Directions:

To prepare: Review the concept of the dimensional approach with the DSM-5 and review the methods that the DSM-5 recommends to individualize where a person fits on a continuum of their illness in terms of subtypes, severity, and functional impairments. You will find these classifications in different parts of the manual and begin to be comfortable looking through it.

Resources:

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5 5TH 13

• Chapter 6, “Dimensionality” (pp 84–101)

Neukrug, E. S., & Fawcett, R. C. (2015). Diagnosis in the assessment process. In E. S. Neukrug & R. C. Fawcett, Essentials of testing and assessment: A practical guide for counselors, social workers, and psychologists (3rd ed., pp. 43–58). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Neukrug, E. S., & Fawcett, R. C. (2015). Diagnosis in the assessment process. In E. S. Neukrug & R. C. Fawcett, Essentials of testing and assessment: A practical guide for counselors, social workers, and psychologists (3rd ed., pp. 43–58). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Barsky, A. (2015). DSM-5 and the ethics of diagnosis. The New Social Worker. Retrieved from https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/ethics-articles/dsm-5-and-ethics-of-diagnosis/

Considering the parents as your audience, in which you do the following:

• Briefly describe what the DSM-5 is and how it is organized. In your description, define the concepts of spectrum and dimensionality as explained by Paris and in the DSM-5 introduction.
• Explain why social workers and mental health professionals use diagnoses and what receiving a diagnosis means (and does not mean).
• Explain general concerns about the risks of overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis versus not diagnosing. Also explain how diagnosis is connected to services.
• Explain other details that might help your audience understand the strengths and weaknesses of the diagnostic system.
• Provide a response to the following parental questions:
  • My teenager’s best friend died by suicide this year. It’s been months, and she doesn’t seem over it. Her teachers tell me she should get help for depression, but I think it’s just grief. She talks about her friend all the time and gets very upset. I am worried about her. Is it normal for her to still be feeling this way? I don’t want to put her on medication for normal feelings. What is the difference between grief and depression?