• Home Page
  • The DSM: Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Illness

The DSM: Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Illness

Decent Essays
Show More
The DSM is a politically and economically driven document more than a scientific one. DSM stands for diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Decisions regarding inclusion or exclusion of disorders are made by majority vote rather than by the review and acceptance of indisputable scientific data. One example: Homosexuality was listed as a mental disorder in the DSM until 1974, when gay activists demonstrated in front of the American Psychiatric Association Convention. The APA's 1974 vote showed 5,854 members supporting and 3,810 opposing the disorder's removal from the manual. Ever since, homosexuality has not been regarded as a mental illness. Voting on what constitutes mental illness is truly bizarre and unscientific. In recent

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Stephanie Fairyington's 'The Gay Option'
    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Analysis Of Stephanie Fairyington's 'The Gay Option'

    However, in the 1970's, homosexuality was no longer considered a mental disorder. With the help of the mental health establishment, being gay is now known as a physiological condition. Joan Nestle states her options that people should not spend time debating over gay rights because it leads o dehumanization (Fairyington 52). Fairyington firmly believes that being gay is not a choice and for that it is not an act of…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Dsm-5 Research Paper
    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Dsm-5 Research Paper

    Is DSM-5 an improvement over DSM-IV in the area of PTSD? The publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) introduces a number of significant changes to the criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder, including the revision to the A trauma criterion, three additional symptoms (increasing the symptom total from 17 to 20), and a division of the avoidance cluster into avoidance and negative alterations in cognitions and mood. The main purpose of revising any psychiatric definition is to enhance diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility. There are many researches investigating on whether the DSM-5 model of PTSD is an improvement over the previous DSM-IV model…

    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Biblical Interpretation Of Homosexuality In The Bible
    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Biblical Interpretation Of Homosexuality In The Bible

    Decades ago many people thought that being homosexual was a mental illness and that homosexuals were…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Allen Frances On The DSM-5 Analysis
    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Allen Frances On The DSM-5 Analysis

    I am writing this week’s reaction on the video featuring Allen Frances on the DSM-5. After watching the video clip and also reading an article he wrote that was posted on the website Psychology Today, I see why he is concerned about the new DSM-5. Frances states that it should be used a “a guide, not bible” when considering the new information and changes in the book. Dr. Frances claims that there are some misguidance or misinformation contained in the book and that there are some changes that he deemed “clearly unsafe and scientifically unsound”. Dr. Frances talks about how the information in the book can lead to over-medication of patients due to the zealous doctors who are quick to prescribe medications for things that don’t necessarily…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Dsm Pros And Cons
    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Dsm Pros And Cons

    This was one of the more noble goals, but it was skewed as well. There are now too many mental disorders to shuffle through in the books, and the symptoms drag on and on. It’s almost impossible for a psychiatrist to scan the manuals to help diagnose a patient in a meeting. The DSMs never take into account an individual; it’s always a group. The people in charge of creating the DSMs did it this way because it is easier to publish, but it leads to more problems about grouping people until everyone loses touch with their own piece of normal.…

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    19th Century American Asylums
    • 1479 Words
    • 6 Pages

    19th Century American Asylums

    The early years of psychiatric field have provided the media with material for horror stories for ages now. Starting with colonial America, where people chained their ‘disturbed’ relatives and neighbors to the metal poles or locked them in small rooms for their entire lives, and ending with asylums, where doctors and nurses indulged in cruel behavior toward the patients, experimenting with inhumane methods of subduing the insane with lobotomy and electroconvulsive therapy. But is this picture painted by the horror movies entirely accurate? During the colonial times, ‘distracted persons’ were a responsibility of their families.…

    • 1479 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The DSM-5 Controversy
    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The DSM-5 Controversy

    The DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This is used to help clinicians and other health care professionals with their line of work and diagnosis. In 2013 the DSM-IV has changed over to the DSM-5. With this there have been changes in the groupings of disorders, new disorders added, and some completely different. With these changes has come a lot controversy.…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Dsm-5
    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Dsm-5

    Classified in the DSM-5 under “Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders” lie all abnormal possibilities for aggressive, antisocial, and oppositional behaviors. These behaviors can be displayed through irritable moods, defiant acts, destruction of property, violation of rules, lack of remorse, and aggression towards others or animals, along with several other possible symptoms (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In order to be recognized for treatment, a range of social, emotional, and behavioral dysfunctions must occur and yield with impairment in daily-life functioning (Kazdin, 2005). As noted by the U.S. Congress and World Health Organization, between 17% and 22% of children and adolescents (ages 4-18 years old) suffer significant…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Mental Illness Label Analysis
    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mental Illness Label Analysis

    "Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike"- J.K Rowling. Human beings get discriminated against for being burdened with a mental illness. People do this without knowing the damage or harm the victims endure. Usually, people with a condition like this feel like they are the albatrosses of our society. Many diagnoses range from depression to schizophrenia.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Mental Disorders: A Diagnostic Analysis
    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mental Disorders: A Diagnostic Analysis

    The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5) lists symptoms one could encounter when a traumatic event has occurred or is occurring in their life. The exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence is the first step in recognizing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a person. DSM5 discusses the feelings that are a result of trauma—terror, helplessness, and horror. However, there are many factors that delineate PTSD; the DSM5 lists them into four clusters: B-Intrusion/Re-experiencing; C-Avoidance; D- Negative alterations in cognition and mood; and E-Arousal. The first criteria that must take place in order to truly pathologize PTSD is the traumatic event that an individual is exposed to before…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Social Constructionism Theory
    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Social Constructionism Theory

    I, however, believe that homosexuality is not, and never has been, a disease or disorder. I agree with the DSM-IV, in that behavior that does not coincide with beliefs of society is normal and cannot be classified as a disease. I believe a disorder should not be dependent on an opinion and if it does not harm society, it should not be considered a disease. In this aspect, I would consider conditions like psychopathy and schizophrenia to be pathological because actions that come from these conditions can harm others. Though individuals can be offended by another's sexual orientation, the homosexual relationship does not invoke harm upon…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (DSM)
    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (DSM)

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or better known as PTSD, is a disorder in which a person experiences a scary or traumatizing incident that often leads to flashbacks to that same traumatizing event. If a person has developed PTSD, this disorder can very much interrupt the basic functioning of one’s life, and be very hard to cope with. Many times if someone is experiencing symptoms of PTSD then they may not be able to hold down a job or even keep a good steady relationship. PTSD is most prevalent in our soldiers that come home from war, because traumatizing experiences and death happen far more in war then in a regular jobs. Luckily, doctors have developed innovative and enhanced treatments to help resolve some cases of PTSD, but it is still…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Born Gay Research Paper
    • 195 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Born Gay Research Paper

    Born Gay? Well, from the very beginning of time, people thought that being gay was bad news. In England, "a sodomy trial stirs public debate about homosexuality. "And the New Haven “mandates that a death sentence for sexual relations between women.” And last but not least, sodomy is linked to mental illness.…

    • 195 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Mental Illness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 1156 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mental Illness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    The definition of mental illness is as follows: “A condition which causes serious disorder in a person’s behavior or thinking” (Oxford Dictionary). Within John Steinbeck’s famous story, Of Mice and Men, the character Lennie suffers from a mental disability, which ultimately leads to his death. In a similar way, millions of people suffer from a form of mental illness, and are often are not treated for their disorders, which frequently ends in a form of tragedy for the individual. Often, those around them are uninformed on the subject and they either become bystanders to the individual’s downfall, or treat the person as an ill-mannered idiot. Within some countries, such as the United States of America, the nation’s leaders are trying to bring their societies out of these “dark ages,” and give the current and following generations the education they require on this subject.…

    • 1156 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Homosexuality In Russia Essay
    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Homosexuality In Russia Essay

    But, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) “In 1973, the weight of empirical data, coupled with changing social norms and the development of a politically active gay community in the United States, led the Board of Directors of the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)” (Herek). For over forty years homosexuality has not been categorized as a disorder, and the APA had gathered quite a bit of data from different data, scientists, and studies they did not take this lightly. Confronted with overwhelming empirical evidence, the APA could not ignore this topic (Herek). Unfortunately, not everyone knows or follows the APA very closely to know that it has been updated, and most people who still believe homosexuality is a disorder either believe what has often been told to then by their family or their faith.…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings