Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition

DSM-5 strives to fulfill the need of clinicians, patients, families, and researchers for a clear and concise description of each mental disorder, which has been operationalized using diagnostic criteria that are supplemented by dimensional measures of severity and is accompanied by a digest of information about the diagnosis, including risk factors and culture- and sex- and gender-related issues.
Clinical training and experience are needed to use DSM for determining a clinical diagnosis.

The diagnostic criteria identify symptoms and signs comprising affects, behaviors, cognitive functions, and personality traits along with physical signs, symptom combinations (syndromes), and durations that require clinical expertise to differentiate from normal variation and transient responses to stress