Operationalized psychodynamic diagnosis in childhood and adolescence (OPD-CA-2)—A useful tool for improving diagnoses of psychological illnesses

There has been a discontent with the diagnostic systems in use because for identifying a psychological disorder, the focus is laid on symptomatology only. “Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis” (OPD) is as a tool for describing personality structure, to identify psychodynamically relevant characteristics, to judge suitability for psychotherapy and for treatment planning. The version OPD-CA has been developed for children and adolescents. The article gives an overview over the different axes and categories of the system and describes advantages from a clinical perspective. An overview is given about the specific training program required to learn to apply OPD-CA-diagnoses in clinical practice and about OPD-CA-education in Sweden. In addition, results from OPD-CA research are presented.