DSM-5-TR Updates

Description

Diagnosing mental disorders isn’t just a checklist exercise—it’s a powerful act that can open doors to healing or unintentionally reinforce harm. With the release of DSM-5-TR, clinicians face new responsibilities: to understand not just what has changed in the manual, but why these changes matter in the lives of real people navigating systems shaped by culture, trauma, loss, and bias.

This course invites you to move beyond the surface of diagnostic updates and into a richer understanding of how our tools reflect our values—and how to wield those tools ethically and effectively in a rapidly evolving clinical landscape. If you’re a clinician providing behavioral health services, this training offers critical insight to help you apply the DSM-5-TR with confidence, clarity, and compassion.

Dr. Jason Buckles, Ph.D., brings over two decades of experience at the intersection of intellectual disability, co-occurring mental health diagnoses, and diagnostic education. Having served as a clinical director, consultant, and university instructor, Dr. Buckles is uniquely positioned to guide learners through the clinical, cultural, and ethical dimensions of DSM-5-TR updates.

In this self-paced course, Dr. Buckles presents DSM revisions through a human-centered lens, blending historical context, clinical examples, and sociocultural critique. He invites learners to think critically about the impact of diagnostic labels while equipping them with practical tools for integrating DSM-5-TR changes into everyday practice.

Topics covered include the evolving language of gender and race in diagnostic criteria, the addition of prolonged grief disorder, new coding guidance for suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury, and emerging attention to the influence of discrimination in mental health assessments. Clinicians will gain deeper insight into both the rationale and real-world impact of these changes.

Key Takeaways:

• Navigate DSM changes with confidence: Understand the rationale behind DSM-5-TR updates and how they apply to your daily clinical work.

• Enhance cultural competence in diagnosis: Learn to identify and mitigate bias, racism, and stereotyping within diagnostic processes.

• Apply ethical diagnostic practices: Strengthen your ability to balance objectivity and empathy when using diagnostic tools.

Why this course?

• Expert-led and grounded in real practice: Dr. Buckles has decades of experience training clinicians in DSM use across populations with complex needs.

• Trusted CE provider: Telehealth Certification Institute is known for excellence in continuing education and supports thousands of clinicians nationwide.

• Timely and essential knowledge: DSM-5-TR reflects major sociocultural shifts—understanding these changes is vital for responsible clinical care.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the general process and intent of the creation of DSM-5-TR

• List the general changes to an array of diagnostic categories and coding considerations

• Explain specifically the addition of and related concerns regarding prolonged grief disorder

• Discuss recent literature on these topics

• Illustrate ways to consider the ethical and responsible application of DSM-5-TR processes

Whether you’re revisiting the DSM after years of practice or encountering these changes for the first time, this course offers essential context and tools for delivering more informed, inclusive, and ethical care. We welcome you to engage in this timely exploration of DSM-5-TR and deepen your diagnostic practice.

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Format and Access

This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Instruction consists of 1.5 hours of video instruction and a post-test.

Course Details

Availability: 

From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.

Who Should Attend: 

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

Teaching Methods: 

This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.

How to Attend: 

Course access and completion instructions.

Instructor and Disclosures

Instructor

About Dr. Jason Buckles, Ph.D.

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 PhD 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 owner of Talkabout Inc., a Behavior Consultation agency specializing in supports 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, 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 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 1.5 continuing education hours 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.

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 marriage and family therapists #MFT-0135, effective May 8, 2025.

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 1.5 clinical continuing education credits.

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 90 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 is a non-interactive, self-study course.

Accommodations and Policies

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