The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM): rationale, conception, and structure

The declaredly atheoretical DSM-III (and its successors), the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association, was created to enhance diagnostic reliability for research, epidemiological survey, and governmental and insurance categorization and reimbursement purposes. It has, however, exhibited many inadequacies for psychodynamic diagnosis and case formulation for treatment planning and outcome assessment, and its claimed diagnostic reliability has turned out to be less than originally projected. The psychoanalytically sponsored Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM) marks a return to a theoretically (psychoanalytically) based diagnostic frame and was created as a supplement to, or replacement for, DSM (depending on the precise clinical need), for use in psychodynamic diagnosis and treatment planning.