Skill using the American Psychiatric Association's 2000 "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Text Revision" is essential for increased professional credibility, career marketability, and third-party reimbursement of professional counselors. This article focuses on how to improve counselors' skill with the manual, by providing definitions, empirical demonstrations, and strategies for reducing three forms of bias that can lead to misdiagnosis. (Contains 74 references.) (Author)