Proposed changes to the psychiatric classification: Towards DSM5
Publication Details
Rey, J. M. (2010). Proposed changes to the psychiatric classification: Towards DSM5. Australasian Psychiatry, 18(4), 309-313. doi:10.3109/10398562.2010.498518
Abstract
Objectives: The World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association are revising their classifications of mental disorders – a costly, time-consuming exercise with wide implications. This article seeks to make practitioners aware of the proposed changes, which have been posted on the internet and are freely available.
Conclusions: Taxonomic changes create strong emotions; the ones proposed for DSM5, though far from drastic, are no exception. The main diagnostic categories remain largely the same as in DSM-IV. Most of the modifications entail moving specific disorders from one section to another, deleting disorders that have had little practical use, or changing the name. The substance-related disorders and personality disorders sections have been changed the most. It remains to be seen whether the proposed new categories – several of them controversial – will make it to the final version.
Keywords
peer-reviewed, DSM5, psychiatric classification, taxonomy
