Strengthening the DSM, Second Edition: Incorporating Resilience and Cultural Competence

Strengthening the DSM, Second Edition

by Anne Petrovich, Betty Garcia

“In this revised edition of Strengthening the DSM, the authors use a comprehensive yet easy-to-grasp formulation of diversity and resilience to establish the most accurate diagnostic criteria for each psychiatric condition. Their readers will be edified by the clarity with which they describe the major changes that were introduced with the publication of the DSM-5. This is a very helpful adjunct text for mental health practitioners of all disciplines.”

—Hani Raoul Khouzam, MD, MPH,
Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF Fresno

Praise for the First Edition:

“Garcia and Petrovich… provide a balanced overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the DSM, a comprehensive review of the nature, etiology, and treatment of major mental disorders, and most importantly, a perspective based on solid scholarship that makes clear how much we are missing by only looking at signs and symptoms in the diagnostic process. Their arguments leave no doubt that paying attention to cultural and resiliency factors can open up critical new pathways for understanding and help.”

—Sharon Berlin, PhD, Helen Ross Professor Emerita,
School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago

Mental health practitioners have long recognized the failure of the DSM to address important sources of strength and resiliency that can significantly affect diagnosis and treatment, a deficit that has become more pronounced with the DSM-5’s elimination of the multiaxial format. The second edition of Strengthening the DSM® presents a new conceptual framework—the Diversity/Resiliency Formulation— that encompasses the whole person in order to promote effective diagnosis and treatment. It considers patient strengths, sources of resilience, support, and cultural identity that are essential to the accurate understanding of an individual, and demonstrates how mental health practitioners can draw upon these resources during treatment. The second edition also addresses significant changes resulting from implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and features a completely new chapter on trauma and stressor-related disorders.

Key Features:

• Reflects major changes in the DSM-5 and the implementation of the ACA
• Presents contrasting clinical vignettes illustrating diagnosis with and without the Diversity/Resiliency Formation
• Features a new chapter on trauma and stressor-related disorders
• Includes discussion questions and activities for clinicians and students

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