Is the DSM too powerful?
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Psychiatry
Is the DSM too powerful?
Talk about psychiatry with the community
In a BMJ news piece Vikram Patel, a member of WHO's expert advisory group on mental health has claimed that the US's review of psychiatric diagnoses (with the current revision of the Diagnostic and St
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Forums » Open clinical » Psychiatry » Is the DSM too powerful?
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Is the DSM too powerful?
posted at 15/3/2012 10:28 AM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1451
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
In a BMJ news piece Vikram Patel, a member of WHO's expert advisory group on mental health has claimed that the US's review of psychiatric diagnoses (with the current revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) by the American Psychiatric Association is becoming a distraction to health professionals who are trying to tackle the mental health needs of people in low and middle income countries. A main criticisms of the DSM has been that it is seeking to medicalise human nature (grief, shyness etc) and this is causing a distraction to more serious mental health problems. The DSM is an authority on diagnosing mental disorders - but is it too powerful? Is the tinkering of the manual distracting health professionals from established and serious mental disorders? Why do so many psychiatrists use the DSM? |
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Re: Is the DSM too powerful?
posted at 15/3/2012 3:05 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1288
First: 9/12/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
A good friend of mine is a psychologist and he take exception to the DSM attempting to characterize everything. There is a movement to make shyness and other things disorders. Everything in human nature is not a disorder. OCD for example is not always bad. Police often check car and door locks hundreds of times, this is learned behavior, and a survivability issue. DuaneF |
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Re: Is the DSM too powerful?
posted at 3/5/2012 3:57 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1451
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
In this week's BMJ, Des Spence writes about DSM in his 'From the Frontline' column. He says that the claim by CDC that 25% of Americans have a mental illness can only bring about one conclusion: "psychiatry is medicalising normality. The definition of a “mental illness” is one of opinion. These opinions are drawn from a small group of psychiatric oligarchs who author the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Their opinions are polluted, however: 75% of the authors of the new, fifth edition of the DSM report conflicts of interest.2" "The DSM mental health model is a reductionist biological one: behaviours are explained away as “chemical imbalance” and of course open to drug treatment. Thus, tens of millions of normal but inattentive, disruptive, unruly, moody, or shy children are labelled for life as mentally ill."
http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e3135 Can the DSM be trusted? Are the authors running amok with medicalising life? Do psychiatrists have duty of care to the sick and the well? |
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Re: Is the DSM too powerful?
posted at 5/5/2012 1:57 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 107
First: 13/3/2012 Last: 22/5/2013 |
The problem lies in semantics. Psychiatrists, Psychologists, the DSM and government deparments refer to Mental Health and the Mental Health model, when in fact, they wouldn't know mental health if it jumped out and bit them. They are so focussed on mental disorders, mental ill health, that they begin to see everything as abnormal. If all you've got is a hammer, everything you see will look like a nail. In their desperation to make mental illness an acceptable part of life so that sufferers are not marginalised, they are attempting to label everyone. If this is the plan, I suggest they start within their own profession, so that their perceptions can be quite clear when they start on the politicians, the lawyers, the judges, the police , schoolteachers.... Oh, and practice in seeing things, if not normal, then as close to normal as can be, not as far away as is possible.
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Re: Is the DSM too powerful?
posted at 5/5/2012 2:04 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 107
First: 13/3/2012 Last: 22/5/2013 |
And.... from the other side of the mental health perspective. The world is losing its "characters". Those wonderfully different people who used to be prized, treasured, as someone worth knowing, someone who made such a impact on your life, it was with you for ever. Adored, loved, avoided, or kept at a distance, they are the stuff of interesting lives. The difference between "eccentrics" and "crazy peope" or "mental health" (I use the term tongue in cheek) categories, is money. If you are rich, you are eccentric, if you haven't got money, you are mentally deranged. All comes down to money and... to the personal belief and perspective of the person assessing you, and there is no guarantee that the white coat taking your observations is any saner than you are.
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Re: Is the DSM too powerful?
posted at 6/5/2012 3:35 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 19
First: 15/2/2012 Last: 11/7/2012 |
mental disorder is more and more notied by the psychologist , it also a disease , but the treatment is diffrent ,sometime if it will not cured early ,maybe can be danger to cancer.i am not a psychologist , but i care about this kind of topic very much ,because many disease come from mental disorder. |
Forums » Open clinical » Psychiatry » Is the DSM too powerful?
