DSM-5 Teaching Materials: A Critical Review

The publication of DSM-5 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 2013 was accompanied by the release of a series of APA-approved "essential guides" to aid clinicians and trainees in its use and the transition from DSM-IV. Several of these were explicitly designated as study guides, but all serve educational as well as clinical functions. To assist trainees and educators in their selection of appropriate materials for study and teaching, several of these books were reviewed from the perspective of psychiatry education.

DSM-5 and seven of the 11 essential guides featured on the American Psychiatric Publishing website were selected for review as to their value as education tools and the audience most likely to find them useful.

Four of the books reviewed were intended as teaching tools; two were designated as aids to clinicians, but with novice practitioners specifically included as target users; and two were not designed as teaching tools at all, but only as clinical manuals. All eight of these books had significant value as texts or teaching tools, although they differed significantly in the quality and uniqueness of their content, their specific focus, and the readers for whom they would be most helpful.

DSM-5 and the essential guides that accompany it have significant value as texts and study guides for teachers and trainees and make a valuable contribution to psychiatry education.