Psychological Distress and Mental Disorders: A Guide to Symptoms and Diagnostic Criteria

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Learn how psychiatrists and other mental health professionals categorize ‘mental disorders’: from voyeurism and exhibitionism to the more widespread forms of psychological distress, such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other mental disorders, this guide provides an index to the diagnostic labels currently in use.

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Treatment, Mental Disorders and Basic Science

By Dr Greg Mulhauser, Managing Editor

The notion of a ‘mental disorder’ rests upon a particular model of so-called ‘normal’ functioning and observable deviations from that norm; this model fits only awkwardly with some approaches to therapy. Perhaps even more significantly, unlike the usual notion of ‘diagnosis’ common to Western medicine, however, psychiatry’s diagnostic categories of mental disorders are defined in terms of lists of symptoms. Scientifically, they are nothing at all like most medical diagnoses.

Also in this Section

About the DSM, ICD and Diagnostic Categories

By Dr Greg Mulhauser, Managing Editor

Two of the most commonly used standards for categorizing forms of psychological distress in the psychiatric profession are the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases.

About Clinical Trials

By Dr Greg Mulhauser, Managing Editor

We provide a separate index of clinical trials research involving drugs used in mental health. You can search directly or browse by condition, sponsor, or clinical trial status.

Mental Disorders and Drug Treatment

By Dr Greg Mulhauser, Managing Editor

Although some professionals strictly value one or the other (counselling or drugs), in the view of this site both approaches to psychological distress may be chosen by well informed consumers.

Additional Sub-Sections

ADHD

If you’d like to learn about the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sometimes called ‘attention deficit disorder’ (ADD), this section describes the symptoms which psychiatrists look for as well as providing other general information.

Anxiety Disorders

Learn about symptoms used by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals as diagnostic criteria for panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, and other anxiety disorders. This section also includes information provided by the NIMH on anxiety disorders in general, OCD in particular, and on interventions for children suffering from trauma.

Autistic Spectrum

This section provides general information on autism spectrum disorders and describes the symptoms employed by psychiatrists as diagnostic criteria for disorders such as autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

DSM Codes

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders sets out a list of codes which identify each individual diagnosis used by psychiatrists and some other mental health professionals.

Eating Disorders

This section describes the symptoms employed by psychiatrists as diagnostic criteria for disorders such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa, while our separate collection of references materials includes a valuable overview of eating disorders from the US government.

Mood Disorders

Here you can find general information on clinical depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders, as well as descriptions of the symptoms employed by psychiatrists in their diagnosis; also see our separate guide to understanding depression.

Paraphilias

Commonly dubbed ‘perversions’ or ‘sexual deviations’, paraphilia describes a condition in which a person’s sexual arousal and gratification depend on fantasies, urges or behaviours that are atypical and extreme. Most paraphilias are reportedly more common in men than in women.

Personality Disorders

This section describes the sets of symptoms employed by psychiatrists as diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and other personality disorders. Also see Dr Carver’s introduction to dealing with personality disorders in relationships.

Schizoaffective Disorders

This section provides general information on schizoaffective disorders and describes the symptoms employed by psychiatrists as diagnostic criteria for disorders such as schizoaffective disorder, manic type and schizoaffective disorder, depressive type. Also see the separate page on the DSM approach to schizoaffective disorder.

Schizophrenia and Schizophrenic Disorders

Providing general information on schizophrenic disorders, this section also describes the symptoms employed by psychiatrists as diagnostic criteria for disorders such as paranoid schizophrenia and catatonic schizophrenia. Both ICD and DSM approaches are covered here.