Recurring arguments in the media campaign preceding and following the publication of the DSM-5 have been that the manual, referred to as 'the bible of psychiatry', mislabels many people who are basically normal, and that the diagnostic categories it contains are invalid, not being based on laboratory tests. We present data on the use of the DSM worldwide, and discuss the need to assess systemat...

There is some confusion in the psychiatric literature regarding the incidence, prevalence, and illness course of psychiatric disorders in late life. This can be partly attributed to a paucity of studies focused on determining the epidemiology of psychiatric illnesses in older adults (2). Moreover, there is a common belief (and some empirical evidence) that psychiatric disorders (except dementia...

abstract background: chronic urticaria (cu) is a common dermatological disease that induces a substantial burden on individuals’ life. also if one’s self-image changes (which usually happen in patients with dermatological diseases), it leads to anxiety or other various symptoms. we aimed to compare the psychological scales in patients with cu with non-dermatological individuals with the purpose...

In-patient as well as out-patient psychiatric referrals at Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi were studied during a short period of 2½ months. The data were analysed with respect to referral rate, sources of referral and psychiatric diagnosis as made by the referring unit, compared with the diagnosis arrived at the department of Psychiatry. The results have been discussed in the study.

BACKGROUND Few data are available on subjects presenting to acute wards for the first time with psychotic symptoms. The aims of this paper are (i) to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients at their first psychiatric admission (FPA), including socio-demographic features, risk factors, life habits, modalities of onset, psychiatric diagnoses and treatments before adm...

background: domestic violence is a serious threat to the physical and mental health of women. the aim of the present study was to find and compare the frequency of domestic violence between methamphetamine users, patients with psychiatric disorders, and healthy people. methods: in this analytical cross-sectional study, methamphetamine users (n=30) and patients with psychiatric disorders (n=30) ...

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of agreement on psychiatric diagnosis in written evidence provided by experts in serious criminal matters in Australia. We found good or very good inter-rater agreement on the diagnoses of acquired brain injury, schizophrenia-spectrum psychosis, substance-induced psychotic disorder, and intellectual disability. There was moderate agreement on t...

The establishment of criteriological diagnostic systems since the 1980s has increased the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis. On the other hand, the limits of this approach for clinicians and researchers are becoming increasingly apparent. In particular, the assessment of subjective experience is nearly excluded on the theoretical level and undervalued on the pragmatic level, with detrimental...

The third and fourth editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) have brought much-needed reliability to psychiatric diagnosis. However, as is often the case, progress comes at a price. In this chapter, we support Wakefield's argument that DSM-111 and DSM-IV typically ignore one of the most fundamental distinctions in medicinethe distinction between symptoms and ...

Psychiatrists diagnose mental illness in patients against a climate of opinion in which the value of diagnosis is questioned and non-medical formulations of the problems of psychiatric patients are put forward. Nevertheless the classic diagnostic terminology shows no sign of disappearing. The patients may find that a psychiatric diagnostic label is a stigma and has bad consequences. They may al...