There’s a very interesting article by Kyle Arnold on DxSummit.org. It’s titled DSM: Letting Go of the Big Lie.
Here are two quotes:
“The lie is that we have succeeded in domesticating emotional suffering, that we have placed it in a grid with clear and familiar boundaries. The lie is that we know the line between mad and normal, and can tell you on which side of the fence you belong. The lie is that it is science, rather than ethics or social norms, that can tell us what kind of behavior is acceptable and what is not. The lie is that psychiatric treatment is objective medical treatment, as clear and direct as your medical doctor treating a broken wrist. The lie is that by accepting a psychiatric label, you embark on the road to being cured. The lie is the provision of false hope at the price of a stigmatized identity.”
“One recommendation that appears more radical than these softening-the-blow strategies is the British Psychological Society’s [DCP] recommendation that psychiatric classification be replaced by individualized formulations of each patient’s difficulties. Although their suggestion is rather germinal at this time, they seem to be pointing the way to a radically person-centered approach to diagnosis.”
The article is well worth reading and passing on. Thanks to Monica and Tallaght Trialogue on Twitter for the link.