Classifying Mental Health Problems

This video is presented by Dr Athanasios Hassoulas, Director of the MSc in Psychiatry programme and Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine at the School of Medicine, Cardiff University.

In the following activities Dr Hassoulas will provide an overview of five common health problems. This overview will cover symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and signposting for further information and support. Dr Hassoulas will refer to two specific manuals for diagnosing mental health problems, DSM-5 and the ICD-11.

DSM-5 (also known as DSM 5th Edition) refers to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, compiled and published by the American Psychiatric Association. The manual helps clinicians and researchers define and classify mental disorders, which can improve diagnoses, treatment, and research (APA website).

ICD-11 refers to the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision, compiled and published by the World Health Organisation. The ICD provides critical knowledge on the extent, causes and consequences of human disease and death worldwide. The ICD supports the World Health Organisation to maintain international classifications for health and to standardise the diagnosis of health problems globally (World Health Organisation 2022).

In the next step, Saadia Tayabba raises some considerations about whether the DSM is an appropriate tool for diagnosing mental health problems among Muslims living in a minority context.

Signposting

Aggarwal, N. (2013). From DSM-IV to DSM-5: An interim report from a cultural psychiatry perspective. The Psychiatrist, 37(5), 171-174. doi:10.1192/pb.bp.112.040998.

ICD-11 Fact Sheet.

Mind comments in the publication of the DSM 5.