Information about American Psychiatric Association Fifth Try at Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

It’s not too late to save ‘normal’: Psychiatry’s latest DSM goes too far in creating new mental disorders.

The American Psychiatric Association is trying to update their “label bible” known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. But in this guest column op ed in the LA Times, the head of their fourth edition, psychiatrist Allen Frances, is basting the process leading to the fifth edition. He says, “This wholesale medical imperialization of normality could potentially create tens of millions of innocent bystanders who would be mislabeled as having a mental disorder. The pharmaceutical industry would have a field day — despite the lack of solid evidence of any effective treatments for these newly proposed diagnoses.” MindFreedom is calling for a halt on the flawed DSM process, and open mediated dialogue between the APA and those harmed by psychiatric labeling.

American Psychiatric Association Again Asks for Comments on Label Bible (web, from Jun 15, 2011 12:05 AM to Jun 15, 2011 11:55 PM)

Stung by criticism, even from their own ranks, the American Psychiatric Association is holding a second round of public comments via a web site.