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Articles on DSM-5

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Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is common among refugees. Independent / Alamy Stock Photo

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder explained

Complex PTSD was left out of the latest version of the ‘psychiatrists’ bible’, but that doesn’t make it any less real for those who live with it.
Autism is a lifelong condition, though some people who weren’t accurately diagnosed may lose their diagnosis. Dubova/Shutterstock

We need to stop perpetuating the myth that children grow out of autism

The myth that children grow out of autism can prevent parents from seeing and accepting their child as the wonderful human being they are and recognising their strengths.
Some soldiers’ wounds in WWI were more mental than physical. George Metcalf Archival Collection

From shell-shock to PTSD, a century of invisible war trauma

Mental health trauma has always been a part of war. Treatments have come a long way over the last century, but we still don’t understand why the responses change for different people and times.
When many doctors went through training they would not have learnt adults could suffer from separation anxiety. from www.shutterstock.com.au

Separation anxiety disorder: not just for kids

Adult separation anxiety is a relatively new concept. There are, as yet, no published evidence-based treatments for the condition.
The psychiatrists’ bible, the DSM-5, recently added ‘gambling disorder’ to its list of ‘behavioural addictions’. But how true is its definition, and should it be changed? AAP/Mick Tsikas

Disordered gambling: focusing on more than just ‘problem gamblers’

Since the issue of problem gambling was placed under the national spotlight by the Productivity Commission in 1999, we have witnessed ongoing public debate about Australia’s gambling industries. The commission…
There are many pieces to the mental health puzzle: and it isn’t all about the brain. stephenphampshire

‘Mental illness’ isn’t all about brain chemistry: it’s about life

Do you believe ‘mental illness’ is all about brain chemistry? It wouldn’t be surprising if you did, because this is the message we regularly receive about various forms of troublesome feelings, thoughts…
The majority of diagnoses for depression, anxiety and PTSD are made by GPs who don’t use the DSM criteria.

DSM-5 won’t increase mental health work claims – here’s why

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has copped the predicted criticisms since its release on the weekend. Most centre on the idea that more of us will…
We now put women in chemical straitjackets and prescribe psychotropic medication instead of locking them up for unfeminine behaviour or marital discontent. Vineus/Flickr

DSM-5 helps perpetuate the myth of women’s madness

The newly released edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) may be heralded as the “bible of psychiatry”, but it is not an objective scientific document outlining the…
The last ten years have seen the rise of therapies for young people that focus on family and wider social systems. Choo Yut Shing

DSM’s approach overlooks effective therapies for children

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a classification system for mental disorders produced by the American Psychiatric Association for the past 60 years…
Sufferers of internet disorder might find it starts to impose on real life, such as causing difficulties in socialising. Flickr/Fle

Five new mental disorders you could have under DSM-5

Since it was first published in 1952, the DSM has been the has been the diagnostic bible for many psychiatrists. Each time the manual is updated, new conditions are introduced, often amid much controversy…
DSM-5 has been described as the bible of psychiatry but the assumption that professionals use it for their own gain is far fetched. PA

DSM-5 tells us more about psychiatry than psychiatrists

DSM-5, the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, was published in the US at the weekend. Given that not even its most passionate supporters would…
Psychiatric diagnosis relies on identifying a patient’s signs and symptoms rather than clinical tests. PA/Ben Birchall

Explainer: what is the DSM?

Traditional psychiatry uses the approaches of medicine to try to understand mental health problems and guide treatment. This means relying on diagnosis – identifying what are believed to be mental illnesses…
Medication misuse is out of control in the US and more psychiatric labelling in DSM-5 will not help. Whale05/Flikr

Under new psychiatric guidebook we might all be labelled mad

“We are all mad here” explains the Cat to Alice when she wonders about the strangeness of Wonderland. Well, life is starting to follow art. If people make the mistake of following DSM-5, the new diagnostic…

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