DSM-5: Big Pharmaceutical Approved

Details: Category: Cake Recipes; Published on Wednesday, 15 August 2012 17:43; Written by Lara Landis; Hits: 473

The DSM-5 added extended grief disorder to the personality disorders several months ago. The Guardian, which may or may not have been following all of the controversies surrounding the manual, realized that this new disorder is good news for big pharmaceutical companies. Extended grief syndrome is one example of the book defining what psychologist organizations have referred to as normal behavior as a disease. A psychiatrist can diagnose a patient with the disorder in as little as six weeks after the death of a loved one.

The Guardian reporter who wrote the article may or may not have known that ABC News already reported that 70% of the DSM 5 committee members have ties to drug companies that lead to potential conflicts of interest. The Guardian reporter lags behind other commentators, such as Allen Frances, who suggested the DSM 5 committee go back to the drawing board.

The ties to drug companies have long suggested a problem in the way the manual is produced. The lowering of diagnostic criteria, especially in a way that benefits the large drug companies, suggests that the board selection needs to be reworked. The American Psychiatric Association needs to do more to eliminate or reduce these conflicts of interest. The DSM-5, in its current form, benefits the psychiatrists far more than it benefits the patients.

Critics of psychiatry have long criticized the over prescription of psychotropic drugs, Earlier versions of the manual, which also suffered from their own controversies, did not make it extremely easy for doctors to prescribe drugs to patients for minor problems.

Perhaps it is more important to ask why the DSM-5 fails to correct these problems. It is not surprising that people act within their own best interests.

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Grief good news for pharmaceutical companies