DSM-IV Diagnosis in the Schools » (1st Edition)

Alvin E. House, PhD, is a clinical psychologist whose professional practice focuses on applying assessment results in school, vocational, medical, and forensic consultations. Associate Professor of Psychology at Illinois State University, he teaches graduate-level courses in mental health diagnosis, psychological assessment, and psychopathology. He is the coauthor of a manual on observational assessment of children and has published numerous articles and chapters on intellectual, personality, and neuropsychological testing.

This clearly written guide provides a succinct and well-organized overview of the principles of diagnostic classification used by the DSM-IV. Readers learn how the DSM-IV "works" as a method of organizing and communicating our understanding of adjustment and cognitive disorders in youth. Chapters group diagnoses thematically by prominent presenting symptoms, focusing on the disorders most commonly encountered in school-age children and adolescents. The volume has now been updated with new information reflecting changes in the DSM-IV-TR, published in 2000, and the IDEA 1997 final regulations, published in 1999.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Rajitha Avva, BS, MD(Rush University Medical Center)
Description:This book is a description of the DSM-IV and explains how the DSM-IV should be used in the school setting by child psychologists. This is a revised edition; the previous edition was published in 1999.
Purpose:The purpose is to increase psychologists' knowledge of the DSM-IV in order to use it in the school setting. This is an important objective because child psychologists in the school setting are encountering more children with psychiatric diagnoses. The book does meet the author's objective.
Audience:This book is written specifically for the child psychologist, according to the author. The author is a credible authority in the subject matter as he is a clinical psychologist who focuses on applying assessment results in consultations and also teaches courses in mental health diagnoses.
Features:The author explains how to make use of the DSM-IV and how to make and record diagnoses. Diagnoses are separated by "externalizing problems" and '*internalizing problems" focusing on the more common diagnoses seen in children and adolescents. The author provides useful tables of differential diagnoses in order for the psychologist to think of all possibilities, including medical disorders.
Assessment:This is a useful book for the psychologist who is unfamiliar with the DSM-IV. The author describes the DSM-IV in a clear and simple way to facilitate its use. Other books in the field are written more for the psychiatrist. This second edition is necessary in order to reflect the changes in the DSM-TR.