Differential Diagnosis in the DSM Framework: Depressive Disorders

Description

This course is a live, interactive webinar held on December 18, 2026, from 12pm-1pm Eastern Standard Time.

Registration closes at midnight (EST) the day before the event

Depressive symptoms can appear similar across diagnoses, yet subtle differences in duration, course, context, and causation can substantially affect case formulation and treatment planning. A structured approach to differential diagnosis helps clinicians move beyond the broad label of “depression” and identify the diagnosis that most accurately reflects the client’s presentation.

This focused training provides an opportunity to revisit the foundations of DSM-based diagnostic reasoning while strengthening the practical judgment required to distinguish among depressive disorders and related conditions. By applying a careful, replicable process, clinicians can approach complex presentations with greater clarity and develop treatment plans grounded in a more complete understanding of the client’s symptoms and history.

Jason Buckles, Ph.D., LPCC, brings more than two decades of experience in clinical practice, graduate-level teaching, behavioral consultation, and statewide systems development. He has taught DSM assessment to counseling students, provided statewide training on co-occurring mental health conditions, and served as an expert consultant to the New Mexico Department of Health, giving him extensive experience translating diagnostic principles into clinically useful decision-making.

Dr. Buckles uses a straightforward, lecture-based approach grounded in current literature, practice-based examples, focused assessment questions, and brief case material. Rather than presenting diagnosis as a process of simply matching symptoms to a checklist, he demonstrates how clinicians can use DSM-5-TR logic, longitudinal information, exclusion criteria, and contextual variables to arrive at a defensible best-fit diagnosis.

The course examines the challenges involved in differentiating major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder with major depressive episodes, and substance/medication-induced depressive disorder. Participants will review symptom thresholds, duration requirements, longitudinal course, and the temporal relationship between symptoms and substance or medication exposure. The training also addresses the importance of considering bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, medical conditions, grief, adjustment disorder, and substance-related causes; provides example assessment questions; and concludes with brief case examples and a practical diagnostic algorithm. Particular attention is given to common errors, including treating depression as a single diagnosis, relying too heavily on cross-sectional symptoms, overlooking changes over time, and assuming that co-occurring substance use establishes causation.

Key Takeaways:

• Apply a structured diagnostic process: Use duration, symptom thresholds, longitudinal course, temporal relationships, and exclusion criteria to differentiate among depressive disorder presentations.
• Build a more complete differential: Consider bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, medical conditions, grief, adjustment disorder, and substance-related causes before determining the best-fit diagnosis.
• Avoid common diagnostic traps: Recognize the risks of treating depression as a unitary condition, relying only on current symptoms, or assuming that comorbidity establishes the cause of a depressive presentation.

Why This Course?

• Focused clinical application: This one-hour training concentrates on the distinctions most likely to complicate depressive disorder assessment, helping clinicians strengthen an essential skill without overcomplicating the process.
• Experienced DSM instruction: Dr. Buckles draws on decades of clinical consultation, graduate teaching, and statewide training experience to make complex diagnostic reasoning understandable and relevant to practice.
• Continuing education with purpose: Telehealth Certification Institute provides clinically relevant education designed to support professional growth, ethical practice, and higher-quality behavioral healthcare..

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate MDD, PDD, PDD with major depressive episodes, and substance/medication-induced depressive disorder using DSM-5-TR logic.
• Use duration, symptom threshold, longitudinal course, temporal relationship to substances/medications, and exclusion criteria as the principal discriminators.
• Construct a differential that actively considers bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, medical conditions, grief, adjustment disorder, and substance-related causes.
• Recognize diagnostic traps: treating 'depression' as a unitary diagnosis, relying on cross-sectional symptoms, and assuming comorbidity proves causation.

Regardless of theoretical orientation, clinicians benefit from a reliable method for determining which diagnosis best accounts for a client’s depressive symptoms and overall clinical picture. This training offers a practical opportunity to return to the fundamentals, refine differential-diagnosis skills, and approach future assessments with greater clarity and confidence.

Format and Access

This course is a live, interactive webinar.

Course Details

Schedule: (listed in Eastern Daylight Time)

• 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm Lecture
• 12:50 pm - 1:00 pm Q&A

How to Attend: 

Course access and completion instructions.

Who Should Attend: 

This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.

Teaching Methods: 

This is a live, interactive webinar. Enrollment includes access to live event(s) but does not include recordings of the presentations.

Instructor and Disclosures

Instructor

About Jason Buckles, Ph.D., LPCC

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Jason earned his Bachelor’s in Psychology at New York University in 1996. While there, he worked on diagnostic projects at Bellevue Hospital and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He earned his Master’s in Counseling at The University of New Mexico in 2001 and his Ph.D. in Special Education at The University of New Mexico in 2016. His dissertation focused on the experiences of direct support professionals who support people with sexually challenging behavior. Since 2002 Jason has been the owner of Talkabout Inc., a Behavior Consultation agency specializing in support for people with intellectual disability and concurrent mental health diagnoses. From 2012 through 2016, Jason was the Statewide Clinical Director of the New Mexico Department of Health – Bureau of Behavioral Support, overseeing statewide systems of behavioral support consultation. From 2016-2019 Jason was the Executive Director of A Better Way of Living, a CQL-accredited agency that provides life-wide supports for people with intellectual disability. He is currently a contracting consultant with the New Mexico Department of Health, where he supervises the sexual risk screening program, and the ongoing development of behavior support systems, and provides statewide trainings on co-occurring mental health conditions for people with intellectual disability, among other topics. For several years Jason has also served as the Program Manager for the Developmental Disability/Mental Illness project with the University of New Mexico. For most of the past 20 years, he was a part-time instructor at both The University of New Mexico, teaching Introduction to Intellectual Disability, and at New Mexico Highlands University, teaching DSM Assessment for Counselors.

Disclosure Statement: 

The instructor(s) for this course receive compensation for their services. There are no reported conflicts of interest to disclose.

CE Hours

Credit Hours:

This course consists of 1 continuing education hour of credit.

Counselors:

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No, 6693.  Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Mental Health Counselors. #MHC-0048.

Marriage and Family Therapists:

Many MFT licensing boards accept our courses or one of the approvals which we have from professional associations.  You can check with your board to determine if your licensing board would accept this course.

Social Workers:

Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, #1609, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 05/02/2024 – 05/02/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1 clinical continuing education credit.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Social Workers #SW-0435.

Addiction Professionals:
 

This course has been approved by Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #193104, Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is responsible for all aspects of the programming.

Psychologists:

Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0128.

Art Therapists:

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Creative Arts Therapists #CAT-0093.

Other Professionals:

This course qualifies for 60 minutes of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations.  Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

This course is an-interactive, live online webinar.

Participants may request a printed version of their certificate of completion to be delivered by mail. A shipping/handling fee of $6.95 will be charged per request. Shipping internationally may require an additional charge.

Agreement

By registering for this event you are agreeing to the following:

• 24 hour notice is required if you are not able to make it to a live event. Recordings are not provided to webinar registrants.
• To update and test using Zoom.us/test before the event to ensure you are ready for the event.
• Since this is a live interactive event it means that your interaction during the event is expected.  Your name and image will be visible to other participants during the live event. You will NOT be included in any recording made.
• An evaluation must be completed within one week of the event. Continuing Education credit(s) cannot be issued unless you attend the event and the evaluation is submitted.  (Evaluation is not mandatory for APA hours)
• Partial CE credits are not possible; therefore you are required to be present throughout the event in order to receive CE credits.
• Respect all other participants during the event as though you would if you were sitting with the other attendees at a conference table:
  • Dress appropriately
  • Be in a private location void of distractions
  • Do not multitask
  • Do not drive during an event
  • Remain on mute unless you are sharing with the group

Accommodations and Policies

Close Captioning is available for live webinars and recorded video presentations.

You can click on the following links to view our policies:

• Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities.
• Cancellation Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Support Options
• Disclosure Statement