Discover the art of getting the diagnosis you need while building the rapport you want.
ONLINE COURSE with 10 hours of video featuring clinical demonstrations of 11 diagnoses, TR updated criteria and codes
Whether you love the DSM or hate it, accurate diagnosis is a vital clinical skill. Now you can get a comprehensive course in the DSM-5, the TR updates, its uses and misuses, ethical considerations, and step-by-step instructions in psychodiagnostic interviewing. Using vignettes of clients struggling with some of the most common diagnoses, Jason Buckles and Victor Yalom show you how to obtain diagnostic information while still creating a strong alliance with clients.
Clinical vignettes and rich discussions distill the essence of each diagnosis as well as important rule-outs, comorbidities, updated cultural factors, suicide risk data, and common challenges that can arise in the diagnostic process. See how to gather targeted information to confidently arrive at an accurate diagnosis, without sacrificing empathy or connection.
Who should takes the course
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Addiction Counselors
- School Psychologists
- Psychotherapists
- Therapists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Physicians
- Case Managers
- Other Helping Professionals
A Comprehensive Guide to the Uses and Misuses of the DSM-5 Classification System
Step-by-Step Instruction
A detailed outline of how to conduct a diagnostic interview as well as helpful tips for effective phrasing of assessment questions.
Emphasis on Client Care
Learn how to destigmatize symptoms and diagnoses while focusing on improving your client’s overall mental health.
Clinical Demonstrations
10 hours of video covering 11 common DSM-5 diagnoses, including clinical demonstrations and expert commentary.
Practical Training Resources
Skill-building exercises to reinforce your understanding of each diagnosis and strengthen your interviewing skills.
Hone In on Specific Information
Get tips for gathering specific clinical information while maintaining a strong therapeutic alliance.
Take a Look Inside This Groundbreaking Course

Psychiatric Diagnosis and Interviewing
Whether you love the DSM or hate it, as a clinician you need to understand how to use it and how to avoid misusing it. Through clear step-by-step instructions and clinical demonstrations, you’ll learn:
- The benefits and drawbacks of conceptualizing problems as disorders
- How to push for more specific information while attending to the alliance
- How to determine or rule out diagnoses
- The dangers of diagnosing culturally normative behaviors as disorders

Diagnosing PTSD, Adjustment, Generalized Anxiety and Panic Disorders
Watch diagnostic interviews with clients struggling with four of the more common diagnoses encountered in clinical practice. You’ll learn:
- Tips for destigmatizing the symptoms clients are experiencing
- To recognize when normal human reactions become impairmennts
- How to differentiate between diagnoses that share similar symptoms
- How to navigate the subjectivity inherent in making diagnostic judgment calls

Diagnosing Depressive, Bipolar, and Alcohol Use Disorders
Meet three individuals and one couple, all with the life struggles and details that demonstrate what these clusters of symptoms look like when they reach a diagnosable level. You’ll learn:
- How to rule out other disorders that sometimes present as depression
- The differences between Bipolar I and II
- When deression warrants a major depressive diagnosis
- Tips for assessing suicidality while maintaining rapport
- Tips for engaging clients with empathy, self-disclosure, and even humor

Diagnosing Anorexia, Schizophrenia and Borderline Personality Disorder
Explore the specialized skills required to gather information and establish rapport with clients struggling with these challenging disorders. You’ll learn:
- What to do when clients are resistant, hostile, or unable to self-reflect
- The necessity of follow-up interviews, as well as input from medical personnel and family members
- How to attend to the client’s pace while obtaining critical information
- Tips for recording symptoms and experiences in a nonjudgmental, objective manner
What You Get in This Course
- 10+ hours of videos featuring 11 clinical demonstrations
- Voiceover commentaries and discussions for behind-the-scenes insight
- Supplemental resources to consolidate learning and promote lateral thinking
- Downloadable transcripts of all videos
- Instant access to all course materials
Meet the Course Expert:

Jason Buckles, PhD, is the executive director of A Better Way of Living, an agency that provides support for people with intellectual disability and concurrent behavioral and/or mental health conditions. He has taught psychiatric assessment and diagnosis at New Mexico Highlands University since 2002 and in the special education department at The University of New Mexico since 2015.

Victor Yalom, PhD, is the founder and resident cartoonist of Psychotherapy.net. He is a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of clinical experience and has conducted workshops in existential-humanistic and group therapy in the US, Mexico, and China. He has produced over 100 training videos in psychotherapy, counseling, and addictions treatment.
13 reviews for The DSM-5 and Psychodiagnostic Interviewing, with TR Updates