Customer Reviews

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Thanks to the reviewers from Tuscon & Bowling Green who point out that this is only a tool that attempts to codify the many mental states we collectivly term mental disorders. As a clinician I find it useful as a quick refererence but it doesn't replace good case studies, in depth works and clinical experience.

DSM-IV is a manual for use by mental health professionals so that there is uniformity in diagnosis and basis for future research. Each diagnosis has been subject to extensive research. DSM-IV only describes symptoms and does not discuss causes for disorders. I would agree with the other reader that I would like to see diagnosis related to anger disorders appearing in future editions. Because there is political concern about anger disorders being used as criminal defenses, the mental health community has been somewhat reluctant to formalize diagnosis in this area. I feel, however, this is important so that the mental health community can be more active in reasearch on anger disorders to provide more effective treatment in this area.

This manual was excellent for helping the Behavioral Scientist, and Psych student. I would recommend that every Social Science student get one, to help them through the core courses of their quest to get a degree. I also recommend the "companion" to the DSM. That's very helpful too.

Anyone who reviews this book and gives it less than a 4 or 5 is obviously uneducated about clinical disorders. This is the bedrock of clinical psychology and psychiatry, and, even if it is flawed in philosophy or content, has NO peer. I recommend this book only for those who understand the scientific method and those interested in pursuing graduate study of psychology or psychiatry.

As an early childhood clinical consultant, it is important with a diagnostic tool such as DSM IV, to not use as a guide to self-diagnose or to diagnose your child. It is also important to note that diagnosis is made using the behavioral characteristics and measurements of duration, frequency and severity of behaviour. Also, it is important to be able to understand dual-diagnosis children, and children who present same symptoms as AD(H)D, yet may actually be depressed, anxious, or even have Tourette's as a primary diagnosis.Work with your elementary school, or day care facility to examine the environmental changes you can make to accommodate a child's attention span. And remember, medication is a last resort. Consult your pediatricians, please.

As a clinical psycholgist, professor, and author I have found DSM to be useful. It is not useful to laypersons and is not a self-help manual. It lists over 200 different kinds of problems-in-living, some severe (schizophrenia) and some not severe (bedwetting). These problems- in-living are called "disorders" if they cause significant emotional distress or significant social or vocational impairment. Some of these disorders people accidentally bring on themselves (substance abuse) and some disorders cause severe problems to others (e.g., intermittent explosive disorder or borderline personality disorder). I closely followed the depressive disorders and anxiety disorders in DSM IV when I wrote a self-help book, "SOS Help For Emotions: Managing Anxiety, Anger, And Depression." DSM IV needs to acknowledge and list "anger disorders" (which it does not do) as these problems are causing severe problems and misery in our families and society, as well as in the persons having anger disorders. I have used DSM (in all of its editions)for over 38 years. Both of the prior customers have made some valid points.

As an early childhood clinical consultant, it is important with a diagnostic tool such as DSM IV, to not use as a guide to self-diagnose or to diagnose your child. It is also important to note that diagnosis is made using the behavioral characteristics and measurements of duration, frequency and severity of behaviour. Also, it is important to be able to understand dual-diagnosis children, and children who present same symptoms as AD(H)D, yet may actually be depressed, anxious, or even have Tourette's as a primary diagnosis.Work with your elementary school, or day care facility to examine the environmental changes you can make to accommodate a child's attention span. And remember, medication is a last resort. Consult your pediatricians, please.

First of all, don't get discouraged by the negative reviews because some of them (maybe most of them!) are clearly scientologist reviews. Scientologists believe that psychiatrists are behind the rise of Hitler, not to mention other interesting stuff such as, that Xenu, the galatic overlord, was helped by psychiatrists; this is actualy true, so...

Anyway, about the DSM-IV , I think it can be an excelent manual IF used properly. Classification is a somewhat inerently arbitrary activity and that should be understood. This classification should be understood as a frame of reference, not as a categoric and precise classification of diseases, since that is impossible given the huge complexity and/or size and nature of the task. Furthermore, psychology/psychiatry is a field still with much research to do so the manual also suffers from this lack of research.
Therefore, as long as DSM-IV is aproached with this in mind, it can be an excelent book because it puts mental health professionals speaking the same language. It's primary value is as a frame of reference for the mental health professionals and as such it is excelent.

Whatever way the insurance companies take advantage of this, it's not the fault of the DSM-IV. Whatever doctor prescribes medication without being necessary, it's his fault, not DSM's. Conspiracy theorists forget that there are good people in the world...

The DSM-IV (and DSM-IV-TR) is the primary manual used by clinicians to diagnose mental disorders. The cons are that 1) the manual categorizes mental disorders when it is entirely possible (perhaps even probable) that mental disorders lie on a continuum shared by normal behaviors, 2) political issues can and do influence which and how mental disorders are included in the manual, and 3) that interrater reliability (the degree of agreement among diagnoses when using the manual) is somewhere around 70% (clearly, not perfect). The pros are that 1) even if one thought abnormal behavior was on the same continuum of normal behavior, no one else has yet suggested a better way of assessing and diagnosing mental disorders, 2) the manual increases the ability to communicate about these disorders among clinicians and patients (which can be beneficial when considering treatment), and 3) it comprises a nice summary of what we know about mental disorders in a somewhat reasonably organized fashion.

So far, the benefits outweigh the problems (and frankly, we really don't have a better alternative). Clinicians may use it to diagnose, students may use it get a summary of what we know about particular mental disorders (but should refrain from diagnosing themselves or others as the criterias listed still need clinical expertise in judging whether or not the criteria applies to any one individual and/or behavior).

Noone claims to understand everything about the human mind anymore than they can conclusively prove a specific origin of life. But the struggle to understand human behavior starts with the study of patterns, and this is what the DSM accomplishes. All of us are a composite - to a greater or lesser degree - of many of the illnesses described. But the key word here is "degree." An illness must fit established criteria for it be be classified as such, and this is where DSM is so helpful. The few reviewers who found infinite flaws in this text are probably the same few who believe that "Bam-Bam" had pet dinosaurs. Oh well, another testament to "The Bell Curve."