Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR Fourth Edition (Text Revision)

Since the DSM-IV& #174; was published in 1994, we& rsquo;ve seen many advances in our knowledge of psychiatric illness. This Text Revision incorporates information culled from a comprehensive literature review of research about mental disorders published since DSM-IV& #174; was completed in 1994. Updated information is included about the associated features, culture, age, and gender features, prevalence, course, and familial pattern of mental disorders.

The DSM-IV-TR& #174; brings this essential diagnostic tool up-to-date, to promote effective diagnosis, treatment, and quality of care. Now you can get all the essential diagnostic information you rely on from the DSM-IV& #174; along with important updates not found in the 1994 edition.

Stay current with important updates to the DSM-IV-TR& #174;:

• Benefit from new research into Schizophrenia, Asperger& rsquo;s Disorder, and other conditions • Utilize additional information about the epidemiology and other facets of DSM conditions • Update ICD-9-CM codes implemented since 1994 (including Conduct Disorder, Dementia, Somatoform Disorders)

I would recommend strongly (for both professionals, students, and the lay public), DSM-IV Made Easy by James Morrison. Morrison's book makes the DSM come alive. He illustrates technical points well, and provides interesting case examples that make you think of people when you read the diagnosis, not just symptoms.


A good book   March 29, 2003
Arianaev (USA)
9 out of 13 found this review helpful

I am not going to say much but this is a very informative and useful book for anyone in the field of social and human services. However, if you have the DSM 4 then you are pretty set, I got this one b/c I no longer have my DSM-4. The Axis codes are excellent and much has gone into making correct diagnosis instead of generalizing them. I acutal find this better than the DSM-4 because it seems to give more detail information on each mental illness- including disassocitive identity disorder AKA multiple personality disorder.


Important historical document   November 15, 2002
Nicolas S. Martin (Indianapolis, IN United States)
14 out of 31 found this review helpful

The DSM is to psychiatry what Malleus Maleficarum was to the Inquisition. Historians will find it an essential guide to the superstition and cruelty of the period.


Necessary.   January 9, 2003
R. Rubino (Ohio)
5 out of 14 found this review helpful

I am currently in graduate school and it seems as though everyone and their grandmother hates the DSM! The reasons are legion. Suffice to say, this is "the book" that the field uses and it is the one we must become familiar with.

I don't recall reading anywhere where the authors claimed this was the perfect way. The DSM makes no such claims. Yet I feel that the compilers have answered the critics regarding how mental health impairments are to be categorized.

I plan on reading the comments made in this book regarding its compilation and its use because this is the way things are done, whether we like it or not. I guess if one feels strongly about the DSM, they should try to get a seat on the panel that authored the book.


The closest thing to Diagnostic Guidelines in Psychiatry   August 30, 2006
Concerned One (Clarinda, IA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is the full manual that you need to at least be in the ballpark on a diagnosis to help treat your patients with reasonable certainty. With Diagnosis, there is prognosis...and with this book, you can give a patient some relatively confident answers about what they are experiencing. One disadvantage to this full text is that it is large, and there is a lot of verbage. The scaled down desk version or the pocket guide to the DSM IV that you may want to have on rounds.

One caviat, this book is a Conscensus between multiple experts and schools of training. The timeframes, symptoms, and criteria for diagnosis are never going to be perfect because patient's do not read this manual. This book does not substitute for clinical judgment and experience. If you see a duck and it quacks, but doesn't fall exactly into a catagory, call it a duck and go from there. Always treat the patient, not book.

A must have for a psychologist/psychiatrist/counselour.