Volume_4_Issue_3_Digest

36 TPC D igest Full article and references: Gintner, G. G. (2014). DSM-5 conceptual changes: Innovations, limitations and clinical implications. The Professional Counselor , 4 , 179–190. doi:10.15241/ggg.4.3.179 Unlike earlier manuals, the DSM-5 draws upon empirical data to cluster disorders. The new organization also introduces a lifespan perspective in ordering disorders within chapters and across the manual. However, it will be challenging for mental health counselors to learn this unfamiliar organization. These three conceptual innovations define the new look of the DSM-5 . The benefits include enhancing the diagnostic enterprise and furthering understanding of the nature of mental disorders. The risk, however, is that the new edition further medicalizes the manual at the expense of a more biopsychosocial assessment. The Professional Counselor DIGEST Volume 4, Issue 3 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2014 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates