Discussion: Couple and Family Counseling and the DSM-5

Though the philosophy and values surrounding couple and family counseling emphasize prevention and wellness, awareness of diagnosis is important when interacting with other mental health professionals who may view mental health issues through the medical model. The DSM-5, the primary diagnostic system/manual used in the United States by such professionals, identifies and describes individual mental health disorders, not relational issues or disorders.

Those mental health professionals who adopt a systems or relational view of mental health have been able to implement small changes within the DSM in its subsequent editions, and these changes acknowledge the systemic influence on certain individual disorders. Nevertheless, there is not yet an adopted diagnostic structure for relational problems. Therefore, you may sometimes need to negotiate your relational perspective with other professionals and communicate client matters with insurance reimbursement boards (who see mental health problems as individual in nature) in their language.

For this Discussion, you will examine the DSM-5 and how it informs your professional practice. You also explore the advantages and disadvantages of being familiar with the DSM-5. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=b1e54335-1d10-4384-b5b3-00b1f9c7f5c0%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=90535709&db=a9h

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By Day 4

Post an example of a specific instance in which you may need to consult with another mental health professional who utilizes the DSM-5. Then, explain how your familiarity with the DSM-5 may influence this consultation. Next, explain one advantage and one disadvantage of a couple and family practitioner being familiar with the DSM-5. Be specific.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 6

Respond to two of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question.
• Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
• Offer and support an opinion.
• Make a suggestion.
• Expand on your colleague’s posting.

• Colleague 1:Tomeka

  An example of a specific instance in which you may need to consult with another mental health professional who utilizes the DSM-5. DSM-V is, “, the diagnostic guide to mental disorders of the American Psychiatric Association” (Lebow, 2013, p. 155). A specific instance in which I may need to consult with another mental health professional who utilizes the DSM-5 is if an individual meets the criteria for several different DSM-5 diagnoses. As a future social worker, I would not want to misdiagnose an individual. Misdiagnosing a client could lead to their condition/symptoms getting worse. Also, clients will try diagnosing themselves or others if we don’t diagnose them (Strong and Busch, 2013). ADHD, depression, and bipolar disorder are three disorders with the highest mental health misdiagnosis statistics in children and adolescents (Hillside, 2019). Then, explain how your familiarity with the DSM-5 may influence this consultation.By being familiar with DSM-5, I can effectively help clients and communicate with peers in regards to the clients. It is important for workers to diagnosis clients correctly, so it is okay to contact the mental health professional for a second opinion. This will ensure that the client I am assisting is diagnosed properly based on the symptoms mostly shown. This will also push me to gain more understanding when it comes to a certain diagnosis. As it states in the NASW Code of Ethics, under ethical principles, “Social workers continually strive to increase their professional knowledge and skills and to apply them in practice” (2017). Next, explain one advantage and one disadvantage of a couple and family practitioner being familiar with the DSM-5. Be specific.One advantage of a couple and family practitioner being familiar with the DSM-5 is they will accurately diagnosis the client and decrease the chances of misdiagnosing the client. Under the diagnosis in the DSM-V are the symptoms. Practitioners can compare the client’s symptoms to the symptoms listed. For example, if you think the client has Anxiety Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition Diagnostic Criteria 293.84 (F06.4), you could look at the symptoms below to determine. “A. Panic attacks or anxiety is predominant in the clinical picture. B. There is evidence from the history, physical examination, or laboratory findings that the disturbance is the direct pathophysiological consequence of another medical condition. C. The disturbance is not better explained by another mental disorder. D. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during the course of a delirium. E. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Last quarter, students and I were given case studies where we had to diagnosis clients. Having the symptoms listed in the DSM-V allowed students and me to rule out the possible diagnoses. When it comes to a disadvantage, “Reaction has been intense as advocates claim advances in the scientific basis of classification, while critics castigate the extension of what they regard as an artifice that has little to do with the realities of experiencing and coping with human problems” (Lebow, 2013, p 155). The clinician may even misdiagnose a client without paying close attention to their situation. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS FIFTH EDITION DSM-5.Washington, DCLebow, J. L. (2013). Editorial: DSM-V and Family Therapy. Family Process, 52(2), 155–160. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/famp.12035NASW – National Association of Social Workers. (2017). Retrieved, from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English.Strong, T., & Busch, R. (2013). DSM-5 and Evidence-Based Family Therapy? Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 34(2), 90–103. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1002/anzf.1009

  Colleague 2:Khalila

  Post an example of a specific instance in which you may need to consult with another mental health professional who utilizes the DSM-5A specific instance where I may need to consult with another mental health professional would be when my client’s symptoms are decompensating. For instance, I meet with this client weekly and have noticed that they are not making progress towards their goals. They may report or engage in symptoms of psychosis during our session. In this case, I would contact the psychiatric nurse practitioner to gather information from his/her medication evaluation with this client. The practitioner can then inform me on the client’s prescription, self-reports of medication management, and any additional symptoms that the practitioner may have observed during their appointment with my client. With this information, I can include psychoeducation into our weekly sessions to further educate my client on their symptoms and how it has impacted their well-being (Larner, Strong & Busch, 2013). Then, explain how your familiarity with the DSM-5 may influence this consultation. The DSM-5 is a mental disorder diagnosis manual that includes symptoms and its impact on other areas of an individual’s life. For instance, a disorder may hinder an individual’s social life, success on the job or in school to name a few. With this knowledge, I would need to know what medications my client is taking and if there have been any changes with their medications that can contribute to their presenting problems. Next, explain one advantage and one disadvantage of a couple and family practitioner being familiar with the DSM-5. Be specific.One advantage of a couple and family practitioner being familiar with the DSM-5 would be their knowledge of symptoms and its severity. Also, they will be able to assist the client in identifying how their diagnosis impacts other areas of their life, as mentioned above (Larner, Strong & Busch, 2013). This knowledge may encourage a client who is not medication compliant to consider taking medication to reduce their problems. For example, a client may not be able to maintain a job because of their psychosis. He/she may experience auditory hallucinations while working that hinders their job performance and is eventually fired. My knowledge of the DSM-5 can further explain their diagnosis and symptoms and encourage them to take medication to reduce their symptoms and be able to perform on their job. One disadvantage of a couple and family practitioner being familiar with the DSM-5 would be mislabeling. The practitioner may label their client incorrectly based on their symptoms that they experience. Mislabeling can negatively affect the assistance that the professional provides to their client. It can cause the therapist to develop and implement a treatment plan that does not address the presenting problem (Lebow, 2013). References Larner, G., Strong, T., & Busch, R. (2013). Family Therapy and the Spectre of DSM-5. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 34(2), 87–89. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1002/anzf.101Lebow, J. L. (2013). Editorial: DSM-V and Family Therapy. Family Process, 52(2), 155–160. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/fam…