Relationship between the DSM-IV and the ICD-10

The 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10; World Health Organization, 1990) and the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) will both come into use in 1993 and be much more alike than the ICD-9 (World Health Organization, 1978) and the DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). The American Psychiatric Association's controversial decision to publish a revision of the DSM-III in 1987 before setting up the Task Force to produce the DSM-IV impaired the association's ability to influence the format of the ICD-10, because by then major decisions had already been made by the World Health Organization. The DSM-IV will be more soundly based on a wider range of empirical data than any previous classification, national or international, and should not be revised again without compelling scientific reasons.     

Psychiatry of the Elderly: A Consensus Statement

This document is a consensus statement on Psychiatry of the Elderly jointly produced by WHO and the Geriatric Psychiatry Section of the World Psychiatric Association, with the collaboration of several pertinent NGOs and the participation of experts from countries in several WHO regions.     

Psychiatry and religion: consensus reached!

ABSTRACT

In December 2015 the Executive Committee of the World Psychiatric Association accepted a position statement on spirituality and religion in psychiatry. In this contribution the author will (briefly) sketch the background of the development of this position statement, and the criteria it needs to fulfil. The aim of the final result will be explained, and some desiderata with regard to its future will be expressed. The full text of the Position Statement as it has been published in World Psychiatry (February 2016) is added as appendix (permission granted by the editor).     

Resource Document on Access to Firearms by People with Mental Disorders

The American Psychiatric Association, (“APA”), with more than 36,000 members at present, is the Nation's leading organization of physicians who specialize in psychiatry. APA provides for education and advocacy and develops policy through Position Statements. It promotes enhanced knowledge of particular topics relevant to psychiatric practice and patient care through Resource Documents. Since 1993, the APA has developed various positions and resource materials related to firearms and mental illness, incorporating evolving themes as new issues emerge. This paper reflects the APA's 2014 Resource Document on “Access to Firearms by People with Mental Disorders.” This article is derived from work done on behalf of American Psychiatric Association and remains the property of APA. It has been altered only in response to the requirements of peer review. Copyright © 2015 American Psychiatric Association. Published with permission (original adopted by the American Psychiatric Association 2014).     

Psychiatry and religion: a perspective on meaning

ABSTRACT

A Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry was issued by the World Psychiatric Association in 2016. Among many recommendations, this statement underscores the need for research on both religion and spirituality in psychiatry, especially on their clinical applications. In this contribution we will put light on the issue of meaning and meaning-making, i.e., an important field for every human, Particularly for individuals suffering from severe mental disorders. After an introduction about meaning in its religious/spiritual dimension, we will describe what needs to be studied in order to get a better knowledge as to how patients cope with meaning, and how they process (in terms of meaning-making) the outburst of a severe mental disorder such as schizophrenia.     

Child Maltreatment in DSM‐5 and ICD‐11

Child maltreatment is widespread and has a tremendous impact on child victims and their families. Over the past decade, definitions of child maltreatment have been developed that are operationalized, face valid, and can be reliably applied in clinical settings. These definitions have informed the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and are being considered for the International Classification of Disease–11 (World Health Organization). Now that these definitions are available in major diagnostic systems, primary healthcare providers and clinicians who see children and families are poised to help screen for, identify, prevent, and treat child maltreatment. This article reviews the definitions of maltreatment in these diagnostic systems, along with assessment and screening tools, and empirically supported prevention and intervention approaches.     

Psychiatrists and community partners examine religion and spirituality

ABSTRACT

The commentary reflects on the definition of spirituality and religion and further implications for the practice of psychiatry. These include the possibilities to partner with spiritual and religious practitioners to support education and research, provide access to care for people with or at risk of mental ill health, and also consider how to the reduce the risks to the well-being of vulnerable people and families from some practices and settings. The World Psychiatric Association sees the possibilities for collaborating with its member societies and community partners including service users and family carers to develop resources on working with faith groups and spiritual healers in high- and low-income countries.     

"Enhanced" interrogation of detainees: do psychologists and psychiatrists participate?

After revelations of participation by psychiatrists and psychologists in interrogation of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay and Central Intelligence Agency secret detention centers, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association adopted Position Statements absolutely prohibiting their members from participating in torture under any and all circumstances, and, to a limited degree, forbidding involvement in interrogations. Some interrogations utilize very aggressive techniques determined to be torture by many nations and organizations throughout the world. This paper explains why psychiatrists and psychologists involved in coercive interrogations violate the Geneva Conventions and the laws of the United States. Whether done with ignorance of professional ethical obligations or not, these psychiatrists and psychologists have crossed an ethical barrier that may best be averted from re-occurring by teaching medical students and residents in all medical specialties about the ethics principles stemming from the 1946–1947 Nuremberg trials and the Geneva Conventions, together with the Ethics Codes of the World Medical Association and the American Medical Association; and, with regard to psychiatric residents and psychological trainees, by the teaching about The Principles of Medical Ethics With Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry and the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, respectively. In this way, all physicians and psychologists will clearly understand that they have an absolute moral obligation to "First, do no harm" to the human beings they professionally encounter.     

论皮亚杰的方法论及其当代意义

皮亚杰从生物学的适应性和平衡化概念出发, 论证了有机体和外部环境之间的双向互动关系, 进一步通过认知过程与生物学过程的“同构”, 建立了一种结构论的发生认识论。发生认识论的主要论题包括:主客体相互作用论、认知结构的建构论, 以及心理逻辑论等。皮亚杰的理论建构方法有两个重要特征:第一, 皮亚杰强调功能相对于结构的逻辑先在意义。功能是有机体对环境的适应与平衡化。因此, 皮亚杰的方法论是一种功能论。第二, 皮亚杰方法论的思想基础是辩证法。皮亚杰的发生认识论一方面批判唯理论, 另一方面批判经验论, 最终形成了一套独特的认识论体系。皮亚杰的发生认识论对当今心理学和心灵哲学研究中诸多“难问题”, 诸如“他心问题”、“归纳问题”等, 可能提供了元理论层面和方法层面的引领和启发。     

Suicide among psychologists and a proposal for the American Psychological Association

The response of the American Medical Association and of the American Psychiatric Association to suicide among their members is contrasted with the response of the American Psychological Association. It is suggested that an association should be concerned with suicide among its members and two proposals are suggested.     

AFFILIATIVE ASSOCIATIONS

The International Platform of the International Journal of Psychology plans a series of articles on the associations affiliated to the IUPS. The first article on the World Federation for Mental Health was written by a long time member of the Executive Committee of the IUPS, Professor Otto Klineberg, President of the World Federation for Mental Health.     

Spirituality and religion in psychiatry: the impact of policy

ABSTRACT

Research and debate on the importance of spirituality and religion in psychiatry has led to a number of national and international policy initiatives, intended to clarify the boundaries of good practice and improve the way in which such matters are managed for the benefit of patients. Significant amongst these is the 2015 position statement of the World Psychiatric Association, the only such policy statement to date which has been internationally agreed. Preliminary evidence available suggests that this is having good effect in generating professional debate and further national policy initiatives in different countries. There is a need for further research on such policy initiatives to confirm whether or not they have the intended impact upon clinical practice and whether or not this in turn is beneficial for patients.     

DSM-IV: WhatY's New

The significant differences between the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) and the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) are described, focusing on the types of mental disorders counselors frequently diagnose and treat. These include several disorders included in the children's section as well as Adjustment Disorders, Substance-Related Disorders, Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, and Personality Disorders.     

Psychopathy and the DSM-IV criteria for antisocial personality disorder

The Axis II Work Group of the Task Force on DSM-IV has expressed concern that antisocial personality disorder (APD) criteria are too long and cumbersome and that they focus on antisocial behaviors rather than personality traits central to traditional conceptions of psychopathy and to international criteria. We describe an alternative to the approach taken in the rev. 3rd ed. of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987), namely, the revised Psychopathy Checklist. We also discuss the multisite APD field trials designed to evaluate and compare four criteria sets: the DSM-III-R criteria, a shortened list of these criteria, the criteria for dyssocial personality disorder from the 10th ed. of the International Classification of Diseases (World Health Organization, 1990), and a 10-item criteria set for psychopathic personality disorder derived from the revised Psychopathy Checklist.     

Assumptive world of traumatized South African adults

One way of understanding the impact of traumatic events is through exploration of cognitive changes that confront a traumatized individual. The author investigated changes in individuals' basic assumptions after traumatic experiences. The participants were 65 people who had been traumatized by representatives of the South African apartheid government. From the total sample, 36 participants had witnessed the violent death of a close relative (sibling, mother, or father). The remaining 29 had been tortured and detained. The author administered the World Assumption Scale (R. Janoff-Bulman, 1989), a semistructured questionnaire on basic assumptions developed for the present study, and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Checklist (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Traumatic events affected the participants' basic assumptions about the meaning and benevolence of the world. The tortured and detained group and the bereaved group showed differences in their assumptions of self-worth following the trauma. Cognitive approaches can yield invaluable therapeutic insights into strategies for coping with trauma.     

The structure of child and adolescent psychopathology: generating new hypotheses

To begin to resolve conflicts among current competing taxonomies of child and adolescent psychopathology, the authors developed an interview covering the symptoms of anxiety, depression, inattention, and disruptive behavior used in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994), the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10; World Health Organization, 1992), and several implicit taxonomies. This interview will be used in the future to compare the internal and external validity of alternative taxonomies. To provide an informative framework for future hypothesis-testing studies, the authors used principal factor analysis to induce new testable hypotheses regarding the structure of this item pool in a representative sample of 1,358 children and adolescents ranging in age from 4 to 17 years. The resulting hypotheses differed from the DSM-IV, particularly in suggesting that some anxiety symptoms are part of the same syndrome as depression, whereas separation anxiety, fears, and compulsions constitute a separate anxiety dimension.     

An outsider-insider's views about revising the DSMs

After having a leadership role in the development of the 3rd edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III; American Psychiatric Association, 1980) and its revision (DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987), I now comment as an outsider-insider on the development of DSM-IV. Many features of the DSM-IV process, such as systematic literature reviews and focused field trials, represent significant advances that will increase the role of empirical findings in the decision-making process in this latest edition of the DSM. However, it is likely that when final decisions are made about DSM-IV, the decisions will still be based primarily on expert consensus, rather than on data, as was the case with DSM-III and DSM-III-R.     

Psychology and modern life challenges: the 2nd Middle East and North Africa Regional Conference of Psychology, Amman, Jordan, 2007

The Second Middle East and North Africa Regional Conference of Psychology was held in Amman from 27 April - 1 May 2007 under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah and the auspices of the International Union of Psychological Science, the International Association of Applied Psychology, and the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology. It was hosted by the Jordanian Psychological Association whose President was Dr. Asaad Zuby. The President of the Conference and the Local Organizing Committee was Dr. Adnan Farah, the Chair of the Scientific Program Committee was Dr. Mohammad Rimawi, and the Chair of the Regional Advisory Committee was Dr. Marwan Dwairy. The Conference succeeded in attracting participants from 28 countries, including 15 from the Middle East and North Africa region. The Scientific Program explored ways and means to promote the role of psychology in meeting life challenges at regional and international levels. The Conference concluded with the signing of a formal Declaration which called upon governments, academic and professional institutions and organizations, non-governmental organization and other civil society groups, and the United Nations, to work together and to make every possible effort individually and collectively to achieve these goals.     

Brief Answers to 20 Questions About Group Counseling

The author, President of the Association for Specialists in Group Work, a counselor trainer, and a consultant on group counseling, reports the questions he is most often asked and frames his responses in plain language so they may be immediately understood and useful. Although mindful of beginning group counselors, the author speaks clearly in this article to practicing group counselors, drawing on his own extensive experience.