DSM-IV
The
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th
edition, or DSM - IV for short, is a textbook put out by
the American
Psychiatric Association. It is based on the most current
mental health clinical research and written by over a 1000
mental health workers, including physicians, nurses, researchers,
social workers, and others. The DSM - IV essentially summarizes
the current accepted diagnostic criteria (i.e., the common
signs & symptoms) of psychiatric and mental illness. The
behavioral signs & symptoms of depression, schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder, anxiety, panic disorder, and ADHD, to
name only a few, are summarized in this extensive book.
Health
care professionals can use these classifications to help
give a name to the constellation of behaviors a patient
exhibits. In addition, treatment can be offered that has
been shown to benefit others who have had the same, or similar,
behaviors.
Of
course the DSM - IV is not necessarily right, and each successive
edition updates and modifies the diagnostic criteria of
mental illness based on recent clinical studies and our
current beliefs. The DSM - IV essentially summarizes our
current understanding of the signs & symptoms of mental
illness.
