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DSM terminology quick reference (free PDF)
The words you meet in a psychiatric diagnosis, explained in plain English.
What's inside
An A-to-Z run through the vocabulary that surrounds a DSM-5-TR diagnosis: what diagnostic criteria are, what a specifier does, what severity and clinically significant actually mean, and words like episode, onset, course, remission, relapse, prodrome, and differential diagnosis. It explains the words the manual uses, in our own plain English.
Who it's for
Anyone reading a diagnosis, an evaluation, or a clinical note and running into words that go unexplained, plus students and trainees learning to read psychiatric documentation.
Questions
Does this reproduce the DSM's diagnostic criteria?
No, and deliberately so. The DSM-5-TR is copyrighted by the American Psychiatric Association. This reference explains the vocabulary used around a diagnosis in our own words. For the actual criteria, use the manual itself with a qualified professional.
What does it mean to meet criteria for a diagnosis?
It means a person's symptoms, how long they've lasted, and how much they interfere with daily life line up with the defined requirements for that condition, and that other explanations have been considered and ruled out.
Who is this for?
Anyone trying to read their own diagnosis or clinical notes without a translator, and students or trainees learning the language of psychiatric documentation.
Who wrote and reviewed this?
It comes from Shrinktionary, written and medically reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, a board certified psychiatrist. Dr. Refai founded shrinkMD, the clinical arm of The Shrink Network, and we mention that in the spirit of full disclosure. It's education, not medical advice.
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