This digest notes that there has been an increase in the number of graduate community mental health counseling programs requiring course work in abnormal behavior, psychopathology, and psychodiagnosis and that, as a result of this increase, utilization of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) also has been dramatically increased in counselor education training. Both advantages and disadvantages to using the DSM-IV within the counseling profession as well as major psychodiagnostic features of the DSM-IV are discussed. It is noted that each DSM-IV classification contains specific diagnostic criteria, the essential features and clinical information associated with the disorder, as well as differential diagnostic considerations, and includes information concerning diagnostic and associated features; culture, age, and gender characteristics; prevalence, incidence, course and complications of the disorder; familial patterns; and differential diagnosis. The 15 categories of mental disorders contained in the DSM-IV are listed and example given for each category. The five-axis multiaxial system by which DSM-IV diagnoses are coded is explained. Finally, sociocultural implications of using DSM-IV diagnoses are considered. The digest concludes that an up-to-date understanding of the DSM-IV and its implications in counseling will be imperative to the effective and ethical delivery of professional community mental health counseling services. (NB)