Though the DSM-5 is the standard manual for mental illness diagnoses, it is not without weakness. In this Assignment, you analyze the strengths and limitations of the DSM-5 diagnostic system, and you differentiate between normal behavior and diagnosable symptoms using the concepts of dimensionality and spectrum.

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.

Next, imagine the following scenario:

You are a school social worker who has been asked to address a parent-teacher association meeting. Many parents in the audience have children who have been identified for special education services. They are confused about how to understand the diagnoses they are seeing. Others have worries about overdiagnosis. You have been advised that while these parents are generally well-informed, many don’t understand the dimensional or spectrum aspects. All are worried.

You will start your video with your introductory talk to the parents on these factors. After you provide your explanation, imagine that you open the meeting to questions. You will address the question noted below that is posed by a parent in the audience. Consider your audience, and practice explaining in terms a non-professional might understand. Do NOT read from the book.

Review the questions (in the Assignment instructions below) ahead of time and plan your answer before recording, as you will need to look up and integrate materials to answer the chosen question.

Submit, (Transcript of answer question) considering the parents as your audience, in which you do the following:

1. 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.
2. Explain why social workers and mental health professionals use diagnoses and what receiving a diagnosis means (and does not mean).
3. Explain general concerns about the risks of overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis versus not diagnosing. Also explain how diagnosis is connected to services.
4. Explain other details that might help your audience understand the strengths and weaknesses of the diagnostic system.
5. Provide a response to the following parental questions:
6. 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?

Required Readings

American Psychiatric Association. (2013i). Introduction. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.IntroductionBarsky, 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/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.Paris, J. (2015). The intelligent clinician’s guide to the DSM-5 (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University PressChapter 6, “Dimensionality” (pp 84–101)

Required Media

Accessible player –Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload TranscriptLaureate Education (Producer). (2018d). Impact of the DSM-5: Organization, Develpment, Strengths and Limitations [Audio podcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author.University at Buffalo School of Social Work (Producer). (2014). Episode 139—Dr. Robert Keefe and Dr. Barbara Rittner: The Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: A conversation [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.insocialwork.org/episode.asp?ep=139Singer, J. B. (Producer). (2016, January 25). Critiques of the DSM-5: Interview with Jeffery Lacasse, Ph.D. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkpodcast.com/2016/01/DSM5critique.html/p>

Optional Resources

American Psychiatric Association. (2013n). Preface. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.x00prefaceAmerican Psychiatric Association. (2013s). Use of the manual. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.UseofDSM5Lasalvia, A. (2015). DSM-5 two years later: Facts, myths and some key open issues. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 24(3), 185–187. doi:10.1017/S2045796015000256Paris, J. (2015). The intelligent clinician’s guide to the DSM-5 (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University PressChapter 3, “How Diagnostic Manuals Are Made” (pp. 33–55)Wakefield, J. C. (2013b). DSM-5: An overview of changes and controversies. Clinical Social Work Journal, 41(2), 139–154. doi:10.1007/s10615-013-0445-2

DISCUSSION 1

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• Consider your current or most recent position. What are some ways, if any, your organization encourages diversity?
• In your opinion, what are some areas of opportunity for addressing diversity within your organization?

DISCUSSION 2

watch the brief video, Theories of Personality: Biological Theory. As you read the chapter and watch the video, consider what factors the biological perspective points to as influential in personality development.

Next, in your initial post to the discussion topic, answer the following questions:

• How does the biological perspective fit into the theories you have already learned about? Does the evidence from the biological perspective confirm or reject information from different perspectives (trait, psychodynamic, phenomenological)?
• Which of these biological factors do you believe has had an effect on your own personality development? Share an example.

A Male, developmental transitional period (Child to Adolescence) with ODD (oppositional defiant disorder).

Follow all of the directions

1) The standard developmental issues of the gender at that particular life cycle.

2) The specific symptoms of the disorder, along with challenges and impacts of the disorder at the life cycle stage chosen.

3) The proposed optimal treatment for the selected individual. The treatment should be specific and should include techniques, justification for the particular treatment and a proposed time limit to the treatment.

4) You must use at least 4 references. Paper should be no longer than 10 pages. You will get points marked off if your paper is more than 10 pages.

APA 7th Edition

1000 words due within 30 hours

read and summarize the following article:

Rogers, Kuiper & Kirker (1977). Self-reference and the encoding of personal information.

This article includes more than one experiment, you are only required to summarize Experiment 1. Please also focus on the researchers main hypotheses for Experiment 1.

This summary must be in APA 6 format and therefore must include a title page, page numbers, running head and a reference page. Please refer to the APA tutorial in week one of this course to make sure each section of your assignment contains the essential elements and is formatted properly. Your reference page will cite the article you have been assigned and at least one other article that you have used to prepare your assignment. Your paper must be no longer than 1000 words. Any portion of your assignment that is over 1000 words will not be graded, so going over the word limit may result in a decreased grade. DO NOT USE DIRECT QUOTES. Any paper using direct quotes will be penalized. Following is a description of the required sections and information that should be contained within each section.

Introduction:

One or two paragraphs on the background of the study, including the hypothesis/hypotheses of the current research. Be sure to cite the assigned paper early on in the introduction. You should also cite your additional reference of choice within the introduction. (Tip: When citing your additional reference, you only need to do so once in the Introduction and no where else in the summary.)

Method:

Clearly outline what the researchers did to test their hypotheses. This should be two or three paragraphs and should include section subheadings and information about the participants, materials, design and procedures. Remember to identify the independent and dependent variables, including operational definitions.

Results:

In one or two paragraphs summarize the findings. This should be precise yet concise. Include the statistical analyses used to analyze the data. Include the statistical analyses used to analyze the data. Not including statistical analyses will result in deductions.

Discussion:

In two or three paragraphs discuss the findings of the current research. Did the results support the hypotheses? If so, what do the findings suggest? If not, provide a possible explanation for why the expected results were not observed. Additionally, include any limitations to the study in this section. As a special component of this assignment also provide a few sentences about your experience as a participant in the online study (was it the same as the participants’ in the article, did you guess the hypothesis, does the experiment itself have any limitations, for example). It will not be sufficient just to state that it was easy or difficult.

Conclusion:

Wrap up your assignment with one brief concluding paragraph.

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