DSM-5: Friend or Foe? A Comprehensive Breakdown of Changes and Controversies

Does the DSM-5, which was published in May 2013, represent a fundamental improvement in how disorders are conceptualized and diagnosed, or are the changes in the new manual flawed, unsafe, scientifically unsound, and costly to our society? Is the revision revolutionizing diagnosis and treatment, or was its process just an exercise in moving a few deck chairs on a sinking ship?

Every previous revision of the DSM caused controversy. But never has the process provoked warfare so brutal with attacks coming from within the profession during and after the DSM-5 revision process. Discussions about the revised manual have stretched well beyond the world of academic psychiatry and have become a matter of intense public interest as well as media coverage.

This intermediate level course provides extensive review of the DSM-5 and how it is different from DSM-IV.It details the new diagnostic categories and discusses their potential impact on clinical work. It also reviews the intense criticism of the DSM-5, including its decision-making process and concerns with its applicability, validity, and whether some of the untested diagnoses have, in fact, turned everyday life problems into mental disorders.

The course also attends to the inevitable important questions, such as what impact has the DSM-5 on clinical practice? Will there be a loss of insurance reimbursements or funding for certain disorders? And can we expect that insurance companies will pay for the treatment of additional diagnoses?

This informative, four-part course explores these and many more questions by providing the most up-to-date information. First, it provides an overview of the manual’s new organization, coding, and the most relevant changes in the diagnoses of psychopathology from the DSM‐IV-TR to the DSM‐5. In addition, it focuses on the concrete differences in diagnostic criteria that effect clinical practice. Clinicians will also learn about the practical implications of the revised manual in the context of the relationship between the DSM and the ICD. Finally, the substantial controversies around the DSM in general, as well as its latest revision, are discussed. Additional resources and references are provided for further study, but they are not part of the course.