This article suggests that the increasing attention to the inadequacies of popular language and
labeling, called designer diagnoses by the authors, in describing people's psychological traits
and emotional distress is good news for clinicians who strive to incorporate critical thinking
skills into theirday-to-day assessment decisions about clients. Specifically, the article discusses
three errors in reasoning that may have led to the demise (or impending demise) of such terms
as codependent, dysfunctional families, and even the broad use of the term borderline. Produc
tive modes of thinking needed to avoid similar conceptual hazards that are certain to appear in
the field in the future are also discussed.
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