Diagnosis of Mood Disorders

Abstract

This article provides an overview of mood disorders according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) criteria and other relevant information. Differential diagnosis is facilitated through discussion of differences and similarities among mental disorders, age and gender-related patterns of mood disorders, and useful diagnostic tools.

DSM—IV and Culturally Sensitive Diagnosis: Some Observations for Counselors

“…Indeed, the term idiographic means "relating to, involving, or dealing with the individual or the unique" (Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1965, p. 1123, and the inclusion of such information is essential to arrive at a fully descriptive profile of the client. Numerous authors (Dana, 1993;Das, 1995;Hays, 1996;Keitel, Kopala, & Adamson, 1996;Kleinman, 1988;Konner, 1995;Morrison, 1995;Seligman & Moore, 1995;Sinacore-Guinn, 1995;Strauss, 1977) have noted the need to gather personal, family, and other contextual information that at first glance may seem secondary, even incidental, but which, on further consideration, begins to tell the client's story in a more fully formed manner.…”