- Live Webinar
*When Symptoms Overlap: Mastering Differential Diagnosis with DSM-5-TR® Mental Disorders
Dr. Margaret Bloom
- Live Webinar
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Tuesday, January 27, 2026
12:00 PM ET – 4:15 PM ET
Overview:
Accurately diagnosing mental disorders can be challenging due to the significant overlap of symptoms across DSM-5-TR® categories. Shared features, such as impaired concentration, irritability, or sleep disturbance, often appear in multiple conditions, requiring clinicians to engage in a systematic and nuanced differential diagnosis process.
In this presentation, Dr. Margaret Bloom will provide mental health professionals with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to differentiate among complex clinical presentations and identify the most accurate DSM-5-TR® diagnoses.
The training reviews current DSM-5-TR® requirements for diagnosis, introduces online assessment tools, and outlines a four-step diagnostic framework to improve precision and clinical reasoning.
Participants will examine common sources of diagnostic error, including cognitive biases and cultural misinterpretations, and learn strategies to strengthen diagnostic accuracy. Through visuals, case studies, and guided practice, attendees will analyze differential diagnoses related to depressive, anxiety, psychotic, and impulsive symptom clusters. Participants are encouraged to bring the DSM-5-TR® Manual for use throughout the seminar.
Objectives:
- Apply a four-step diagnostic process to accurately identify clients’ DSM-5-TR® mental disorders.
- Modify the clinical interview to reduce known sources of clinician error and biases about gender, ethnocultural, and social-economic behaviors.
- Utilize DSM-5-TR® online assessment tools and the text sections in the DSM-5-TR® Manual for each mental disorder to support the accuracy of a differential diagnosis process.
- Identify DSM-5 diagnoses to consider in a differential diagnosis of clients with symptom syndromes of anxiety, depression, psychosis, and impulsivity.
Scope and Limitations Disclosure
This course provides an educational overview of differential diagnosis using the DSM-5-TR® and is intended to strengthen clinicians’ conceptual understanding and clinical reasoning skills. The training reviews diagnostic criteria, common symptom clusters, sources of diagnostic error, and strategies to improve diagnostic accuracy; however, it does not replace formal training in psychiatric diagnosis, supervision, or consultation with qualified professionals. Participants are responsible for applying DSM-5-TR® standards within their licensure scope, organizational policies, and relevant state regulations. While examples, tools, and case studies are provided to support learning, this webinar does not provide certification in diagnostic assessment, nor does it substitute for individualized clinical judgment or legal advice.
Commercial Support Disclosure
Dr. Margaret Bloom maintains a professional career as a psychologist, educator, and presenter. She may reference the DSM-5-TR® Manual and related publicly available assessment tools to support learning; no purchase of additional products or services is required to participate in this webinar. Dr. Bloom receives an honorarium for presenting this course but has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
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Dr. Margaret Bloom
Margaret (Peggy) L. Bloom, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a licensed psychologist and National Certified Counselor (NCC). Peggy is an elected fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), Division 17, Counseling Psychology, and past president of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES). Prior to Marquette University, Peggy held positions of Dean of Education, Loyola University Chicago; Department Chair, Counseling, Research and Educational Psychology, University of Memphis; and on the faculty of Boston University Overseas, University of Florida, and University of Hawaii. Dr. Bloom began her career as a psychiatric nurse and holds earned graduate degrees in nursing, counseling, and counseling psychology. With her multidisciplinary background, Dr. Bloom brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to her presentations. She has provided seminars for mental health professionals on the diagnosis of mental disorders using the DSM in 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
National Approvals
eCare BHI, as the accredited and approved sponsor, maintains responsibility for all the programs and must abide by each board’s continuing education guidelines.
Professional Counselors — The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
E Care Behavioral Health Institute has been approved by NBCC as an approved Continuing Education Provider. ACEP No. 6703. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC are clearly identified. E care Behavioral Health Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Addiction Professionals — NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC)
E Care Behavioral Health Institute is officially on file with NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) as an Approved Education Provider. They are formally known as NAADAC Provider #139138. Please note that E care Behavioral Health Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.
Social Workers — Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
E Care Behavioral Health Institute, #1706, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. E Care Behavioral Health Institute maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 06-03-2020 – 06-03-2026.
CE Broker
CE Broker is a continuing education tracking system in which licensees track their compliance and report their completed CE hours credit (CE Broker Tracking #50-33336)
State Approvals
States that Accept ASWB-ACE Approved Providers |
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| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut |
| Delaware | District Of Columbia | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois |
| Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland |
| Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska |
| Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio |
| Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee |
| Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin |
| Wyoming | ||||||
States that Accepts NBCC Approved Courses: |
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| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut |
| Delaware | District Of Columbia | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Indiana |
| Iowa | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Missouri | New Hampshire | New Jersey |
| New Mexico | Ohio | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota |
| Tennessee | Texas | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin | |
- Nevada CPC’s and MFT’s accept ASWB-approved training
- North Dakota Board Of Counselor Examiners LAPC and LAPCS accept ASWB approved training
- Rhode Island Board of Mental Health Counselors and Marriage & Family Therapists MHC’s accept ASWB approved training
- Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council LPC and LPCS accept ASWB approved training
- Utah Division of Professional Licensing – CMHC’s accept ASWB approved training
- Washington State Department of Mental Health MHC’s accept ASWB approved training
- Wisconsin Council on Mental Health LPCS accepts ASWB-approved training
States that Accept NAADAC Approved Providers |
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| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | Delaware | Hawaii | Indiana |
| Kentucky | Maine | Massachusetts | Minnesota | Montana | Nevada | New Jersey |
| New Jersey | New Mexico | North Carolina | North Dakota | Oregon | Rhode Island | Tennessee |
| Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Wyoming |
States that Accept APA Approved Providers |
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| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Delaware | District Of Columbia |
| Florida | Georgia | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas |
| Kentucky | Louisiana | Maryland | Massachusetts | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri |
| Montana | Nebraska | New Jersey | New Mexico | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma |
| Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | Tennessee | Utah | Vermont | Virginia |
| Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming | |||
Who This Training is For:
This program is intended for mental health professionals such as Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors, Addiction Counselors, & MFT’s. Psychologists are encouraged to verify if this specific course meets their board’s approval requirements.
CE Guarantee
If you miss the live event or are dissatisfied with the session, we are happy to offer a course credit transfer to another course of equal CE value
Replay Access
After the live session, we'll send you the recording for your own resource that you can review later at your own pace
Interactive Experience
Enjoy your learning experience with engaging activities such as group discussion, vignettes, roleplaying, video demos, etc.
If you're from Florida, Ohio, or South Carolina, we'll report your CEs to the CE broker
How It Works
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Frequently Asked Questions
Once you register for this training, the course will immediately appear in your account dashboard. Inside, you’ll see a countdown timer. And once the scheduled time arrives, the live session will begin from there!
Of course! If you sign up but miss the live session… The recording will be added to your account Dashboard within 48 hours after the live session with an email notification of instructions. You will also receive home-study CE credits for watching the recording.
Yes, we have limited seating on our live webinars to keep the sessions as interactive & engaged as possible. So be sure to claim your spot before it’s too late!
No. Live webinar attendees are not required to take or pass a quiz to receive a CE certificate. (But yes for recorded webinars). You are required to pass a quiz with an 80% passing grade with 3 attempts only for recorded webinars.
Yes, we are approved Continuing Education providers by ASWB, NBCC, NAADAC, APA, & many state boards.
Programs that do not qualify for ASWB, NBCC, NAADAC, & APA are clearly identified. eCare Behavioral Health Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
To view all of our board approvals, click here
Live Webinar CE Courses:
- Refunds are only eligible if the refund was requested 48 hours before the scheduled live event.
- If the customer missed the live event, or was unsatisfied from it – We can transfer credits to another course of their choice (with same CE credit amount).
Unlimited CEs for $297/year
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