A psychiatrist speaks: DSM-5, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off

From the Psychiatric Times is an article penned by By Irwin Feinberg, MD
who is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at Davis. Here is an excerpt:

There have been no research advances that demand new diagnoses and syndromes. Despite many intriguing findings, no psychiatric disease can be diagnosed by a biological or psychological test. If the DSM5 committee believes that new genetic or imaging findings justify a revised nomenclature, they should indicate which ones. Instead of creating dangerous new categories, let us discontinue DSM5 development and use its funding to make strong bridges between DSM-IV and ICD 11. We should also work to diminish or eliminate the huge differences between the US and the UK in the incidence of diagnoses like ADHD and pediatric bipolar disorders. These differences make it impossible to compare cross-national biological research on the same diagnostic categories, even in countries with similar cultures and medical traditions.

The proposed DSM5 would be a giant step backwards for psychiatry. American psychiatrists should petition the APA to drop this ill-conceived and badly executed project. read the whole article here