Reply #60: Here are the core ideas for defining mental illness considered for DSM-V [View All]

[HereSince1628]

(You'll note that mental functioning is the issue not whether an external trigger is required. This emphasis on "function" is a traditional approach in pathology. The use of function vs dysfunction as a standard for recognizing illness parallels the way other forms of illness/pathology are defined throughout medicine.)



A. A behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual,

B. that is based in a decrement or problem in one or more aspects of mental functioning, including but not limited to global functioning (e.g., consciousness, orientation, intellect, or temperament) or specific functioning (e.g., attention, memory, emotion, psychomotor, perception, thought),

C. that is not be merely an expectable response to common stressors and losses (for example, the loss of a loved one) or a culturally sanctioned response to a particular event (for example, trance states in religious rituals)

D. that is not primarily a consequence of social deviance or conflict with society


Other Considerations


E. that has diagnostic validity on the basis of various diagnostic validators (e.g., prognostic significance, psychobiological disruption, response to treatment), and

F. that is helpful in diagnostic conceptualization, assessment, and/or treatment-related decisions.

G. No definition of “medical disorder” or "mental (psychiatric, psychological) disorder” perfectly specifies precise boundaries for the concepts or can provide consistent operationalizations that cover all situations.