GNIF Brain Blogger has a good article describing the DSM -- Diagnostic and Statistcal Manual of Mental Disorders -- that is used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental health issues of all types. Drawbacks and benefits are discussed.
In spite of some rather notable problems with the DSM -- for example, in earlier editions homosexuality was still listed as a mental disorder -- I have to sympathize with the people who write it. In contrast to most other areas, most psychiatric disorders are syndromic in nature and lacking in definitive lab tests. This makes diagnosing them an act of guessing that is expectedly prone to error.
This is not to suggest that things like depression and schizophrenia are not really diseases. I have seen too many patients suffer too much from them to doubt that. However, we need to recognize the limitations of our diagnostic criteria, and try and make them better. Hopefully, someday we will have definitive lab tests, and we can put the whole issue to rest.
- Log in to post comments