Week 8 - ethico-legal issues and DSM

Question 1

Outline 2 differences between the DSM-5 and DSM-5 TR

Answer 1

1. updates to diagnostic criteria
2. Addition of prolonged grief disorder (instead of MDD)

Question 2

List 2 potentially positive and 2 negative consequences of diagnosis

Answer 2

Negative: May pathologise normal reactions to life stressors; the label may follow the person around / impact their identity

Positive: Can support client in getting funding for ongoing treatment; can validate their experiences

Question 3

DSM-III is regarded as the first ‘real DSM’. Outline some features of it that lead to this description

Answer 3

It represented a shift from philosophical to scientific and evidence-based descriptions

Question 4

Discuss the link between the very high incidence of co-morbidities in MI classification and validity critiques

Answer 4

Some critics belief that many of the MI exist on a continuum and reflect global symptoms rather than discrete MIs, because there’s a lack of validity of diagnostic categories and the categorical approach to diagnosis.

Question 5

‘The age of majority changes the presumptive direction for the clinician’. Explain this sentence and identify the domain of our work that it refers to.

Answer 5

The age of majority means the client has full decision-making autonomy provided they have mental capacity.
They aren’t dependent on associated parties