Classification and Diagnosis: Historical Development and Contemporary Issues

This chapter provides an overview the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) diagnostic nomenclature, historical background, followed by a discussion of the major issues facing the current and future revisions. Behaviorists argue that the organismic perspective of DSM-5 is inconsistent with the situational context of dysfunctional behaviour. The diagnosis of mental disorders, however, was still receiving substantial criticism. Fundamental to the concept of a mental disorder is the presence of impairments secondary to feelings, thoughts, or behaviors over which a normal person has adequate self-control to alter or adjust in order to avoid the impairments, if he or she wishes to do so. A person with a mental disorder could be comparable to a computer lacking the necessary software to combat particular viruses or execute effective programs. The concept of mental disorder does include a value judgment that there should be necessary, adequate, or optimal psychological functioning.