Making Sense of Psychiatric Diagnosis: Understanding the DSM-5
About this ebook
The book pairs diagnostic criteria and descriptions for a variety of mental illnesses in the DSM-5 with nineteen first-hand narrative accounts of what it’s like to live with those conditions. The book is also infused with the author’s own experience as a mental health nurse and person living with depression.
With the fusion of diagnostic information, clinical experience, and lived experience, this book offers a unique, well-rounded perspective on the reality of mental illness.
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About the author
Ashley began her career in health care as a pharmacist in 2002, but she quickly returned to school to get a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. During her 15-year nursing career, she specialized in the field of mental health, working primarily with people with serious and persistent mental illness in both hospital and community settings.
Two years into her nursing career, Ashley was hospitalized and diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Since then, she has been passionate about sharing her own experiences to challenge stigma and generate open conversations about mental health and illness.
For her Master of Psychiatric Nursing thesis work, she used a research method called autoethnography to situate her own experiences with mental illness within nursing culture, addressing issues like stigma. She published several papers in peer-reviewed nursing journals based on this work.
Since illness-related disability has brought her nursing career to a close, Ashley has shifted her focus to writing and advocacy efforts online, including on her blog, Mental Health @ Home. She is the author of four books: Psych Meds Made Simple, Making Sense of Psychiatric Diagnosis, Managing the Depression Puzzle, and A Brief History of Stigma.
