Sunday, December 16, 2012

Mental Illness Definitions: Take Another Look

After 13 years of deliberation, the American Psychiatric Association has made significant changes to its definitions of various conditions in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Examples:
Hoarders: For the first time, hoarding disorder will be included as a diagnosis, meaning those who can't get rid of ephemera can now seek reimbursement for therapy

The Bereaved: The previous DSM said those in mourning don't necessarily qualify for depression therapy or medication. DSM-5 eliminates that exclusion.
Interestingly, what didn't make the list as a disorder was parental alienation syndrome (PAN) - "the difficulty kids feel after parents divorce". If it turns out that his parents' divorce was a contributing factor to Adam Lanza's commission of mass murder, look for enormous pressure to add PAN to the list.

Parents would want mental-health professionals to perform, and insurance companies to pay for, the screening of the many thousands of children of divorce in the hope that a future massacre will be prevented, and it will be very difficult to dismiss these concerns. © 2012 Stephen Yuen
[Update - 12/22: "We don't hear about the effects of fatherlessness, especially on young men. We don't hear that the most reliable predictor of crime is neither poverty nor race but growing up fatherless. We don't hear that a large majority of violent criminals were fatherless."]

[Update - 6/14/13: The WSJ writes about the DSM-5's inclusion of caffeine intoxication and withdrawal "when they impair a person's ability to function in daily life." However, the DSM-5 website has less alarming phraseology:
DSM-5 will not include caffeine use disorder, although research shows that as little as two to three cups of coffee can trigger a withdrawal effect marked by tiredness or sleepiness. There is sufficient evidence to support this as a condition, however it is not yet clear to what extent it is a clinically significant disorder. To encourage further research on the impact of this condition, caffeine use disorder is included in Section III of DSM-5.


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