University of Phoenix Material

Appendix G
The DSM-IV
The DSM-IV is an important tool for clinicians. It provides a standard for diagnoses to be
standardized across psychology; however the DSM-IV is not as precise for diagnosing
personality disorders as some psychologists wo!ld li"e.
#ive an e$ample of each of the following problems identified in yo!r readings and e$plain how
these problems co!ld negatively affect a diagnosis.
%. Some criteria !sed for reaching a diagnosis cannot be observed directly.
Things li"e setting a person may act differently at home wor" and school than they may at
the doctor&s office. So in order to get an acc!rate setting yo! may try a different setting. I
"now when I was wor"ing with o!treach services with my "ids we wo!ld ta"e them to the
par". 'itho!t direct observation the patient can be miss diagnosed.
(. )ersonality disorders can be similar to each other.
There are plenty of symptoms that can mean more than one diagnosis. It can be very diffic!lt
to diagnose an e$act disorder beca!se of the similarities in symptoms sometimes it is easier
to go by what other symptoms are present or not present to ma"e yo!r diagnosis s!ch as
fever or vis!al body mar"s not self-inflicted. *lso it is a good idea to see the patient in both
nat!ral and clinical settings.
+. )eople with different personalities can be given the same diagnosis.
This is beca!se the criteria for the DSM-IV chart is intended to find personality disorders not
everyone has a personality disorder b!t it can loo" li"e they do by the criteria. *lso they can
have more than one problem I have a boo" that is called Mental Stat!s ,$amination by 'es
-!rgess which gives case st!dies and alternate theories of why it wo!ld not be something
else based on DSM-IV and I.D- / I thin" it is not only helpf!l b!t very interesting as well.
0. Do yo! thin" that personality disorders are tr!e mental illnesses1 'hy or why not1
I do not believe that personality disorder is a mental illness !nless it is a case of m!ltiple
personality disorder. )eople have a personality that ma"es them somewhat different than the
rest. If someone has a personality that is weird or not li"e anyone else&s does that mean that
they are mentally ill I do not thin" so. I always say yo! will never meet someone with my
personality granted I do have a few mental iss!es b!t not in my personality. I thin" it is the
act!al mental illness itself that affects personality not the other way aro!nd..
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