Understanding the DSM-5

Question 1

1. What is the DSM-5?

Answer 1

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition

Question 2

2. What is the role of the DSM-5?

Answer 2

1. Serve as a standard manual to describe and classify mental disorders.
2. It is used to identify specific conditions.
3. Involves making assessment on multiaxial system that used five distinct levels (page18).
4. Help practitioners organize observations and information about some aspects of the clients life.
5. Provides a common language among mental health practitioners to communicate about client status.
6. Assessment can be more efficient
7. The ability to identify a clients problems reduces anxiety for a client.
8. Identifying the problem helps clients to have control and the ability to become empowered over the condition.

Question 3

3. What are some critics of the DSM-5?

Answer 3

1. DSM the tendency to label clients rather than attempt to understand them as unique persons within a particular social context.
2. DSM has a standard classification and assessment without identifying or considering individual root causes. It looks at the symptoms not root causes.
3. The continuous amendments to the DSM, from DSM 1 to DSM 5, as updated in 2013, confirms that the DSM in the past, indeed, could not fit all mental illnesses into a standard classification and assessment without considering multi-cultural factors including differential diagnosis of religion, spirituality and psychopathology when assessing mental disorders