15.2 Diagnosing and Classifying Psychological Disorders — Normal To Disorder | Psychology 2e

• Understand why diagnosing mental health conditions is complex and not as precise as physical diagnoses.
• Learn about the DSM-5, its full name, and its primary purpose in mental health.
• Learn about comorbidity, where patients meet criteria for multiple disorders, and its prevalence.
• Understand how the "leaky pipe" metaphor illustrates treating substance abuse alongside mental illness.
• Consider an alternative perspective where multiple disorders stem from a single underlying cause.
• Explore how the DSM has expanded its diagnoses and the implications of constantly shifting diagnostic criteria.
• Understand the controversy surrounding the DSM-5's removal of the bereavement exclusion for depression.
• Differentiate between the DSM and ICD as diagnostic tools and how geography impacts classification.
• Learn the "rule of compassion" that psychological disorders are extremes of normal inner experiences.
• Understand the importance of using person-first language when referring to individuals with mental illness.
• Reflect on the evolving nature of mental health diagnosis and potential future classification systems.
• Up next in “Psychology 2e — Full Course (OpenStax) | Intro Psychology Lectures”15.4 Anxiety Disorders — When Your Brain's Alarm System Goes Wrong | Psychology 2e

How do mental health professionals decide when a thought, feeling, or behavior crosses the line into a psychological disorder? This lesson explores the tools and systems used to diagnose mental illness — from the DSM-5 to the ICD — and the ongoing debate about whether our definitions of "normal" are shifting too fast. Drawing from Section 15.2 of OpenStax Psychology 2e, the discussion tackles comorbidity, the growth of diagnostic categories, and the compassionate language we should use when talking about mental health. In this video: • What the DSM-5 is, why it exists, and how it gives mental health professionals a shared diagnostic language • Comorbidity explained: 41% of people with OCD also meet criteria for major depressive disorder • Why diagnosing substance use disorders is especially complex — and why clinicians must observe behavior after drug use has ceased • How diagnostic categories have more than doubled from 106 in DSM-I to 237 in DSM-5 • The bereavement exclusion controversy: can grief after losing a loved one be classified as major depressive disorder? • DSM vs. ICD — how the U.S. and the rest of the world use different diagnostic systems • Why disorders represent extremes on a spectrum, and the importance of saying a person has a disorder rather than is one #OpenStax #Psychology #MentalHealth #DSM5 #AbnormalPsychology OpenStax Content adapted from "OpenStax Psychology 2e", by OpenStax licensed under CC BY 4.0. Content based on Web Version: Apr 23, 2026. Read the textbook online https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology-2e Music first girl talking to me. by ikkun (ex. Barradeen) | https://soundcloud.com/ikkunwastaken Royalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US