Psych symptoms rarely come labeled — they overlap, disguise, and evolve. That’s why clinical algorithms and differential diagnosis tools are essential for psychiatric NPs. This cheat sheet gives you structured decision trees to help distinguish between mood, anxiety, psychotic, neurocognitive, and personality disorders. It helps you walk through key questions: Are hallucinations mood-congruent? Is the anxiety free-floating or trauma-triggered? Is this bipolar, ADHD, or both?
You’ll also get quick-reference differentials for conditions that mimic one another — like GAD vs. hyperthyroidism, OCD vs. psychosis, or depression vs. early dementia. From symptom timelines to rule-outs and red flags, this guide helps you avoid snap judgments and reach diagnostic clarity. Because in psych, the right label is the difference between real healing… and real harm.