The DSM-5 controversies: How should psychologists respond?

Abstract

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) published DSM-5 in May 2013. The revision process was fraught with controversy. In the first section of this article, we briefly summarise the controversies related to the actions of the APA and the Task Force responsible for the revision process. These include allegations of secrecy, accusations of conflicts of interest, apprehension over a promised paradigm shift, concerns about the definition of mental disorder, charges of medicalizing normality, and claims of poor methodology. In the second section, we briefly summarise the controversies related to some of the revisions to the DSM-5 disorders and diagnostic criteria. In the third section, we argue that DSM-5 development was unnecessarily contentious for reasons that could have been foreseen and prevented. Because incremental updates to the DSM-5 are anticipated in the near future (American Psychiatric Association, 2010, APA modifies DSM naming convention to reflect publication changes, Washington, DC: Author), we propose that psychologists external to the revision process should use their unique expertise to assist in resolving the controversies that have beset the DSM-5 and thereby facilitate a less contentious development of the next iteration of the DSM.

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