DSM5

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is a publication of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released in 2013. It provides standardized criteria for diagnosing mental disorders, descriptions of each disorder, and related information intended to guide clinical practice, research, education, and policy. It also assigns codes compatible with the ICD system for billing and statistical purposes and is widely used in the United States and in many other countries.

Compared with its predecessor, the DSM-IV-TR, the DSM-5 eliminated the five-axial diagnostic system and moved to a nonaxial approach to documentation. It reorganized chapters to reflect developmental and lifespan considerations and merged previously separate autism-related disorders into a single Autism Spectrum Disorder. The DSM-5 introduced several new disorders, such as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, social communication disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and added binge eating disorder under feeding and eating disorders. It also removed the bereavement exclusion for major depressive disorder and adjusted criteria for several conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder, to better reflect current understanding.

In addition to diagnostic criteria, the DSM-5 contains specifiers and cultural considerations. It provides a Cultural Formulation Interview to help clinicians assess cultural factors that may influence symptom expression and care. The manual emphasizes the use of coded diagnoses alongside contextual factors, including psychosocial and environmental determinants, often documented with Z codes.

The DSM-5 has been subject to discussion regarding reliability, validity, and scope, and it has influenced clinical practice, research, and insurance reimbursement. A subsequent revision, the DSM-5-TR, was published in 2022 with minor updates.