Many psychiatrists consult the DSM-5 (Diagonistic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) for assistance in diagnosing mental disorders.
More than a year on from the release of DSM-5, a Medscape survey found that just under half of clinicians had switched to using the new manual. Most non-users cited practical reasons, typically explaining that the health care system where they work has not yet changed over to the DSM-5.
Many, however, said that they had concerns about the reliability of the DSM, which at least partially accounted for their non-use.
Throughout the controversies that surrounded the development and launch of the DSM-5 reliability has been a contested issue: the APA has insisted that the DSM-5 is very reliable, others have expressed doubts.
Here I reconsider the issues: What is reliability? Does it matter? What did the DSM-5 field trials show?
[Ed. This article is an eye-opener for those who question the reliability of psychiatric diagnoses.]
