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What is a mental health diagnosis?
A mental health diagnosis is a way of describing a group of experiences and the impact they have on you. This can include your feelings, thoughts and behaviours.
There are different types of mental health problems. Medical professionals diagnose them based on your feelings, experiences and behaviours. You might also hear these called symptoms.
Some of us might have one diagnosis and others might have more. Even if we don’t have a diagnosis, we might relate to one or more and find they help us to understand ourselves better.
Your diagnosis can change too. Another diagnosis may suit your experiences more at a different time. Or you may be unhappy with your original diagnosis and want to change it.
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Why might I want a diagnosis?
Getting a diagnosis can sometimes be a good thing. It can help you to:
- Understand how you feel
- Find a name for what you've been experiencing
- Feel less alone
- Find more information about what you’re experiencing
- Find the right support and treatments to help
- Explain to others what you’re going through
- Connect with others who have similar experiences
- Find ways to cope and feel better
But you might not get a diagnosis or find one useful. And this is okay. You can still find support and help for what you’re going through.
There’s a reason behind what you’re experiencing and it slots into place and you understand yourself better – Dora, 17
Being diagnosed didn't place a label onto me – it made me feel much less alone and made me realise that there was a reason I felt a certain way – Mel, 15
How are mental health problems diagnosed?
To get a formal diagnosis, you’ll need to talk to a health professional.
Talking to your doctor is often a good place to start. They might talk to you about what they think you’re experiencing and where you can find support.
They might also refer you to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). This is where a medical professional will assess you and may give you a diagnosis. Some CAMHS also accept referrals from schools and social workers.
If you’re able to, you could have a private assessment. But this costs money.
I wish somebody had been there after my assessments, to tell me that a diagnosis doesn't define me and that doctors are there to help me.
What happens during a mental health assessment?
A psychiatrist or psychologist will usually lead your mental health assessment. Another mental health professional, like a mental health nurse, could assess you.
During the assessment, they might ask you about:
- How you’re currently feeling, thinking and behaving
- How long you've been feeling this way
- The impact these feelings and experiences are having on your life
- Any problems you're having at home, school, work or in relationships
- Your medical history
They might also check your physical health. And if there have been any changes to your sleep, diet or activity levels. This is because they might want to rule out any physical health problems first.
When will I hear back?
How long it takes to get a diagnosis can vary. You could get one on the day of your assessment or a little while after. Sometimes it might take longer if they need more information. This is so that they can try to understand what's going on for you and how best they can help.
You might then get a letter, phone call or another appointment to talk about your diagnosis.
If you get a diagnosis, your doctor should talk to you about the treatment and support available. They should let you ask questions and suggest things that might help. This might include helplines or support groups to try.
Remember: you don’t need a diagnosis to get help. There are people you can open up to and places you can find support.
What if I don't find my diagnosis helpful?
You might have difficult feelings about getting a diagnosis. For example, you might:
- Not agree with your diagnosis
- Think it doesn't explain what you're experiencing
- Be confused if your diagnosis has changed a lot
- Think it's an unhelpful label and worry people will treat you differently because of it
- Think it means you need help from a professional, when you’d prefer help from people in your community
- Think it ignores the other things going on in your life
- Think it puts blame on you
- Worry about how it might affect your future.
Also, referrals to services and for assessments can take a long time. You might feel frustrated or upset by the process.
There is a lot of stigma and a lot of prejudice, especially in minorities such as the black community – Kora, 18
What if I don't agree with my diagnosis?
If you don't agree with your diagnosis, you might feel like professionals haven’t listened to you. This can be frustrating and upsetting.
You can talk to the doctor or team that gave you the diagnosis and explain why you don’t agree. We have information on advocating for yourself which may help. If you don’t feel comfortable with this, you could ask a trusted adult to help you.
You can also ask to speak to another doctor to see if they think that your diagnosis could be different. This is called a second opinion.
If you're unhappy with their reasons or you they won’t let you speak to anyone else, you could make a complaint.
What if I don't get a diagnosis?
You might not get a diagnosis for lots of different reasons. For example, you might have not felt safe to open up about what you're experiencing in the assessment.
If you don’t have a diagnosis, you can still get support. Like talking therapies or counselling. Schools or local organisations offer these – you don’t always have to go through CAMHS.
What is self-diagnosis?
Self-diagnosis is when we diagnose ourselves without a healthcare professional. It can be a way of making sense of our experiences.
There’s lots of information online and on social media. Sometimes this can help us to understand what we’re going through. And how this might relate to a mental health problem. This might lead us to self-diagnose. But it’s important to think about what information we can trust.
Self-diagnosis could be helpful if:
- You’re waiting for an assessment and want to understand what you’re feeling and experiencing
- You don’t feel comfortable accessing mental health services
- You don’t want to get a formal diagnosis
- You want to find ways to support yourself
But some of us won’t want to self-diagnose. You might feel like:
- You want to wait for a professional to assess you
- You don’t trust the information you’re seeing online
- You need a formal diagnosis to get the treatment and support you need
Whether you relate to a diagnosis or not, there are lots of ways you can look after your own wellbeing. You don’t have to go through things alone.
I self-diagnosed whilst waiting for assessments to determine if I have PTSD and anxiety. It was helpful as it prepared me and it helped a little bit to make sense of my feelings whilst waiting – Mel, 15
I didn’t want to be professionally diagnosed as I didn’t want anyone else to know, hence I resorted to self-diagnosing. But, finding my own support and people I can get help from online, did end up helping my mental health – Jumi, 17
Do I have to tell other people about my diagnosis?
You don't have to tell anyone about a diagnosis if you don’t want to. But it might help you to feel more supported.
If you get a diagnosis, your doctor usually won't tell your parents, carers or guardians. Except if they think you or someone else could be in danger. This is called confidentiality. Visit our page for more information about confidentiality.
It’s your choice whether you want to tell your school, college or work about your diagnosis. They may ask in some situations. For example, if it will affect your ability to do certain tasks or if you need reasonable adjustments.
If you find it difficult to do day-to-day things because of your mental health, it might class as a disability. And you might be able to get reasonable adjustments to help. Like taking more breaks or starting and finishing at different times. You don’t need a diagnosis to get reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.
If you're offered a job or place on a course, they can ask you about your physical and mental health. If they take the offer back once you've told them, this might be discrimination. We have more information about how to make a complaint.
Understanding confidentiality
Want to know more about when information about your mental health can be shared?
Go to our page on understanding confidentialityHaving a name for a condition has also meant that my school could start providing me with some more support, so I was able to return full time to school – Mel, 15
Where can I get support?
- Talk to someone – see our tips on how to open up to others.
- Look for places to get support and treatment – see our information on finding support.
- Look after your wellbeing – our page has helpful tips on ways to look after your wellbeing.
- Contact a helpline or textline – our useful contacts page provides a list of organisations you can reach out to for confidential and anonymous support.
- Connect with others – you can speak to young people going through similar things on message boards like The Mix or Childline.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
These are services that can support you with your mental health.
You might see them called different names sometimes, but they offer the same thing:
- In Wales, they're called Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (SCAMHS).
- In England and Wales, you might also hear them called Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS).
Find out more in our CAMHS information hub.
Counsellor
Counsellors listen to you and give you a safe space to explore how you’re thinking, feeling and behaving.
They can help you talk through problems or situations that are affecting you, and help you find ways to cope.
You may hear the terms counsellor or therapist used, but they mean the same thing.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryEquality Act 2010
This is the law that protects you from discrimination and gives you the right to challenge it.
The Equality Act says you have a disability if you have a physical or mental health problem that has a substantial, negative and long-term effect on your life.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryDiscrimination
Discrimination is when someone treats you differently or unfairly because of:
- Your age
- Your disability
- Your gender
- Your gender identity
- Your sexuality
- Your relationship status
- Your religion or beliefs
- Your race, skin colour or where you were born
- Being pregnant or having a child
In the UK, a law called the Equality Act protects you from discrimination.
Visit our full treatment and support glossary
Psychiatrist
This is a medical doctor that specialises in mental health. Psychiatrists can:
- Carry out assessments of your mental health
- Decide with you which treatments to try, including medication
- Be your therapist for a treatment, like group therapy
Psychologist
Psychologists can assess your mental health and help you to explore how you’re thinking, feeling and behaving.
There are different types of psychologists, like clinical psychologists or occupational psychologists.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryMedical history
Health professionals who look after you can see your medical history. This helps them to give you good care and understand your needs. Your medical history includes details of:
- How you’ve felt in the past
- Any physical or mental health problems you’ve had
- If you’ve seen health professionals before and why
- Any treatments or medications you’ve had
- If you’ve ever been to hospital before
Talking therapies
These involve talking with a professional about your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. There are many types of talking therapies, such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). You usually take part for an agreed length of time or number of sessions.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryCounselling
This is a type of talking therapy with a trained counsellor. Counselling can help you:
- Talk through a problem or situation that is negatively affecting your mental health
- Recognise how it affects you
- Work out positive coping strategies or ways to make the situation better
It may be face-to-face, over the phone or over video call.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryReferral
This is a request to a service which asks them to review:
- How you’re feeling
- What support you need
The referral helps explain to the new service why they should see you and what the best way to help you might be.
Sometimes referrals can be made by yourself, a family member or social worker. But they’re often made by your doctor as they understand your medical history.
Published: February 2025
Next review planned: February 2028
We spoke to young people who agreed to give quotes for this page. Their experiences are not related to the people shown in the photos.
References are available on request. If you want to reproduce this content, see our permissions and licensing page.