Revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Link to February 10 New York Times article, "Revising Book of Disorders of the Mind".

Excerpt: “Anything you put in that book, any little change you make, has huge implications not only for psychiatry but for pharmaceutical marketing, research, for the legal system, for who’s considered to be normal or not, for who’s considered disabled,” said Dr. Michael First, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University who edited the fourth edition of the manual but is not involved in the fifth.

“And it has huge implications for stigma,” Dr. First continued, “because the more disorders you put in, the more people get labels, and the higher the risk that some get inappropriate treatment.”

One powerful reference book.

Link to information about the development process of DSM-V.

Link to Proposed Draft Revisions to DSM Disorders and Criteria.

Link to Public Health Implications of Changes in Psychiatric Classification (September 25-28, 2007) conference notes.