Assignment

Paris, J. (2015). The intelligent clinician’s guide to the DSM-5 (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from

NOTE: Chapter 6, “Dimensionality” (pp 84–101)

Neukrug, E. S., & Fawcett, R. C. (2015). Diagnosis in the assessment process. In E. S. Neukrug & R. C. Fawcett, Essentials of testing and assessment: A practical guide for counselors, social workers, and psychologists (3rd ed., pp. 43–58). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Wakefield, J. C. (2013a). DSM-5 grief scorecard: Assessment and outcomes of proposals to pathologize grief [Letter to the editor]. World Psychiatry, 12(2), 171–173. doi:10.1002/wps.20053

You will start your presentation with your introductory talk to the parents on these factors. After you provide your explanation, imagine that you open the meeting to questions. You will address the question noted below that is posed by a parent in the audience. Consider your audience, and practice explaining in terms a non-professional might understand.

Review the questions (in the Assignment instructions below) ahead of time and plan your answer before recording, as you will need to look up and integrate materials to answer the chosen question.

Assignment 

Submit a 1 page paper addressing the parents as your audience, in which you do the following:

· Briefly describe what the DSM-5 is and how it is organized. In your description, define the concepts of spectrum and dimensionality as explained by Paris and in the DSM-5 introduction.

· Explain why social workers and mental health professionals use diagnoses and what receiving a diagnosis means (and does not mean).

· Explain general concerns about the risks of overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis versus not diagnosing. Also explain how diagnosis is connected to services.

· Explain other details that might help your audience understand the strengths and weaknesses of the diagnostic system.

Address the Parent question at the end of the paper

Provide a response to the following parental questions:

o My teenager’s best friend died by suicide this year. It’s been months, and she doesn’t seem over it. Her teachers tell me she should get help for depression, but I think it’s just grief. She talks about her friend all the time and gets very upset. I am worried about her. Is it normal for her to still be feeling this way? I don’t want to put her on medication for normal feelings. What is the difference between grief and depression?

APA format and use intext citations and references in required reading and any outside creditable sources.