Critical Introduction to DSM

For many mental health professionals, familiarity with the diagnostic system described in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a fundamental competency. There are some major barriers to postgraduate students engaging energetically with the DSM taxonomy and manual. First, trainees often have negative views about the process of diagnosis itself, particularly the biomedical tone of diagnoses in DSM. Second, DSM is a dynamic work in progress but it is difficult for trainees to get a sense of this from the manual. This book overcomes these barriers by introducing an appropriately skeptical view of DSM. The book collates a series of critical review essays focusing on categorization and diagnostic issues related to the currently recognized disorders in DSM.