An Overview of the DSM

This timeline provides an overview of the most important moments in the development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The DSM is the classification and diagnostic tool of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In the period from the first version published in 1952 until the latest, fifth version in 2013 there has been major changes in the categories and structure of the DSM. This is highly influenced by the prevailing view on psychopathology and a multitude of social forces. In turn, the DSM has an impact that goes far beyond psychiatry. It is an important factor in society's view on mental health and operates as the common diagnostic language in mental health care.

1840-01-01 00:00:00

1840 Census

The first official attempt to gather information about mental health in the United States is the recording of the frequency of “idiocy/insanity” in the 1840 census.

1880-01-01 00:00:00

1880 Census

In this census, seven categories of mental health are distinguished: mania, melancholia, monomania, paresis, dementia, dipsomania, and epilepsy

1892-07-01 00:00:00

Foundation of APA

The American Psychological Association (APA) is founded in July 1892 by a small group of men interested in what they call “the new psychology.” The group elects 31 individuals, including themselves, to membership, with G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924) as its first president.

1923-01-01 00:00:00

Dominance of Psychodynamic Theory

Between the two World Wars, the prevailing school of thought of psychology in Europe is psychodynamic theory and Americans travel to Europe to take advantage of the training opportunities for psycho-analytic therapy, the approach founded on psychodynamic theories. The major therapeutic perspective that is adopted in the United States is ego psychology, based centrally on Sigmund Freud’s The Ego and the Id (1923) and The Problem of Anxiety (1936), followed by Anna Freud’s Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (1936) and Heinz Hartmann’s Psychoanalysis and the Problem of Adaptation (1939). This perspective of psychoanalysis is dominant in America for approximately a 50-year span until the 1970s.

1948-01-01 00:00:00

Publication ICD-6

The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes the sixth edition of ICD, which, for the first time, includes a section for mental disorders. ICD–6 is heavily influenced by the Veterans Administration classification and includes 10 categories for psychoses and psychoneuroses and seven categories for disorders of character, behavior, and intelligence.

1952-01-01 00:00:00

Publication DSM-I

The APA publishes the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

1965-01-01 00:00:00

Publication ICD-8

The WHO publishes the ICD-8.

1968-01-01 00:00:00

Publication DSM-II

The DSM-II is published, containing 182 categories of mental disorders. The structure mirrors that of the DSM-I and is also retained the psychodynamic approach of the first edition.

1971-12-01 00:00:00

Popularity of Medical Model

In the 70s, psychodynamic theory loses its former unquestioned prestige. A growing group of psychiatrists, known as the "antipsychiatry movement", advocates for a more empirical orientation, approaching mental disorders in a similar way as medicine does to physical diseases, with a focus on observable symptoms.

1972-12-01 00:00:00

Publication "Feighner criteria"

A group of medically oriented psychiatrists under the lead of John Feighner publish a set of explicit diagnostic criteria based on research instead of opinion or tradition. These highly influential classifications become known as the 'Feighner criteria'.

1973-12-01 00:00:00

Referendum to eliminate homosexuality

In May 1974, a referedum is held to decide upon the elimination of Homosexuality as a mental disorder and substitute it for Sexual Orientation Disturbance. A substantial majority votes in favor of this change.

1974-01-01 00:00:00

Start development DSM-III

The APA appoints Spitzer to coordinate the revision of DSM-II. The initial purpose is to make its nosology more similar to the ICD, but the dissatisfaction about the lack of clear diagnoses in psychiatry requires more radical changes.

1975-01-01 00:00:00

Publication ICD-9

The WHO publishes the ICD-9.

1980-01-01 00:00:00

Rise of cognitive neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience becomes increasingly popular due to great advances in neuroimaging and behavioral genetics. It reinforces the position that every mental illness has an underlying biological cause.

1980-01-01 00:00:00

Publication DSM-III

The APA publishes the DSM-III, representing a major shift in psychiatric nosology. It contains 252 disorders with lengthy descriptions, resulting in a handbook of 494 pages (almost a thirdfold of DSM-II).

1992-01-01 00:00:00

Publication ICD-10

The WHO publishes the ICD-10, in close collaboration with the APA's development of the DSM-IV to decrease the differences between the two systems.

1994-12-01 00:00:00

Publication DSM-IV

The DSM-IV is published. It's structure is relatively similar to the DSM-III, with 279 discrete categories based on symptoms.

1999-12-01 00:00:00

Start process DSM-V

The APA and the National Institute of Health organize a series of conferences that results in the publication of "A Research Agenda for DSM-V (2002)", meant to stimulate research for the revision of the DSM. After this, work groups are formed to create a research agenda and start executing studies.

2013-01-01 00:00:00

Publication DSM-V

The APA publishes DSM-V, the latest version of the DSM and the one currently used by the mental health profession.

An Overview of the DSM

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