[katlyn71449]

I'm sixteen years old and have no training in psychology, other than a couple of high school level classes. They don't have a copy of the DSM V at my library so I thought it I should ask before I bought it. I'm very interested in psychology and mental disorders. I'm just wondering if I'll be able to understand it without any knowledge of psychology and if it would be interesting.

Also, are there any books on psychology that you would recommend to someone with very little knowledge in the field? Thank you so much!

[glok]

Welcome to the Community, katlyn71449. Before buying the DSM V, perhaps a book like this one might be useful?

The Handy Psychology Answer Book | Psych Central

[pegasus]

Hello katlyn71449, welcome to Psych Central.

I'm not sure why you would need to buy the DSM V at this point. There are many resources here online. Of course Psych Central provides a mass of information. Psych Central - Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD & psychology information. You might also like to visit the American Psychological Association (APA)

[Sometimes psychotic]

I would not buy a dsm...they are very expensive and are pretty much a list of symptoms to classify various mental health conditions....you can find the basic ideas everywhere on the web. It would be about as fun as reading a dictionary..it's doesn't help you understand why any of this happens on a psychological level or even a medical one.

[Perna]

You might want to check out books here: http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/ and check out the American Psychological Association's student pages: Students

[ThisWayOut]

I bought a DSM at your age... but I was also a huge psych geek and knew that was what I was going into as a profession. Looking back, it was a waste of $50 since it keeps changing. There can be some interesting disorders to read about, but it doesn't tell you much other than diagnostic criteria. You don't want to go diagnosing yourself or anyone else
As for good intro books, most intro texts are pretty much the same. Very little has changed in the basic texts over the years, so you can grab any intro text and read away. If you are interested in some more info on psych disorders, look for an abnormal psych text. It can be a bit heady, but interesting. That I would try to find a newer version of though, as a lot changes in what they publish and agree on.
There's a lot of info on the web, but I would recommend sticking to more reputable sites like apa.org, the one for the american counseling association, or national association of social workers, and not wikipedia or anything like that. pc also has a lot of good info (though maybe stay away from the blogs if you are looking for more educational stuff. I find the blogs a lot like the psychology today website and any other forum geared towards attracting readers. There's good basic info on there, but nothing too in-depth).

Is there anything you are particularly interested in? Or just looking to expand your psych knowledge?

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by katlyn71449

I'm sixteen years old and have no training in psychology, other than a couple of high school level classes. They don't have a copy of the DSM V at my library so I thought it I should ask before I bought it. I'm very interested in psychology and mental disorders. I'm just wondering if I'll be able to understand it without any knowledge of psychology and if it would be interesting.

Also, are there any books on psychology that you would recommend to someone with very little knowledge in the field? Thank you so much!

the DSM V isnt exactly for teen agers. its a book written for treatment providers...doctors, therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists. so it uses a different terminology / language then what non treatment providers use...my point is you probably would read the pages and end up more confused then ever and it may possibly scare the ........out of you.

here is an example of what you will see in the DSM 5 if you were reading up on the dissociative disorders in the DSM 5....

http://forums.psychcentral.com/disso...s-dsm-5-a.html

most teen agers who read my DSM 5 and see the word possession think this means they have spirits and ghosts like horror movies type possessions but thats not what that means in the diagnostic criteria for DID..

Another problem I encounter when I am talking with the teen agers where I work is the forgetfulness diagnostic criteria in that link... they start thinking things like forgetting to do their homework may be somethings wrong, or forgetting to call a friend or forgetting to take the trash out....

being able to understand the DSM 5 can be quite complicated and you really should have your treatment provider go through it with you rather than you spending the $200.00 plus shipping and handling costs, and tax costs if you are in a place that has taxes on purchases like books.

my suggestion is talk with your treatment providers, they can show you what the DSM 5 says about your mental disorders and they can explain it in terms that you will be able to understand.

[katlyn71449]

Thanks everyone! I've decided not to buy the DSM and instead get The Handy Psychology Answer Book (I already have The Handy Philosophy Answer Book!) and possibly another psychology book (am still looking at some other introductory psychology books). And as for what I'm interested in specifically, I'm probably most interested in abnormal and social psychology.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by katlyn71449

Thanks everyone! I've decided not to buy the DSM and instead get The Handy Psychology Answer Book (I already have The Handy Philosophy Answer Book!) and possibly another psychology book (am still looking at some other introductory psychology books). And as for what I'm interested in specifically, I'm probably most interested in abnormal and social psychology.

One great way to get started is to buy out of date textbooks they are dirt cheap because no one will use the old ones for classes but might only be a few years out if date....the theories do change but not so much you can't learn from an older book. I used to get these at Barnes and noble...for me it was chemistry but as long as you're not buying stuff from the 70s I would think you'd be ok for psych...

[Travelinglady]

Hi! Of course, colleges offer intro psych text books, so you might see about getting a college textbook online. They are usually called something like "Introduction to Psychology" or as in your particular interest, "Introduction to Abnormal Psychology." Get the newest one you can, since you would want one that takes into account the new DSM.

(I used to be a college professor.)

Texts do run high, alas. I about fall over when my college-aged son tells me the prices these days.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by Travelinglady

Hi! Of course, colleges offer intro psych text books, so you might see about getting a college textbook online. They are usually called something like "Introduction to Psychology" or as in your particular interest, "Introduction to Abnormal Psychology." Get the newest one you can, since you would want one that takes into account the new DSM.

(I used to be a college professor.)

Texts do run high, alas. I about fall over when my college-aged son tells me the prices these days.

Would they really incorporate the dsm 5 within a year of release? Having written textbook chapters I think that seems kind of fast...took us about 6 months to write the text for one chapter....by the time we got a revised version of text back it had been about 6 months and we really didn't want to add new info since it had already been edited then then the collection of everything from the other authors took about a year so the text was about 2 years out of date before even being published.

One option though if you do want a newer textbook is just to rent it which you can do on amazon....using the kindle reader. It's a lot cheaper.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

Would they really incorporate the dsm 5 within a year of release? Having written textbook chapters I think that seems kind of fast...took us about 6 months to write the text for one chapter....by the time we got a revised version of text back it had been about 6 months and we really didn't want to add new info since it had already been edited then then the collection of everything from the other authors took about a year so the text was about 2 years out of date before even being published.

One option though if you do want a newer textbook is just to rent it which you can do on amazon....using the kindle reader. It's a lot cheaper.

some textbooks do include the new DSM 5 classifications/diagnostics and information. the DSM 5 was in the works for many years and the authors of these texts books purposely left space available for its inclusion. that way once the DSM 5 was completed and ready for use all that was needed was to copy those pages that were needed in the texts, and paste them to the right blank pages. things are not so complicated now that we have computer programs like microsoft office or other word processing programs, where its easy to edit, change things with just a click of a key command on the computer. what used to take many months to do can now be accomplished in just a few minutes to a few hours depending upon what the editing process is.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by amandalouise

some textbooks do include the new DSM 5 classifications/diagnostics and information. the DSM 5 was in the works for many years and the authors of these texts books purposely left space available for its inclusion. that way once the DSM 5 was completed and ready for use all that was needed was to copy those pages that were needed in the texts, and paste them to the right blank pages. things are not so complicated now that we have computer programs like microsoft office or other word processing programs, where its easy to edit, change things with just a click of a key command on the computer. what used to take many months to do can now be accomplished in just a few minutes to a few hours depending upon what the editing process is.

Considering I just revised/updated a desk reference chapter like 2 years ago I was using word and endnote but the amount of new material I had to interpret and incorporate over say 5 years was huge...but then I do science so maybe things just change faster for us. There is no way I could have copied or pasted anything without violating copyright. I think we needed publisher permission for anything more than a couple of sentences even if it was from our own published work.

[Heather Unbalanced]

Hey, girl.
I think its great youre interested in psychology! I major in it =D

as for the DSM-V...its a very expensive book. however, i downloaded my copy for free as a pdf. it should not be hard to find online at all.
as for the textbooks, if there is a college in your area, check out their library. they should be open to the public. you wont be able to check any books out, but you can view them in the library.
if that is not an option for you
you can always visit chegg.com or any website similar to that that sells college textbooks.