Here are 12 tips on how best to ensure accurate and safe diagnosis, based on the introduction to Dr Allen Frances' recent book, The Essentials of Psychiatric Diagnosis.
Some believe that DSM-5 is filled with glaring mistakes in wording and coding on nearly every page—including some that will undoubtedly cause great confusion.
This past month has been disastrous for health of mental health. One embarrassment has followed another-- leading to a crisis of confidence that is potentially dangerous for those who rely on psychiatric care.
"Psychiatric diagnosis is certainly imperfect -- but so is much of diagnosis throughout medicine. And whatever the current limitations, psychiatric diagnosis is useful and essential. There are no 'paradigm shifts possible til we learn a lot more. To imply otherwise is misleading and confusing to patients."
Education and discussion will be the most powerful ways to mitigate the risks of DSM-5. The more people know about psychiatric diagnosis, the more safe, accurate, and useful it will be.
The flat out rejection of DSM-5 by National Institute of Mental Health is a sad moment for mental health--and an unsafe one for our patients. The APA and NIMH are both letting us down, failing to be safe custodians for the mental health needs of our country.
