Teaching Counselors to Use the DSM‐III‐R With Ethnic Minority Clients: A Paradigm

Abstract

This article presents a paradigm for teaching counselors to use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ofMental Disorders (3rd edition, revised; DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) with ethnic minority clients, Limitations of the DSM-III-R, as they relate to minorities, are also discussed,

Cultural Competence: A Systemic Challenge to Nursing Education, Knowledge Exchange, and the Knowledge Development Process

“…Social problems such as racism, discrimination, patriarchy, homophobia, and poverty currently affect all human experiences, yet these can become lost in the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition, text revision; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) that focuses on disorders being rooted in the individual. The clear absence in the DSM-IV-TR of culture-specific or culture-bound syndromes related to macro-level issues, such as acculturation adjustments, migration and immigration trauma, ethnic-racial identity confusion, or post-traumatic stress disorder caused by socially sanctioned racism or violence (Velásquez, Johnson, & Brown-Cheatham, 1993) can reduce these experiences to invisibility when the APMHN adheres only to the DSM-IV-TR system of assessment. Without consciousness, nurses may operate in a culturally incompetent manner and facilitate clients' conceptualizing their problems solely from an individual disorder perspective, rather than a more macro-cultural perspective that would take into account cultural diversity and the issues surrounding marginalized groups.…”

The Diagnostic Window: Culture‐ and Gender‐Sensitive Diagnosis and Training

“…students need to be knowledgeable of the basic fundamentals. as well as critical of the DSM (Cook et al .. 1993;Velasquez et al .. 1993). Students also need to be knowledgeable and critical of the bias within the theories of development and psychopathology before they tackle the specifics of the DSM (Cook et al .. 1993).…”

“…These models fail to address the actual diagnostic process counselors use to make decisions concerning the particular disorders their clients suffer from. Moreover, little has been written about how individuals are trained in the area of assessment and diagnosis (Velasquez, Johnson, & Brown-Cheatham, 1993).…”

Differential Diagnosis in Older Adults: Dementia, Depression, and Delirium

“…When assessing older adults from a different cultural background, remember to be cautious in the rigid use of DSM criteria (Velasquez, Johnson, & Brown-Cheatham, 1993). Simply put, the database relative to validity is thin at best.…”