Customer Reviews

Quick Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-IV-TR

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a modest little book that you can fit into your pocket but it does everything that its big brother (the much more expensive, full version of the DSM IV-TR) does -- at half the price and with greater ease of use. While the unabridged DSM IV is pretty much a textbook of psychiatry, minus only treatment recommendations, this abridgement unpretentiously lists just the diagnostic categories and the relevent (concisely phrased) criteria. Professionals will find it a handy source of symptoms and diagnosis for insurance purposes. Non-professionals will find it usable for the purpose of diagnosing themselves, their spouse, their parents and problematic friends.

The Quick Reference guide is great. If you are student in counseling or clinic psychology this book will extend the life off your back, due to its light weight and smallness of stature.

It contains the criteria for all mental illness in the DSM-IV-TR and is handy.

One reviewer said that it is the only DSM that you will ever need. That person is correct.

The book itself is fine, however, it is exactly the same book as the DSMDesk Reference which is confusing and lead me to purchase both thenhad to return this one. The DSM Desk Reference is spiral bound and nicer.

I used this booklet as a quick reference in my work in a hospital ER and in doing intakes. It's meant to simply be a handy reference to the DSM criteria, and can't replace the study, consultation, and experience needed to understand the difference between clinically problematic and non-problematic behavior. If you work within the DSM/ICD/insurance system, and you've heard the phrase "justify your diagnosis" before, here's an invaluable and pocket-sized (well, for a big pocket) tool.

It is exactly what it says, a quick reference. If you are buying it for clinical work for quick referencing in staff meetings it is perfect however it does not replace the full DSM for thorough case studies. If you need a quick and small reference, I would suggest buying this book.

This is so much easier than carrying the huge book around. It is short and sweet. I do have to refer to "the big one" from time to time, but love this little thing!

The mini-DSM IV is an excellent resource. It's like the big fat one without all the unnecessary weight. I used it mainly for looking up mental disorder criteria while on rounds or during morning report. It also fits nicely in your pocket and impresses the attendings and residents. Anything to show them your commitment goes a long way towards a good evaluation at the end of the rotation. I mainly used this and the pocket pharmacopoeia on the wards and studied from NMS Psych at home, though I'm told First Aid for Psych is much better for home study.

I've never really been interested in psych so take my recommendation with a grain of salt. On the other hand I got great evals on the rotation with this and other materials.

I'd probably buy this book again if I hadn't already completed my psych rotation. It'll serve me well on other rotations when I need to refer to psych for something. It's worth the slightly high dollar amount ascribed to it.

This "mini" version of the DSM-IV makes it much easier to look up things quickly for those busy Social Workers/Therapists/Counselors.

I started using this guide the day I received it, and it has been an essential pocket reference ever since in my psychiatric rotations as a medical student. It is small enough to fit in the pocket of a lab coat but complete enough to provide DSM criteria for all the most common psychiatric illnesses. The only problem is that I use it so much that I think the binding will break. Some of my colleauges have a version with a spiral binding that would solve that problem.

The reference guide is very helpful when I don't want to carry around the large DSM. It still has most of the information you need in it and is much much smaller.