Psychopathological knowledge and methodically sound diagnostics are core elements of forensic psychiatry

Methodically sound psychiatric diagnoses are necessary quality-assuring elements in forensic psychiatry, but on their own they not sufficient to answer the questions posed for an expert assessment. This position will be developed here context of a historical outline key ideas reflection nosology and diagnosis argument that psychopathology needs accorded greater influence. Regarding assessments, reference back experiential history clinical psychiatry dealing with all forms degrees mental disorder (the “psychopathological system”) does represent backward-looking traditionalism, nor is it adversarial current neuroscientific or socioscientific research. On contrary, such anchoring, which specifically methodically incorporates internationally established diagnostic manuals ICD-10, DSM-5 (from 2022) ICD-11, enhance quality diagnosis, therapy Especially, only work, following applies: The hasty replacement operationally defined by possibly plausible “isolated” individual findings sufficiently embedded overall scientific can lead overvaluation these loss substantial psychopathological knowledge. These risks must avoided, because continue depend each its fields activity.