Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

n. 1. (DSM) The psychiatric “Bible” for diagnosing mental diseases (called disorders). It employs an easy-to-use checklist system to determine which mental diseases a person has. It is so easy to use even a child could make a diagnosis and prescribe a drug. Some critics have expressed concern that it is too simplistic, relies on subjective judgments rather than objective measures, labels normal human variations as disease, and almost always results in the administration of powerful, addictive mind-altering drugs. However, critics generally concede that the checklist approach is a considerable improvement over the “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” approach that was used previously.





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