As the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or DSM) undergoes its fifth major revision, a growing number of critics within the psychological profession have voiced concerns over what they say is the DSM's broadening notion of what constitutes mental un-health — a trend, they claim, that will lead to increasing over-diagnosing and thus over-treatment.
The DSM, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, was first issued 60 years ago and was last revised in 1994. As the San Francisco Chronicle notes, none of the Manual's revisions over the decades have gone uncontested; criticism of the proposed 5th edition, however, has been especially vociferous.
In October, a group of psychologists with the Society for Humanistic Psychology posted a petition expressing “serious reservations” about the proposed changes, which, they said, lowered the “diagnostic thresholds for multiple disorder categories,” introduced “disorders that may lead to inappropriate medical treatment of vulnerable populations” and made proposals lacking “empirical grounding.” So far, the petition has gathered 7,000 signatures and has won, the Chronicle says, the support of San Francisco's Saybrook University, a graduate college emphasizing holistic approaches to psychology.