Running head: DSM
DSM 5
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5): Recent Changes
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5): Recent Changes
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is considered the gold standard of how mental illness is diagnosed and treated within the psychiatric community of the United States. Although laypersons may think of mental illness or sanity versus insanity as stable classifications, the DSM has, in fact, undergone a number of significant changes over the years. For example, in much earlier editions of the DSM, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness. This is fortunately no longer the case. Changes from the DSM-IV to the DSM-V are far more recent and less extreme, although there have been some notable shifts that are clinically and culturally relevant.
Perhaps the most significant of these is the elimination of Aspergers syndrome as a separate classification and its classication as part of a spectrum of autism disorder. According to Grohol (2013), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) now subsumes Aspergers disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. The elimination of ASD, however, may...
Again, these reflect changes in understanding and social perceptions of these disorders.
The DSM is never absolute and it will likely change again, as greater insight about psychological disorders is revealed both through research and clinical experiences. The goal is both sensitivity to the patient and utility for the clinician. It is also intended to have a protective function, to prevent over-treatment and over-prescription of psychotropic drugs if they are thought to pose an excessive risk and have little utility for the patient.
References
Grohol,…
