Question

At the heart of every great mystery lies a solution. Just as a good detective may use specific guidelines to gather evidence for a solution, so too might a good psychologist use set criteria to gather evidence for an accurate solution, or diagnosis. Although detectives focus on who is responsible for the problem, psychologists focus on why and how the problem surfaced. To make an accurate diagnosis, psychologists follow set diagnostic criteria outlined in the DSM. As a classification system for diagnosis, the DSM is important in the field, but current literature highlights the fact that, along with its strengths, limitations exist in it for accuracy in client diagnosis.

For this Discussion, consider the classification system of the DSM. Think about the relative strengths and limitations of this classification system in making a diagnosis.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a brief description of the overall classification system of the DSM in your own words. Then discuss the strengths and limitations of the DSM.

Answer 1

• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, is a text that provides the requirements to diagnose a mental disorder, along with statistics and suggested course of treatment for different psychological disorders. The DSM has gone through many revisions, and the most current version is the DSM-5.
• Its like a cookbook, except instead of looking for a recipe, you are eating something and trying to figure out what it is. In this case, you are going to look through the cookbook to match up the ingredients with the name of the recipe.That's kind of what psychologists do with the DSM. The book acts as a guide to help them find the diagnosis, or name, of a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or autism. Its like a bible for the therapist which provides them answers and guides them towards providing the right diagnosis.
• It provides a concrete assessment of the issues and assists in developing specific goals of therapy, as well as a standard of measure in assessing the effectiveness of treatment. Standardization of diagnoses helps to ensure that clients receive appropriate, helpful treatment regardless of geographic location, social class or ability to pay.Proper diagnosis and treatment of mental illness remain an art, but the DSM diagnostic criteria serve as a sort of guide map.
• Many critics of the DSM see it as an oversimplification of the vast continuum of human behavior. Some worry that by reducing complex problems to labels and numbers, the scientific community risks losing track of the unique human element. Possible risks include misdiagnosis or even over-diagnosis, in which vast groups of people are labeled as having a disorder simply because their behavior does not always line up with the current "ideal."Other risks involve the possibility of stigmatization since people are kind of put into categories or labels using this guidebook and therefore could lead o some prejudice experienced by them.