With reference to schizophrenia, how effective is the DSM-IV-TR as a diagnostic tool - Essay Example

Unfortunately, there are no laboratory tests that can diagnose this problem and distinguish from other such problems such as bipolar disorder. For this purpose the American Psychiatric Associations have formulated a manual that can be used by a physician for diagnosis to assess their emotional past and current symptoms. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) is the manual used to diagnose mental illnesses. It was first published in the year 1952 by the American Psychiatric Association.

This manual has been revised several times, and presently the latest version is referred to as the DSM-IV. The general content of the manual is a list of clinical entities that have been built up and defined by psychiatrists, psychologists and doctors. In fact these people have gathered together to bring out the lists of criteria especially the common signs and symptoms that need to be present for a particular diagnosis to be assigned. This manual uses a multi-axial system of classification. In other words diagnoses of mental illness are made on several different axes or dimensions (Wikibooks, 2008).

Diagnosing schizophrenia is hard since there is no single symptom which is exclusive to schizophrenia and there are no perfect tests for the disorder. There are two major systems presently used for the diagnosis of schizophrenia, the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Disease. In general, the diagnosis of any kind of psychological disorder requires evaluation by a trained mental-health professional. This in general is carried out through a systematic interview.

Administration of array of personality tests that can even include in some cases, neuropsychological tests, and gathering of background information about the