The Ever-Evolving DSM

Follow these steps to complete the assignment.

In a blank document, complete the following reflection and answer the questions. Your reflection should be about 250 words in total.
Choose one of the following obsolete mental health disorders. Research the chosen disorder and write a few sentences on what it was, why it was classified as a mental disorder and why it is now obsolete:

Male hysteria

Dysaesthesia aethiopica

The vapors

If the DSM (or the field of psychology in general) can evolve to no longer include “mental disorders” that it previously classified as such, are mental illnesses social constructs? Does that mean we should get rid of mental illness labels entirely? (i.e. are there benefits to having these labels that can really help people?)

Justify your answer using your textbook or another source. Don’t forget to cite your sources using APA style.

Do psychologists have an ethical obligation to continually weigh the adverse effects of the “mental disorder” label? What does it say when they reverse a previous decision?

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If you’d like to listen to the episode of Radiolab that discusses this topic, it can be found here: Unerased—Dr. Davison and the Gay Cure (Links to an external site.).