Sections
Introduction | Step 1: Is the Presenting Symptom for Real? | Step 2: Rule Out Substance Etiology (Including Drugs
of Abuse, Medication, Toxin Exposure) | Step 3: Rule Out a Disorder Due to
a General Medical Condition | Step 4: Determine the Specific Primary
Disorder(s) | Step 5: Differentiate Adjustment Disorder
From Not Otherwise Specified | Step 6: Establish the Boundary With
No Mental Disorder | Differential Diagnosis and Comorbidity | How to Use the Handbook: A Case Example
Excerpt
The process of differential diagnosis can be broken down into
six basic steps: 1) ruling out Malingering/Factitious Disorder,
2) ruling out a substance etiology, 3) ruling out an etiological
general medical condition, 4) determining the specific primary disorder(s),
5) differentiating Adjustment Disorder from Not Otherwise Specified
(NOS), and 6) establishing the boundary with no mental disorder.
A thorough review of this chapter provides a useful framework for
understanding and applying the decision trees presented in the next
chapter.