Weight: 30%
Task: Over the course of the session, you will have learnt about various mental health diagnoses that are
within the DSM. Although a common reference in this subject, the DSM is a highly controversial text.
Your assignment is to write an essay that addresses the following two tasks:
Identify a past or current controversial DSM diagnosis, and discuss the reasons why it is
controversial; and,
1.
2. Discuss consumers' qualitative experience with receiving/having a mental health diagnoses.
You are expected to write a discussion based on a critical examination of literature. This is
an individual assignment. Please note, this is not an essay about your own individual,
personal experience with receiving a diagnosis. Please note the following requirements:
Start your essay with an introduction paragraph, and summarise your contentions with a
conclusion paragraph.
Please address each task under separate sub-headings.
Please note, the focus of each task can be independent. That is, your answer to the first
discussion task does not need to be related to the second discussion task.
Consult the content in the assessment folder on UTS Online. Resources and further guidance are
provided.
Minimum 8 references expected. Online blogs are not a viable reference. References of any age
are permitted.
You may reference articles and sources of any age.
Only word documents are to be submitted (no PDFs).
Your essay must be submitted to Turnitin for a similarity report.
You do not need to reference the DSM, but you may if you wish.
No more than 10% of the essay should be quotes.
Length: 1200 words. The reference list is not included in the word count.
Please use two sub-headings in your essay and address each task separately.
There are many articles that may be useful in writing your essay. The following articles may be used, but are not mandatory. It is your responsibility to source and cite literature that supports your arguments.
Drescher, J. 2010, 'Transsexualism, gender identity disorder and the DSM', Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 109-22.
Drescher, J. 2015, 'Out of DSM: Depathologizing homosexuality', Behavioral Sciences, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 565-75.
Hayne, Y.M. 2003, 'Experiencing psychiatric diagnosis: Client perspectives on being named mentally ill', Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 722-9.
Hundt, N.E., Smith, T.L., Fortney, J.C., Cully, J.A. & Stanley, M.A. 2018, 'A Qualitative Study of Veterans' Mixed Emotional Reactions to Receiving a PTSD Diagnosis', Psychological Services.
O'Connor, C., Kadianaki, I., Maunder, K. & McNicholas, F. 2018, 'How does psychiatric diagnosis affect young people's self-concept and social identity? A systematic review and synthesis of the qualitative literature', Social Science and Medicine, vol. 212, pp. 94-119.
Parens, E. & Johnston, J. 2009, 'Facts, values, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An update on the controversies', Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, vol. 3.
Perkins, A., Ridler, J., Browes, D., Peryer, G., Notley, C. & Hackmann, C. 2018, 'Experiencing mental health diagnosis: a systematic review of service user, clinician, and carer perspectives across clinical settings', The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 5, no. 9, pp. 747-64.
Schneider, J.P. 1994, 'Sex addiction: Controversy within mainstream addiction medicine, diagnosis based on the DSM-III-R, and physician case histories', Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 19-44.
Tasca, C., Rapetti, M., Carta, M.G. & Fadda, B. 2012, 'Women and hysteria in the history of mental health', Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, vol. 8, pp. 110-9.