How diagnostic categories shape identity, credibility, and access to care across a life.
Shadow of a Diagnosis extends the narrative ethics questions explored in For the Misnamed.
Blending clinical insight, narrative inquiry, and cultural reflection, the book-length project examines how psychiatric diagnosis can shape identity, meaning, and care over time. Drawing on my experience as both clinician and former patient, I reflect on what happens when a diagnosis begins to guide how a life is understood—how it may offer structure and continuity, and how it may also narrow interpretation as it is carried forward.
I use the term “diagnostic capture” to describe how clinical interpretations, once recorded, can begin to shape how future information is understood and used in care. The project explores what diagnostic frameworks can make possible, what they may leave out, and how patients and clinicians can remain engaged in shaping understanding over time. It points toward an approach grounded in narrative awareness, ethical presence, and sustained reflection in practice.
If you are interested in scholarly dialogue, writing collaborations, or institutional engagement related to this project, you are welcome to get in touch at drmonicaross [at] gmail [dot] com.