DSM IV

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The DSM-IV is the fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It is a manual written by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). They are numbered using Roman numerals: DSM-I, DSM-II, DSM-III, DSM-IV, but the latest edition adopted Arabic numerals allowing the later ones to be numbered, 5.1, 5.2 and so on. After the DSM-IV was published, some changes (or revisions) were made to the descriptions in the manual. Because of this, the most recent version of the DSM-IV is officially called the DSM-IV-TR (the TR stands for "Text Revision").

The DSM lists every condition that is officially called a mental illness by the APA. The DSM organizes these conditions into different categories. Each condition is given a code, made up of numbers or a combination of numbers and letters. Along with the condition's name and code, the DSM also gives other information, like:

1. Symptoms of the condition.
2. Diagnostic criteria: The requirements that need to be met before the condition is diagnosed.
3. Differential diagnosis: Other conditions that have some of the same symptoms. These conditions should be ruled out before a diagnosis is made.
4. Diagnostic considerations: This section gives more details about the condition. For example, it may talk about who is more or less likely to get the condition. It may also talk about what causes the condition.

The conditions that are listed in the DSM change over time. In each new version of the DSM, the APA adds conditions that it has accepted as mental illnesses since the last version was published. It may also take out conditions that are no longer thought of as mental illnesses. (For example, homosexuality was listed as a mental illness in the earlier DSMs, but was then taken out.) The APA may also change the way it describes certain conditions.