DSM-5 Rewrites Normal

A psychiatrist argues that the newly revised manual of mental disorders is part of a dangerous trend toward the medicalization of normal behavior.

| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share

FLICKR, SLETTVETAfter a 14-year revision process, the American Psychiatric Association last weekend (May 18) published the controversial 5th edition of its Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The influential book is designed to help doctors more reliably diagnose mental illnesses and guide treatments, but the latest version has come under heavy fire—with many critics arguing that by applying medical labels to experiences and behavior that were previously considered normal, the changes embodied in DSM-5 will lead to over-diagnosis and mistreatment.

Among the most high profile critics is Duke University psychiatrist Allen Frances, author of Saving Normal and chair of the task force behind DSM-4. In an excerpt from his book published at Wired, Frances contended that DSM-5 continues a trend toward the homogenization of people—a trend driven largely by the pharmaceutical industry’s attempts to reduce differences in behavior into easily categorized mental illnesses that require treatment with psychiatric drugs.

“With an assist from an overly ambitious psychiatry, all human difference is being transmuted into chemical imbalance meant to be treated with a handy pill,” wrote Frances. On the contrary, he added, “human difference was never meant to be reducible to an exhaustive list of diagnoses drawn carelessly from a psychiatric manual.”

Like many other critics, ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Dan Cossins

    This person does not yet have a bio.
Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio