Matching symptoms to a label is the easy half
Case study assignments look like pattern matching and are graded on reasoning: why this diagnosis rather than the three that share most of its features, and what in the case rules those out.
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The differential, and the criteria you can point at
A strong case analysis names the likely diagnosis, then works through the plausible alternatives and says what in the case makes each less likely. Duration, functional impairment and the exclusion criteria do most of that work, and they are precisely what weak answers skip.
Using diagnostic criteria properly means pointing at them. Not the client appears depressed, but the case reports five of the nine criteria over more than two weeks, including the required core symptom, with impairment in occupational functioning. That level of specificity is what the rubric is looking for.
The other requirement is hedging correctly. Coursework cases are vignettes with limited information, and a confident diagnosis from a paragraph is an overclaim. Noting what further assessment you would want is usually rewarded rather than treated as indecision.
- Differentials named, with what rules each out
- Specific criteria cited, including duration and impairment
- Cultural and contextual factors considered
- Claims hedged to match the information the vignette gives
What we work on
Your own assignment and your own rubric
- Case study structure for diagnostic assignments
- Building and writing a differential
- Using DSM criteria accurately, including exclusions
- Biopsychosocial formulation
- Writing about clients without overclaiming or stigmatizing
Coursework only, and nothing here is clinical
- We do not write your case studies or papers.
- We do not diagnose anyone or comment on real clinical situations.
- We do not invent case material or client details.
- We do not complete work you will submit under your own name.
- We teach the reasoning, review what you wrote, and test the differential.
Nothing on this page is clinical or diagnostic advice. If you are writing about a real person from a placement, remove every identifier and check your program's rules first. Read the full policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Name the most likely diagnosis, then the two or three that share features, and for each say what in the case makes it less likely. Duration, the presence or absence of specific criteria, and exclusion rules do most of the work. A single diagnosis with no alternatives considered is the version that loses points.
You can state the most likely diagnosis and say what further information you would want. Coursework vignettes deliberately omit things, and noting what is missing usually earns points rather than costing them.
Enough to show the criteria are met: which criteria, how many, over what duration, with what impairment. Quoting long passages is not required and is often penalized. Pointing at specific criteria with evidence from the case is.
By considering whether the presentation would be understood differently in the client's cultural context, and whether any criterion is being met by something normative in that context. Rubrics increasingly allocate points to this specifically.
Person-first language in most programs, so a person with schizophrenia rather than a schizophrenic. APA style guidance covers this and some rubrics score it directly.
Send the case and the rubric
We will tell you whether the differential is doing its work and whether your reasoning points at specific criteria.
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