Critical structure for diagnosing depressive disorders
The DSM-5-TR provides us with a critical structure for diagnosing depressive disorders in our clients by offering counselors with clarity and consistency in our clinical practice (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It has diagnostic criteria that is grounded in broad research and clinical studies. The diagnostic criteria grounded in research does enhance the reliability and validity of diagnosing and ensuring that our clients receive accurate and effective treatment. However, the DSM-5-TR\’s regulated approach may lead to the counselor\’s overdiagnosing of conditions like bipolar disorder in children and it might also overlook the role-play of culture in a client\’s symptom expression (Ogasawara et al., 2018; Lewis-Fernández et al., 2010). Additional diagnostic tools to use in connection to the DSM-5TR would be the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which are invaluable to us counselors. The PHQ-9 is very efficient and is widely used and validated for assessing depression severity with clients but it can be subjected to self-report biases (Kroenke et al., 2001). The other diagnosis tool is BDI which offers a thorough assessment of depressive symptoms with high validity, but its weakness is that it is more time-consuming and costly (Beck et al., 1996). While these tools will significantly aid in the diagnostic process, their limitations must be carefully considered to provide an accurate diagnosis so that we may be guided in providing effective treatment planning and improving our client\’s outcomes.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Ogasawara, K., Parker, G., & Tavella, G. (2018). Overdiagnosis of Bipolar Disorder in Children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(2), 123-131.
Lewis-Fernández, R., et al. (2010). Culture and Psychiatric Diagnosis. DSM-5: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. (2001). The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606-613.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
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