Discussion Prompt

Take a minute to read the definition of a mental disorder in the DSM-5-TR.

"A mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational or other important activities. An expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss, such as the death of a loved one, is not a mental disorder. Socially deviant behavior (e.g. political, religious or sexual) and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict results from a dysfunction in the individual, as described above."

• In the absence of clear biological markers or clinically useful measurements of severity for many mental disorders, it has not been possible to completely separate normal and pathological symptom expression contained in diagnostic criteria.
• The gap in information is particularly problematic in clinical situations in which the client's symptom presentation by itself (particularly in mild forms) is not inherently pathological and may be encountered in individuals for whom a diagnosis of a mental disorder would be inappropriate.
• Therefore, a generic diagnostic criterion requiring distress or disability has been used to establish disorder thresholds, usually worded "the disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning."

Directions

1. Post a paragraph answering the following:
   • How does this definition resonate with your personal view of mental illness?
   • Briefly explain whether you would you alter this definition to reduce stigma toward mental illness or you find it to be potentially useful to guide social workers in diagnosing.