Psychological Disorders: The DSM Diagnostic And Classification System

5. Psychological Disorders:

The DSM Diagnostic and Classification System is a tool that assists in the classification of psychological disorders. According to American Psychiatric Association, (1994, 2000), the classification of these specific disorders is accepted not only within South Africa but worldwide as well (as cited in Bergh, 2013).

The American Psychiatric Association (1994, 2000) indicated that the DSM classifies the major diagnostic categories as follows:

• Stress and psychological disorders

• Psychological factors and physical symptoms

• Anxiety disorders

• Personality disorders

• Somatoform and dissociative disorders

• Mood disorders and suicide

• Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

• Substance abuse and dependence

Some of the symptoms of disorders that fall under the somatisation disorder category are:

• Hypochondriacs believe that their symptoms are real even going against the advice of a medical practitioner

• Conversion disorders are when an individual believes that there is a malfunction of their motor and/or sensory functions when in fact nothing is wrong. Symptoms include loss of sensitivity, paralysis, blindness or even deafness

• Pain disorder is when an individual complains of pain in more than one of their body parts and once again is not supported by a medical

Other symptoms they may experience are disorganised speech, flat or inappropriate emotions or social withdrawal

• Catatonic Schizophrenia is characterised by an individual’s motor disturbances but they may also experience symptoms such as bizarre voluntary movements, the refusal to speak or extreme negativism

• Disorganised Schizophrenia has symptoms such as inappropriate emotions, bizarre reactions or incoherent speech

• Undifferentiated Schizophrenia is characterised by symptoms of delusions of importance, emotional excitement, confusion and incoherence

• Residual Type Schizophrenia has the absence of delusions and hallucinations but the individual displays symptoms such as disorganised speech or impaired motor functioning

• Delusional Disorder is when an individual may experience feelings related to jealousy, grandiose, persecutory, erotomanic, somatic type and mixed type

• Schizoaffective disorder symptoms include disorganised speech, catatonic behaviour, flat emotions or lack of motivation and interest

• Simple Schizophrenia individual’s experience symptoms of decreased interest and motivation, emotional blunting and social