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 - Essential for psychology, counseling, and social work majorThe "bible" of mental health diagnosis, it is a must have for those pursuing a career in any mental health specialty. Clearly describes the criteria for diagnosis. Provides better understanding of the line between certain mental illness Rating:  - A TOOL, NOT A NOVELThe DSM-IV is a necessary tool in mental health care! It is not a coffee table book, nor a novel that one cuddles as they caress a mug of hot cocoa. If you are a professional, a student, or if you work with the mentally ill population in any capacity..this book is a must. The codes are for insurance rating purposes. This same codong is used for all medical conditions... Hardly a bad thing! People want their insurance to pay! It may be regretable that a diagnosis is immediately required in order for healthcare professionals to receive payment. But this is true of all healthcare-- psychiatric or otherwise. This is not a book for the patient. Anyone who works in the mental health arena, knows that this is not a layman's guide to mental health disorders! Anyone who suggests that it can be used in "self-diagnosis" has little understanding of mental illness. You wouldn't give a 5 year old a chainsaw! Rating:  - ewe, gross!This manual disenfranchises all that is interesting about human nature. We professionals are all aware it was created for insurance coding, but it has somehow contaminated the less intelligent careerists in our ranks (which is just about all of us), who are susceptible to its suggestion, and we now find ourselves using this caricature tabloid like a map of the psyche itself. This manual is the cause and effect of an anti-intellectual strain of professionalism that has all but replaced scholarship and reflection. If this were the Bible, we would all be guilty of evangelical fundamentalism. When we consider the thousands of professionals (working on task forces and subcommitees) that produced this megillah, a principle from a neighboring behavioral discipline comes to mind, i.e. freedom and intelligence in individuals -- indeed consciousness itself -- is inversely proportional to the size of the group in which they participate. Psychology is all but officially a sham discipline. Rating: - REIMBURSMENT, POLITICAL CURRENCYHonolulu hit it on the head when suggesting this insurance manual has political overtones. I have been researching this document for three years now; and here is what I've found: the initial DSM listed homosexuality as a mental disorder. The DSM II did likewise - but was disclaimed after the second printing. The Veterans Administration are the primary research contributors. Though the VA is surely the best research organization in the world, they inexplicabably fail to acknowledge thier sample is contaminated by its exposure to variant cultures. While admitting thier work VA/WHO is"...a research tool. (and its findings) should be taken wth a grain of salt. (Har-har)", its also presented as contemporary gospel. The casebook is infinetly wiser. If "common" means 5%, and most of the 700 Dx are "common", do some math: US population is 280,000,000 divided by 5 = 56,000,000 x 700 = 3.92 to the 10th. Do we all have at least a dozen psychiatric Dx? Thats what the numbers say! BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER: A semi-psychotic condition in where people snap for a few hours, to a few days? Hmm. I think anyone who has ever been unjustly fired from a job, or who has recently divorced, or been subjected to the "rumor mill", can aspire to that label. SELF DEFEATING PERSONALITY DISORDER? Thank God this Dx comes under the heading, "More research needed." Because some people just like being around under-dogs, and for diverse reasons. A reliable grad at Purdue tells me that DSM-V will be heavy on chemical dependencey issues - particularly in the workplace. That DSM-V will be the most research oriented of all psych manuals to date, and VI will be decidely different - perhaps foregoing Dx completely in favor of "Global Functioning." VI is also slated to focus on gender; exploring sex-bias issues in a real scientific way. But for now, we'll have to live with DSM-IV, and it's third party reimbursement flavor. If nothing else, this howling banquent of psycho-babble does entreatise one to the current state of our political mind. As a final example, the Dx "Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder" is now remanded to the "back of the book - needing further study". It was once considered rude to slam the door on your bosses' face, these days many "bosses" wear Kevlar Body Armor clothing to protect themselves from projectiles more hostile than doors. As the times change, so does our attitude towards mental illness. This is a never-ending debate; and like my friend at Purdue Psych believes, it's all about $$$$$$$. Rating: - Quite a good read, despite a reputation for being dry.The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV referring to the 4th edition) is often called "the psychiatrist's bible." Like a certain other Bible, DSM-IV is not holy writ (and indeed, in the introduction it explicitly states that the criteria contained therein are intended to be used only as guidelines), but it does provide an interesting look at Western culture. The evolution of the DSM has been fascinating, and I'm sure that when the next edition comes out, those of us who weren't involved in the writing will look upon the changes with curiosity and interest. (Those who were involved in the construction of this book may no longer be on speaking terms! It's an incredibly political undertaking, and I admire them for having the courage and the persistence to carry it through.) Some of the disorders defined in DSM-IV, such as the Substance-Related Disorders and the relatively new diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, bear a razor! -sharp specificity and resemblance to reality. The well-established Psychotic Disorders, often considered the most severe type of mental illness, and the Mood and Personality Disorders, which the meat and potatoes of psychiatry, will no doubt continue to evolve, and I will look forward to seeing the next edition of this exciting book. Not to be missed are the delightful appendices, which include such gems as the Defensive Functioning Scale and a number of tentative "investigational criteria sets - descriptions of disorders which are not presently diagnosed (officially) but which may be in the future. page 1 of 2
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