The new edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) is the product of more than 10 years of effort by hundreds of international experts in all aspects of mental health.

There are two main interrelated criticisms of DSM-5: an unhealthy influence of the pharmaceutical industry on the revision process. an increasing tendency to “medicalise” patterns of behaviour and mood that are not considered to be particularly extreme.

Since the initial publication of the DSM, there have been five subsequent editions of this manual published (including the DSM-III-R). This review discusses the structural changes in the six editions and the research that influenced those changes.

Axis I consisted of mental health and substance use disorders (SUDs); Axis II was reserved for personality disorders and mental retardation; Axis III was used for coding general medical conditions; Axis IV was to note psychosocial and environmental problems (e.g., housing, employment); and Axis V was an assessment of …

However, the DSM-5 gives mental health professionals criteria and definitions to classify diseases through a common language, while ICD-10 assigns a code that is used for reimbursement in claims processing. It is also important to note that the DSM-5 is strictly intended for mental disorders.

DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, the official source on definitions related to mental illness.

A behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual. Reflects an underlying psychobiological dysfunction. The consequences of which are clinically significant distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning)

(1) The person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others. (2) The person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.