DSM-5: A Diagnostic Analysis

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The method of classification primarily in use for diagnostic purposes by mental health professionals is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, Fifth Edition (DSM 5). Diagnosis is used by counselors to help with setting goals, planning treatment, to determine a potential client outcome or as a requirement for insurance reimbursement or agency purposes. However, there may be ethical concerns that a counselor should be aware of that includes professional competence, respecting the client and doing no harm, empowering others, caring for the client, being non-judgmental, and so forth (ACA, 2014). Interestingly, the disadvantage of the DSM-5 may penetrate the counselor’s ethical boundary of being non-judgmental.