Since its third edition in 1980, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association has acquired a hegemonic role in the health care professions and has had a broad impact on the lay public. The publication in May 2013 of its fifth edition, the DSM-5, marked the latest milestone in the history of the DSM and of American psychiatry. In The DSM-5 in Perspective: Philosophical Reflections on the Psychiatric Babel, experts in the philosophy of psychiatry propose original essays that explore the main issues related to the DSM-5, such as the still weak validity and reliability of the classification, the scientific status of its revision process, the several cultural, gender and sexist biases that are apparent in the criteria, the comorbidity issue and the categorical vs. dimensional debate. For several decades the DSM has been nicknamed “The Psychiatric Bible.” This volume would like to suggest another biblical metaphor: the Tower of Babel. Altogether, the essays in this volume describe the DSM as an imperfect and unachievable monument – a monument that was originally built to celebrate the new unity of clinical psychiatric discourse, but that ended up creating, as a result of its hubris, ever more profound practical divisions and theoretical difficulties.

In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association published the 5th edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Often referred to as the “bible” of psychiatry, the manual only classifies mental disorders and does not explain them or guide their treatment. While science should be the basis of any diagnostic system, to date, there is no knowledge on whether most conditions listed in the manual are true diseases. Moreover, in DSM-5 the overall definition of mental disorder is weak, failing to distinguish psychopathology from normality. In spite of all the progress that has been made in neuroscience over the last few decades, the psychiatric community is no closer to understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of mental disorders than it was fifty years ago. In Making the DSM-5, prominent experts delve into the debate about psychiatric nosology and examine the conceptual and pragmatic issues underlying the new manual. While retracing the historic controversy over DSM, considering the political context and economic impact of the manual, and focusing on what was revised or left unchanged in the new edition, this timely volume addresses the main concerns of the future of psychiatry and questions whether the DSM legacy can truly improve the specialty and advance its goals.

These essays by graduate students in the Social Work program at Loyola University address controversies related to diagnosis of psychological distress using the DSM 5.

Essays written by social work master's degree students responding to the categories of psychological diagnosis issued by the American Psychiatric Association.

DSM-5® Casebook and Treatment Guide for Child Mental Health updates the previous companion to DSM-IV-TR with new cases and advances from DSM-5 and evidence-based assessment and treatment in child and adolescent mental health. The book presents 29 cases written by experts in the field to provide readers with realistic examples of the types of patients that clinicians encounter in practice. Each case is accompanied by two commentaries from leading clinicians (including child and adolescent psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, developmental behavioral pediatricians and nurses), who provide their perspective on diagnostic formulation and treatment recommendations, focusing either on psychotherapy or psychopharmacology. Experts draw from a combination of evidence-based assessment and interventions, biopsychosocial approaches, a systems perspective, and commonsense thinking. Thus each chapter provides an opportunity to see how field leaders would approach the diagnosis and treatment of a child or adolescent. The collaboration among the case authors and commentators yields an approach that is flexible and expansive enough to be of help to clinicians of varied disciplines working in child and adolescent mental health. Down-to-earth and engaging, DSM-5® Casebook and Treatment Guide for Child Mental Health is a rich repository of clinical wisdom that seasoned practitioners, clinicians early in training, and child and adolescent psychiatrists studying for their board exams will find extremely useful.

Annotation For the past half century, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has been the primary basis for classifying mental disorders in the US. Between the 1952 first edition and the most recent in 1994, categories have expanded and contracted, but have not changed themselves. Scholars of psychology at US universities explore how they might be redrawn to reflect current thought. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The first book to present DSM-5 diagnoses within a systems context The first text to present DSM-5 diagnoses within a relational perspective, DSM-5 and Family Systems delivers timely content aimed at training marriage and family therapists, clinical mental health counselors, and other systems-oriented practitioners. It reflects how the DSM-5 examines, for the first time, its diagnostic categories from the perspective of cultural and environmental impact on the development of individual disorders and conditions. This comprehensive text provides students with an understanding of how to approach a diagnosis as it relates to assessments, treatment planning, and ethical implications from a family and relational systems perspective. With contributions from distinguished faculty at counseling and marriage and family therapy training programs, each chapter includes an overview of the DSM in family systems contexts, cultural aspects, family systems assessments and interventions, and ethical and legal implications. Abundant case vignettes aid students in conceptualizing diagnoses in each DSM-5 category. Key Features: Considers all categories of DSM-5 diagnoses from a family and relational systems perspective—the first book to do so Includes family systems contexts, assessments, interventions, cultural considerations, and ethical and legal implications Provides sample case vignettes for conceptualization of each DSM-5 category Written and edited by esteemed educators in counseling and MFT Designed for courses in diagnosis, assessment, and psychopathology