Clinical Diagnosis and The DSM-IV- TR By: De’Ja’ Carter January 19,2012

What is DSM IV? Social workers use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) to diagnose mental disorders. The DSM divides the mental disorders into three categories: Mental Disorders due to a General Medical Condition Substance Related Mental Disorder Primary Mental Disorder

Primary Mental Disorders Primary Mental Disorders are the mental disorders are all disorders in the DSM except for those directly caused by a medical condition or substance. Before diagnosing a primary mental disorder as major depressant disorder you must first rule out the possibilities that a client symptoms are caused by a general medical condition or a substance.

Primary Mental Disorders Cont. Culture is also an important situation when determining if the client has a mental disorder. A client symptoms sometimes will come from beliefs, behaviors or experience that are particular to or sanction in their culture. Clinicians may be over diagnosing some culture groups with schizophrenia such as African Americans and Asians.

Culture Bound Syndrome A culture-bound syndrome or culture specific is a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within a specific culture. There is no objective biochemical or structural alterations of body organs or functions, the disease is not recognized in other cultures. The substantial portion of the mental disorders, are the way they are manifested and/or experienced. They are partially conditioned by the culture in which they are found, some disorders are more culture-specific than others.

Ego-syntonic Symptoms Ego Syntonic Symptoms Traits are: Feelings Values Behaviors Ideas These traits are all consistent with a person ego. They may or may not be adaptive or healthy, but they feel real and acceptable to the clients conscious.

Ego-dystonic Symptoms Ego-dystonic symptoms are unacceptable to the person ego. They conflict with the clients ideal conception of their self. The client is likely to have a huge desire for change.

Conduct Disorder Conduct disorder consist of: Physical Aggression, Destruction of Property Deceitfulness Theft, Serious Violation of Rules. Someone with conduct disorder is likely to display all the features of oppositional defiant disorder. Someone with oppositional disorder don’t violate the right of others or age appropriate norms like someone with conduct disorder does.

Anti Personality Disorder This disorder can not be diagnosed until the client is over the age of 18. In order for the client to be diagnosed with Anti Personality Disorder, they would have to display the conduct disorder by the age of 15. If a minor client exhibit isolated acts of anti social behavior rather than a persistent pattern a child may be diagnosed with child or adolescent anti-social behavior.

What is most interesting about this Podcast? I feel as though the whole podcast was interesting. The reason why I feel this way is because working in the field of social work you come across people with all these different disorders and if you don’t know about them then you wouldn’t be able to help your client accordingly because you don’t know how to handle them or exactly what they are suffering from.

What can you share with others about this podcast? Rather you major is social work or not, it is useful to be inform about all the disorders and their symptoms. In life, you come across all different kinds of people and it’s best to have some kind of knowledge on disorders because there are people in the world suffering from disorders who needs help but don’t know they need it or think that something is really wrong with them.

Citation Clinical Diagnosis & the DSM-IV-TR. Association of Social Work Boards, Audio.