Consumer Guide Will Help Educate Patients, Public on Mental Disorders

Patients, families, and others now have access to the latest information on mental disorders and available treatments through Understanding Mental Disorders: Your Guide to DSM-5, a comprehensive, easy-to-understand book that APA launched on April 28.

David Hathcox

“We need to have a conversation about mental health in this country, and everyone has to have a greater literacy and understanding of these illnesses,” said former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy at the launch event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Kennedy is one of the country’s leading advocates on mental health issues and wrote the foreword to the 370-page book. “It empowers patients and their loved ones by giving them knowledge and understanding. We won’t make progress if we don’t have this vocabulary.”

Given the general lack of knowledge about mental illness, patients and their families too often struggle when symptoms appear or when hearing a diagnosis, added Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO of Mental Health America. “People don’t know where to begin, and they are looking for basic information from a trusted and reliable source.”

Expanding and deepening public understanding of mental illness could also help inform policy in an era of major change in the health care system, added Kennedy. Parity may be the law of the land, but insurers have not yet fully implemented it in practice, and too many people with mental disorders are ending up in jails or prisons because of their illnesses.

“Lawmakers need to hear from their constituents,” he said.

Understanding Mental Disorders is based on the latest, fifth edition of APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

The book begins with a chapter on several of the common disorders that manifest in childhood, such as autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and intellectual disability. The book reflects the diagnostic classifications of DSM-5 and lists risk factors, warning signs, and symptoms for each disorder. The book also includes brief case studies to illustrate real-life examples of people with these conditions.

“This book explains the medical science behind these conditions,” said Psychiatric News Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., an editorial advisor for the book. “It makes clear that mental illnesses are conditions of the body and that the brain is part of the body.”

A concluding chapter goes into greater detail on treatment options. It describes the different types of clinicians who offer mental health care and the various psychotherapies available to patients. That is followed by brief descriptions of each class of psychiatric medications, their uses, and potential side effects. A full list of DSM-5 diagnoses, medications, a glossary, and additional resources are also included.

David Hathcox

“This book can lead to helpful communication between patients, their families, and their psychiatrists,” noted APA President Paul Summergrad, M.D., chair of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Besides patients and their families, Understanding Mental Disorders may also help other health professionals, law enforcement personnel, educators, coaches, members of the clergy, as well as others who want to educate themselves about mental illness.

All of these people would benefit from the presence of a common language to enable better communication, said Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D., the founder and president of Give an Hour, a nonprofit organization that provides pro bono mental health care for veterans, military service members, and their families. The American Psychiatric Association Foundation is one of Give an Hour’s partners.

“Cultural pressures suggesting that mental illness reflects weakness or vulnerability make us uncomfortable talking about mental health,” said Van Dahlen. “Working with the media could counteract misinformation about mental illness and help bring better understanding of recovery. Then changes in the culture could drive changes in policy.”

“Psychiatrists now have an authoritative source of information on mental disorders to recommend to their patients and loved ones,” said APA President-Elect Renȳe Binder, M.D. “The book will overcome stigma about mental illness because it emphasizes that these are brain disorders and they are treatable.” ■