NIMH and Transforming the process of Diagnosis

by Jay Gunkelman - April 30, 2013

Yesterday, Thomas Insel, a Director at NIMH, issued a statement announcing a project to transform the process of diagnosis, moving away from behavioral descriptions and towards biomarkers and lab tests. (see link below)  The DSM-V is due out in about a week, and it is obvious that NIMH realizes how INVALID the DSM is (and Thomas actually uses the "I" word in his text).

They have started a project on Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) that will fund projects that look for these biomarkers.  It specifically states that the DSM-V will not be held as the "gold standard" to test work against.

"A diagnostic approach based on the biology as well as the symptoms must not be constrained by the current DSM categories."

I urge you to check out his document, as well as to look beyond the DSM to physiological signals to get your direction clinically!

 

Jay

 

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2013/transforming-diagnosis.shtml