Stop the Insanity
Now is the time for mental health professionals and consumers to respond to the problems of the DSM-5.
Please SIGN THE PETITION to prevent DSM-5 from compromising patient safety and scientific integrity.
Statement of Concern About the Reliability, Validity and Safety of DSM-5 (Brief Version)
We, the undersigned, are concerned that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5):
Includes many diagnostic categories with questionable reliability, which may lead to misleading assumptions about their scientific validity;
Did not receive a much-needed and widely requested external scientific review;
May compromise patient safety through the implementation of lowered diagnostic thresholds and the introduction of new diagnostic categories that do not have sufficient empirical backing;
Is the result of a process that gives the impression of putting institutional needs ahead of public welfare.
… and, because of the above, we are concerned that DSM-5:
May result in the mislabeling of mental illness in people who would fare better without a psychiatric diagnosis;
May result in unnecessary and potentially harmful treatment with psychiatric medication;
May divert precious mental health resources away from those who most need them.
What, then, do we recommend?
These concerns should be resolved through concerted, interprofessional, international dialogue and scientific research. Until then, because there are safe and legal alternatives, clinicians, researchers, journal editors, healthcare planners, managers & commissioners, the pharmaceutical industry, and the media should avoid use of DSM-5 wherever possible.
> > Read the full Statement of Concern. Sign the petition.
http://dsm5response.com/
