The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and is one of the main two diagnostic manuals for mental health conditions in the world. The current version is the fifth edition. The other manual is the International Classifications of Diseases (ICD) published by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The DSM is mainly used in English speaking countries, including the US and UK, and in research, while the ICD is often used elsewhere.
Even although the DSM is widely used worldwide, one of its problems is that it is published by a national association and not an international body. Even in the US, the ICD-10 is officially encouraged for coding mental health conditions.
© 2018 Christian Jonathan Haverkampf
