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Elizabeth C. Pomeroy, Kathleen Anderson, The DSM-5 Has Arrived, Social Work, Volume 58, Issue 3, July 2013, Pages 197–200, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swt028
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The much anticipated fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has been released. Although the number of disorders remains basically unchanged from those of the DSM-IV-TR, the number of categories now totals 22. The DSM-5 is structured to mirror more closely the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and contains both the currently used ICD, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes as well as ICD-10-CM (codes in parentheses), which is slated to be published in late 2014 (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013a, p. 12). In addition, chapters are organized from a life span or developmental perspective with disorders more often diagnosed in childhood (for example, neurodevelopmental disorders) occurring earlier and those of older adulthood (for example, neurocognitive disorders) appearing later in the manual (APA, 2013a).
Although the DSM-5 is still a categorical classification of separate disorders, an effort has been made to incorporate a dimensional approach to symptom severity because many disorders are now understood to have overlapping symptoms and varying degrees of severity (APA, 2013a). This can be seen when looking at changes to schizophrenia—now schizophrenia spectrum disorder—where subtypes were removed and, instead, the severity of core symptoms is now measured through the use of a clinician-rated severity scale (for example, the Clinician-Rated Dimensions of Psychosis Symptom Severity Scale; APA, 2013a). Similarly, the previously separate disorders of autism (for example, Asperger's, childhood disintegrative disorder) were replaced by a broader category “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD) with instruction to differentiate symptom severity on a continuum with specifiers. Severity corresponds to the level of support needed for each of the two domains: social communication and restricted/repetitive behaviors (APA, 2013a).