, is:
309.81 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (complex trauma; traumatic grief)
The bend point is minor – death trauma to complex trauma – and the bend point is specified in your pathology. The two bend criteria are met.
I am also specifying your type of complex trauma; traumatic grief. This is a little perk that a good pathology giver does.
That is your pathology: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (complex trauma; traumatic grief).
I have given you your pathology. Once you get it sewn on by a local pathology giver, like Peter and his shadow, that pathology becomes yours.
You will want to do that, get your pathology sewn on to you. This is because you need someone to help you with your grief and loss. Also, a pathology giver who sews on your pathology of PTSD (complex trauma; traumatic grief) for you, may also be able to help you convince others, maybe by writing letters and reports about your PTSD (complex trauma; traumatic grief), and how it is not a good thing to take children away from their parents.
When you tell people your pathology, I’d say it this way: “I have a form of PTSD, it’s for traumatic grief.”
That’s accurate. I think it also helps for you to always emphasize the traumatic grief of your loss, every time you tell someone your pathology.
When you write the pathology (once you get it sewn on), I’d write the whole thing, code and all: 309.81 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (complex trauma; traumatic grief)
In looking for a therapist for your PTSD (complex trauma; traumatic grief), I’d look in two places. First, the PTSD trauma people (after all, that’s your pathology), and the domestic violence people.
The PTSD trauma people will look at you a little funny at first, because they’re used to working with PTSD combat veterans. But once you explain things a little, they’ll totally get it and will help you work with your PTSD (complex trauma).
Or you may want to look for a therapist who is experienced in domestic violence. They know trauma, and your trauma is also a form of domestic violence; post-divorce spousal violence and assault using the child as the weapon.
To get your pathology giver to sew on your pathology, tell them what your pathology is (you can tell them I gave it to you but you want it attached), and then tell them about your traumatic grief.
Once you tell them of your traumatic grief, then ask them to sew on your pathology to you by giving you the pathology of 309.81 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (complex trauma; traumatic grief). They just have to say “Okay” and write in in your chart. That’s all it takes.
So that’s where I’d start.
Psychology is dividing. It’s another one of those knot things that is emerging.
Part of psychology, forensic psychology, will be abusing you and causing you traumatic grief and PTSD (complex trauma). Meanwhile, the other part of psychology, clinical psychology, will begin treating your PTSD and complex trauma created by forensic psychology.
That’s a little strange, don’t you think? That one part of psychology is treating the trauma created by another part of psychology. Maybe that other part of psychology shouldn’t be creating trauma in their patients.
What happens when one part of psychology starts treating the trauma created by another part of psychology? I don’t know. Let’s find out.
I hope you like your new pathology. You should be glad that I didn’t give you schizophrenia or something. Whew.
Your child’s DSM-5 pathology is on the second page of the Diagnostic Checklist, the child is also a trauma pathology, the child has an Adjustment Disorder pathology in the DSM-5, because a divorce is a normal-range stressor and they’re having all sorts of problems adjusting to it.
The important DSM-5 pathology for your kids is the pathology of V995.51 Child Psychological Abuse, Confirmed. That’s a “modifier” pathology (called a “V-Code” because all modifier pathologies begin V-).
The DSM-5 diagnosis of Child Psychological Abuse for your child is the core for the trauma-informed AB-PA legal argument package being developed by family law attorneys.
I know many of you would like a pathology giver to give your ex-spouse a pathology, but we don’t give a pathology to someone unless that person wants one, or unless we need to give a pathology to the person to protect them or other people.
You’re ex-spouse doesn’t want a pathology, and there are other ways we can protect the child without giving your ex-spouse a pathology… so we’ll skip that for now. We’ll give you and the child your pathologies, and that should be more than enough;
Targeted Parent: 309.81 PTSD (complex trauma; traumatic grief)
Child: V995.51 Child Psychological Abuse, Confirmed
Besides, shouldn’t we be trying to get rid of pathologies rather than adding more – like getting rid of your traumatic grief by getting your kids back to you.
I think that would be a good idea.
Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist, PSY 18857
