By: Kenneth S. Kendler (Editor), Josef Parnas (Editor)

Paperback

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Psychiatric and psychological practice and research is critically dependent on diagnosis. Yet the nature of psychiatric diagnosis and the rules by which disorders should be created and organized have been highly controversial for over 100 years. Unlike simple medical disorders (like infectious diseases), psychiatric disorders cannot be traced to one simple etiologic agent.

The last two generations have seen major conceptual shifts in the approach to diagnosis with the rise of operationalized criteria and an emphasis on a descriptive rather than etiological approach to diagnosis. The interest in psychiatric diagnoses is particularly heightened now because both of the major psychiatric classifications in the world - DSM and ICD - are now undergoing major revisions. What makes psychiatric nosology so interesting is that it sits at the intersection of philosophy, empirical psychiatric/psychological research, measurement theory, historical tradition and policy. This makes the field fertile for a conceptual analysis.

This book brings together established experts in the wide range of disciplines that have an interest in psychiatric nosology. The contributors include philosophers, psychologists, psychiatrists, historians and representatives of the efforts of DSM-III, DSM-IV and DSM-V. Some of the questions addressed include i) what is the nature of psychiatric illness? Can it be clearly defined and if so how? ii) What is the impact of facts versus values in psychiatric classification? iii) How have concepts of psychiatric diagnosis changed over time? iv) How can we best conceptualize the central idea of diagnostic validity? And v) Can psychiatric classification be a cumulative enterprise seeking improvements at each iteration of the diagnostic manual? Each individual chapter is introduced by the editors and is followed by a commentary, resulting in a dynamic discussion about the nature of psychiatric disorders.

This book will be valuable for psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health trainees and professionals with an interest in the questions and problems of psychiatric diagnosis, as well as philosophers and philosophy students interested in the problems posed by psychiatry, particularly those working in the philosophy of science.

The quality of writing and argument is uniformly excellent and the style is engaging. BJPsych, Jan 2013 This book addresses many fundamental issues regarding psychiatry and psychiatric diagnoses as well as the future of psychiatry. It is important reading for anyone in the field. Doody's Reviews This book sets out to offer a comprehensive analysis of the concepts that we use to validate our diagnostic categories and succeeds admirably in this aim. It is important that clinicians are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of our diagnostic concepts. This book should be essential reading for all psychiatrists. The British Journal of Psychiatry, Jan 2013

The Basics-The Definition of Psychiatric Illness and Rules for Classification 1: Kenneth S. Kendler, and Derek Bolton, and Michael B. First: Classification and causal mechanisms - a deflationary approach to the classification problem 2: Kenneth S. Kendler, Peter Zachar, and Rachel Cooper: Progress and the Calibration of Scientific Constructs: The Role of Comparative Validity 3: Josef Parnas, S. Nassir Ghaemi, and Derek Bolton: Taking disease seriously: Beyond "pragmatic" nosology 4: Kenneth S. Kendler, Rachel Cooper, and S. Nassir Ghaemi: Is psychiatric classification a good thing? The Historical Development of Modern Psychiatric Diagnoses 5: Josef Parnas, Assen Jablensky, and Darrel A. Regier: The nosological entity in psychiatry: an historical illusion or a moving target? 6: Kenneth S. Kendler, German E Berrios, and Josef Parnas: The 19th Century Nosology of Alienism: History and Epistemology 7: Kenneth S. Kendler, Michael B. First, and Harold Alan Pincus: The Development of DSM-III From An Historical/Conceptual Perspective 8: Kenneth S. Kendler, Harold Alan Pincus, and Mario Maj: Title: DSM IV: Context, Concepts and Controversies The Problem of Validity 9: Josef Parnas, Kenneth F. Schaffner, and Peter Zachar: A philosophical overview of the problems of validity for psychiatric disorders 10: Kenneth S. Kendler, Robert F. Krueger, Nicholas R. Eaton, and Paul R. McHugh: Structural Validity and the Classification of Mental Disorders Application to Major Depression and Schizophrenia 11: Josef Parnas and Mario Maj: When Does Depression become a Mental Disorder? 12: Assen Jablensky, Josef Parnas, and Kenneth S. Kendler: The DSM-IV and the founding prototype of schizophrenia: are we regressing to a pre-Kraepelinian nosology? The Way(s) Forward 13: Josef Parnas, Paul R. McHugh, and Assen Jablensky: Rendering Mental Disorders Intelligible: Addressing Psychiatry's Urgent Challenge 14: Kenneth S. Kendler, Darrel A. Regier, Robert F. Krueger: Diagnostic Threshold Considerations for DSM-5 15: Josef Parnas and Kenneth S. Kendler: Epistemic Iteration as an Historical Model for Psychiatric Nosology: Promises and Limitations

ISBN: 9780199642205
ISBN-10: 0199642206
Series: IPPP
Audience: Professional
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 360
Published: 19th April 2012
Dimensions (cm): 23.3 x 15.5  x 2.0
Weight (kg): 0.54