I would recommend strongly (for both professionals, students, and the lay public), DSM-IV Made Easy by James Morrison. Morrison's book makes the DSM come alive. He illustrates technical points well, and provides interesting case examples that make you think of people when you read the diagnosis, not just symptoms.


Postpartum Disorders Reorganized   August 30, 2000
 74 out of 125 found this review helpful

I am pleased that postpartum psychosis has been dropped as a separate entry in the DSM IV TR. Postpartum is now correctly classified as a General Medical Condition. These changes call for the diagnostician to classify an afflicted mother by a disorder for which there is information more readily available, such as schizophrenia. In the case of a schizophrenic disorder, the mother is no more a danger to others (including the infant, I would infer) than those in the general population (p. 304). Therefore, mental health care providers have no basis to keep a mother separated from her infant any more than any normal parent. The manual is a useful tool for the afflicted to use for self-discovery, especially when there is mistrust, denial, anger, and agitation toward mental health care providers. The manual can literally put the afflicted and the provider "on the same page." It is well worth the investment in this book, a highlighter marker, and a therapy session to mark up and discuss the book.


Informative, but don't buy it if you have the original DSM-4   December 24, 2001
 72 out of 78 found this review helpful

The text-revised version is virtually identical to the 1994 version of the DSM-IV and not worth buying if you have the 1994 version. Along with the DSM-IV, the DSM-IV Text Revised version is, however, an informative book that provides good introductory information, especially in the "Diagnostic Features" section, about a wide variety of mental disorders. A problem of the manual, in my opinion, is its use of a categorical classification system while ignoring the dimensional nature of psychological phenomena.

Lee J. Markowitz, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada)


DSM IV TR PAPERBACK   August 12, 2000
 60 out of 81 found this review helpful

The study of mental disorders is an ever evolving process. It is good to see a revision of the old DSM IV which has been in use for the past five years. The book is printed in a easy to read print size and the layout has been updated. There will be other revisions so this is the first of many, until DSM V.


More Party Games with DSM IV   January 19, 2001
 56 out of 141 found this review helpful

Although DSM-IV is the bible of psychiatric diagnosis it's validity as a party game should not be overlooked. With a group of people gathered round you can almost certainly categorise any one of them with numerous mental disorders that should technically have them locked away for years. It is not a good idea to include religious people in the game, they always seem to get the best matches to the really good disorders!

Psychiatrists will have you believe that some skill is required to use DSM, most laypeople with a brain, however will start to realise that the validity of this book can be somewhat questionable and really is best used as a party game.