".a breath of fresh air.this volume does not limit its scope and succeeds admirably for it. Corcoran and Walsh's book should be a required reference for every clinical social worker with an interest in evidence-based practice."--PsycCRITIQUES"Corcoran and Walsh's book provides a mindful introduction to assessment and diagnosis for social workers, informed by the DSM. The authors acknowledge the limitations of this clinical perspective and provide a critical review of the notion of disorder while building bridges between a person-in-environment perspective and the process of assessment and diagnosis."--International Social Work"This volume stands as a rich resource for practitioners to assist in the understanding and utilization of DSM as a necessary tool in the critical phases of assessment and diagnosis in contemporary social work practice. It will serve as a highly useful, indeed necessary, desktop reference and is a critically important contribution in the development and utilization of the DSM in clinical practice.

It also represents social work's unique contribution in theunderstanding and management of DSM categories and assists greatly in demonstrating to colleagues in other professions our distinct role in the understanding and management of mental, emotional, and behavior disorders. A prodigious undertaking by two highly experienced clinicians."--Francis J. Turner,Professor Emeritus, Wilfrid Laurier University"This is a well-written book that fills a gap in the social work literature on the DSM . The authors review the strengths and weaknesses of this much-used diagnostic tool in the context of child, adolescent, and adult populations. Their focus is on a bipsychosocial assessment from a lifespan perspective, while reviewing the evidence-based aspects of diagnosis and assessment. I highly recommend it for clinical practice."--Catheleen Jordan, Professor of SocialWork, University of Texas at Arlington"This book raises the bar high for learning how to do social work practice.

The case materials and applications are priceless, and the text takes books to a new level for demonstrating techniques. It is extraordinary in its approach to helping students learn practice methods, offering the training resources needed for developing competencies in social work practitioners."--Cynthia Franklin, Stiernberg/Spencer Family Professor in Mental Health, University ofTexas at Austin School of Social Work.