Media coverage: Open Letter and Petition to DSM-5 Task Force by Society for Humanistic Psychology
October 25, 2011
Round up 1: Media coverage: Open Letter and Petition to DSM-5 Task Force by Society for Humanistic Psychology
Post #108 Shortlink: http://wp.me/pKrrB-1jZ
An Open Letter and Petition sponsored by a coalition of several Divisions of the American Psychological Association has attracted nearly 7000 signatures since its launch on October 22.
The Petition sponsors are inviting mental health professionals and mental health organizations to sign up in support of an Open Letter to the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 Development Task Force.
The Open Letter, which is highly critical of proposals for the revision of DSM-IV by American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 Work Groups, is sponsored by the Society for Humanistic Psychology (Division 32 of the American Psychological Association) in alliance with the following:
Open Letter and Petition Sponsors
Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology (Division 6 of APA)
Division of Developmental Psychology (Division 7 of APA)
Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17 of APA)
Society for Community Research and Action: Division of Community Psychology (Division 27 of APA)
Division of Psychotherapy (Division 29 of APA)
Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35 of APA)
Division of Psychoanalysis (Division 39 of APA)
Psychoanalysis for Social Responsibility (Section IX of Division 39 of APA)
Psychologists in Independent Practice (Division 42 of APA)
Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues (Division 44 of APA)
Society for Group Psychology and Psychotherapy (Division 49 of APA)
Society for the Psychological Study of Men & Masculinity (Division 51 of APA)
Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (Division of the American Counseling Association)
Association for Humanistic Counseling (Division of the American Counseling Association)
The Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC, Division of the American Counseling Association)
The Association for Women in Psychology,
The Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALGBTIC)
Society of Indian Psychologists
National Latina/o Psychological Association
The Society for Personality Assessment,
The Society for Descriptive Psychology,
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP),
The Constructivist Psychology Network (CPN),
The Taos Institute
Psychoanalysis for Social Responsibility (Section IX of Division 39 of APA)
[See Coalition for DSM-5 Reform website for most recent list of official endorsers.]
For a copy of the coalition’s letter see previous Post #97 or go here iPetitions DSM-5
Media coverage is being collated below as it comes to my attention.
Media coverage
[See Coalition for DSM-5 Reform Tab page on Dx Revision Watch website for most recent media coverage.]
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Newsworks
Expanding catalog of mental disorders worries some
Maiken Scott | November 16, 2011
The so-called bible of psychiatry, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is getting a make-over. The latest version, DSM 5, will come out in 2013. In the meantime, conflicts over which diagnoses should be added, removed or changed are heating up.
Thousands of mental health professionals who are not happy with the direction of the new DSM are signing an online petition…
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Irish Medical Times
Pat Kelly is Web Editor and Sub Editor at Irish Medical Times
DSM-V revisions may ‘stigmatise eccentric people’
Pat Kelly | November 15, 2011
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American Counseling Association
ACA blogs, written by counselors, for counselors
Paul R. Peluso is a counselor and Associate Professor in the Department of Counselor Education at Florida Atlantic University
A Letter to my Colleagues on the DSM-5
Paul Peluso | November 15, 2011
When I read the response to the criticisms offered by Dr. Darrel A. Regier, vice-chair of the DSM-5 task force that the DSM is “a set of scientific hypotheses that are intended to be tested” I became deeply concerned. My first thought was: “When I go to my physician, I don’t want her to have a hypothesized diagnosis that she is going to test on me, I want her to know what is wrong and how to fix it!” And while Dr. Regier’s comment (and a subsequent one that he “hoped” that there would be regular updates to DSM 5, like software) might have been meant to ameliorate the criticism against DSM-5, the reality is that once it is published they will go from being “editable hypotheses” to “diagnostic canon” that insurance companies, government agencies, and courts will all hold clinicians to (to say nothing of the pharmaceutical industry), which will have serious consequences for the entire field. The problem is that the process and its proposed remedy fails to take into consideration the criticisms against it: namely, that it has been based on VERY shaky science (if any at all).
This should concern us all.
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Russell Friedman is Executive Director of The Grief Recovery Institute, and co-author of The Grief Recovery Handbook, When Children Grieve, and Moving On.
Psychology Today
Broken Hearts
Exploring myths and truths about grief, loss, and recovery.
by Russell Friedman
Speaking out on behalf of millions of unsuspecting grievers
From Travesty to Potential Tragedy
Russell Friedman | November 4, 2011
The intent of this blog post is to encourage you to read and sign a petition titled, Open Letter to the DSM-5. We are particularly focused on the proposed change in the bereavement exclusion which is one of the major protests in the petition. You can skip the blog and go directly to the petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dsm5/
The Dangerous DSM-5 Bereavement Exclusion Train Must Be Derailed BEFORE It Causes Permanent Harm To Unsuspecting Grievers
We are: John W. James and Russell Friedman, co-founders of The Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation, and co-creators of The Grief Recovery Method®. We are also co-authors of The Grief Recovery Handbook and When Children Grieve [both published by HarperCollins] and Moving On [M. Evans].
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Labor Related blog
David Foley’s Labor and Employment Law Blog
David Foley | November 12, 2011
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DSM5 in Distress
The DSM’s impact on mental health practice and research.
DSM 5- ‘Living Document’ or ‘Dead on Arrival: ‘untested ‘scientific hypotheses’ must be dropped
Allen J. Frances, MD | November 11, 2011
News flash From Medscape Medical News—“APA Answers DSM-5 Critics”—a defense of DSM-5 offered by Darrel A. Regier, MD, vice-chair of the DSM-5 Task Force. Wonderful news that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is attempting to address the fact that DSM-5 alarms many of its potential users—it is long past time for an open dialog.
Unfortunately, however, Dr Regier dodges the concerns that must be addressed if DSM-5 is to become a safe and credible document. Five simple questions were previously posed to APA with a request for straight answers…
also at
Psychiatric Times
(Registration for Psychiatric Times site required)
DSM-5: Living Document or Dead on Arrival
Allen J. Frances, MD | November 11, 2011
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DSM5 in Distress
The DSM’s impact on mental health practice and research.
The User’s Revolt Against DSM 5
will it work?
Allen J. Frances, MD | November 10, 2011
When it comes to DSM 5, experience has proven conclusively that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) will not attend to the science, evaluate the risks, or listen to reason. A user’s revolt has become the last and only hope for derailing the worst of the DSM 5 suggestions…
…Will the petition work?
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USA Today
Psychologists challenge proposed new diagnoses in DSM-5
Rita Rubin, Special for USA TODAY | November 10, 2011
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Forbes
The New Mental Health Disorders Manual Is Driving Psychologists Nuts
Forbes | November 10, 2011
The new manual of mental disorders coins bizarre new psychological disorders, lowers the threshold for diagnosing old ones, and has some critics pulling their hair out…
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Psychology Today
DSM-5 in Distress
APA Responds Lamely to the Petition to Reform DSM 5
How about straight answers to simple questions?
Allen J. Frances, MD | November 8, 2011
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Registration is required in order to view Medscape article
Medscape Medical News > Psychiatry
Deborah Brauser | November 9, 2011
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Before you take that pill
New Questionable Diagnoses on the Horizon from the DSM-5 Committee
Doug Bremner | November 8, 2011
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The Great DSM-5 Personality Bazaar
James Phillips, MD | November 7, 2011
“Evaluating the evaluation
There is something quite elegant about the DSM-5 Personality Disorders diagnostic system—an architectonic of divisions, subdivisions, and sub-subdivisions. On the other hand, for all their scholastic erudition, the work group have created a monster—a bloated, pedantic, cumbersome diagnostic instrument that will never be used by anyone working in the hurly-burly of clinical practice. Just imagine doing a routine new-patient evaluation and trying to include the personality disorder assessment, each of the first two criteria with its many-item scale, each item to be scored on a 4- or 5-point rating system. It’s hard to imagine anyone having the patience or motivation to use this instrument.”
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Registration is required in order to view Medscape article
Medscape Medical News > Psychiatry
Petition Calls for Critical Changes to Upcoming DSM-5
Group Says It Has ‘Serious Reservations’ About Lowering Diagnostic Thresholds
Deborah Brauser | November 4, 2011
November 4, 2011 — Divisions of the American Psychological Association have created an online petition addressing “serious reservations” about the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5). Launched October 22, the petition has already garnered more than 3000 signatures from mental health professionals, students, and organizations.
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Psychology Today
DSM-5 in Distress
The DSM’s impact on mental health practice and research.
Why Psychiatrists Should Sign the Petition to Reform DSM 5 the fight for the future of psychiatry
Allen J. Frances, MD | November 4, 2011
Psychiatrists may be more reluctant than are other mental health clinicians to sign a petition questioning the safety and value of DSM 5. After all, it is the American Psychiatric Association that is sponsoring DSM 5 and there is a natural tendency to want to trust the wisdom of one’s own Association. We also tend to feel the greatest loyalty to our profession when it seems to be under sharp attack from without.
All this is completely understandable to me. I have not felt the least bit comfortable assuming the role fate assigned me as critic of DSM 5 and of the APA. It was a case of responsibility calling and my feeling compelled to answer. If DSM 5 were not proposing some really dangerous changes, I would have stayed comfortably on the sidelines. But I think DSM 5 is too risky to ignore and that all psychiatrists should feel the same call that I did to restrain it before it is too late.
also on Psychiatric Times (Registration for Psychiatric Times site required)
Why Psychiatrists Should Sign the Petition to Reform DSM 5
Allen J. Frances, MD | November 4, 2011
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More from Allen J Frances, MD
DSM5 in Distress
The DSM’s impact on mental health practice and research.
by Allen Frances, M.D.
Why Doesn’t DSM 5 Defend Itself?
Perhaps because no defense is possible
Allen J. Frances, MD | November 3, 2011
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Nature News
Mental-health guide accused of overreach
Dispute grows over revisions to diagnostic handbook.
Heidi Ledford | Published online November, 2 2011
Nature 479, 14 (2011) | doi:10.1038/479014a
Corrected online: 3 November 2011
Psychologist David Elkins had modest ambitions for his petition. He and his colleagues were worried that proposed changes to an influential handbook of mental disorders could classify normal behaviours as psychological conditions, potentially leading to inappropriate treatments. So they laid out their concerns in an open letter, co-sponsored by five divisions of the American Psychological Association in Washington DC. “I thought, ‘Well, maybe we’ll get a couple or maybe 30 signatures’,” says Elkins, an emeritus professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
But the letter, posted online on 22 October (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dsm5/), touched a nerve. Within 10 days more than 2,800 people had signed it, many identifying themselves as mental-health professionals…
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Psychology Today Do the Right Thing
Thomas Plante, Ph.D., ABPP, is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University
All the Fuss with DSM-5: The Ethics of the Psychiatric Bible Is DSM5 sacred scripture?
Thomas G. Plante, Ph.D | November 1, 2011
There has been a great deal of controversy already about DSM5 and it isn’t scheduled to be published until May 2013! So, what’s up with that?
You may have heard of some of the controversy surrounding the new edition of the DSM, the “psychiatric bible,” published periodically by the American Psychiatric Association. It is the “go to” document that defines all mental health disorders and is used for diagnosis, treatment approaches, and perhaps most especially, for insurance coverage and reimbursement for professional psychiatric services. If you are a mental health professional or a patient of a mental health professional, this is an important document…
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A sixth commentary from Allen J Frances
(Registration for Psychiatric Times site required)
Psychiatric Times
DSM-5 Will Not Be Credible Without An Independent Scientific Review
Allen J Frances, MD | November 2, 2011
After all this controversy and opposition, there is one thing (and one thing only) that will save the credibility of DSM-5 and guarantee its safety – a credible process of external scientific review. APA is conducting its own internal scientific review, but it strikes out badly on all 4 requirements that must be met before a review deserves to be taken seriously as a trustworthy stamp of approval…
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A fifth commentary from Allen J Frances
Psychology Today
Blogs
DSM5 in Distress
The DSM’s impact on mental health practice and research.
Dr Frances was Chair of the DSM-IV Task Force and is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine
DSM 5 Against Everyone Else Its Research Types Just Don’t Understand The Clinical World
Allen J Frances, MD | DSM5 in Distress | November 1, 2011
also at
Psychiatric Times
(Registration for Psychiatric Times site required)
DSM-5 Against Everyone Else: Research Types Just Don’t Understand The Clinical World
Allen J Frances, MD | November 1, 2011
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Psychology Today
Blogs
Side Effects
From quirky to serious, trends in psychology and psychiatry.
by Christopher Lane, Ph.D.
Saving Psychiatry from Itself: The DSM-5 Controversy Heats Up Again
Why an Open Letter to the DSM-5 task force is generating widespread interest
Christopher Lane, PhD | October 31, 2011
Last weekend, without any fanfare or publicity, the Society for Humanistic Psychology, a division of the American Psychological Association, posted an open letter to the DSM-5 task force listing in precise, scholarly detail its many concerns about the edition’s working assumptions, procedures, and recommendations. Three other APA Divisions supported the move, which also was endorsed by the Association for Women in Psychology, the Society for Descriptive Psychology, and the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).
In the space of just a week, the open letter has caught fire…
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A fourth commentary from Allen J Frances
Dr Frances was Chair of the DSM-IV Task Force and is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine
Psychology Today
What Would A Useful DSM 5 Look Like? And An Update On The Petition Drive
Allen J Frances, MD | DSM5 in Distress | October 31, 2011
The petition to reform DSM 5 continues to gain momentum. After just one week, more than 2000 people have expressed their disapproval of the DSM 5 proposals and their desire to see dramatic changes. You can join them at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dsm5/.
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The Constructivist Psychology Network | October 30, 2011
The Constructivist Psychology Network has signed a petition supporting an open letter by psychologists to the DSM-5 task force. The open letter objects to many of the proposed revisions being considered by the for inclusion in its forthcoming DSM-5.
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Psychology Today
Rethinking Depression
How to shed mental health labels and create personal meaning
by Eric Maisel, Ph.D. | October 28, 2011
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The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
UKCP signs an online petition about DSM-5 | October 26, 2011
UKCP has signed an online petition which expresses serious reservations about the proposed content of the future DSM-5. In the latest issue of The Psychotherapist (issue 49, autumn 2011), Tom Warnecke explains the controversy surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)…
PDF The Psychotherapist (issue 49, autumn 2011) , Page 24, Mass psychosis or the brave new world of DSM-5: Tom Warnecke
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A second blog from Karen Franklin
Forensic Psychologist
Karen Franklin Ph.D. | October 27, 2011
DSM-5 petition takes off like wildfire
Karen Franklin, Ph.D. is a forensic psychologist and adjunct professor at Alliant University in Northern California.
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A second commentary from Allen J Frances
Psychiatric Times
DSM-5 Blog
Petition Against DSM-5 Gets Off To Racing Start: A Game Changer?
By Allen J Frances, MD | October 26, 2011
Dr Frances was Chair of the DSM-IV Task Force and is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine
(Registration for Psychiatric Times site required)
also at Psychology Today | October 27, 2011
The Petition Against DSM 5 Gets Off To Fast Start
Could It Be A Game Changer
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Psychologists circulate petition against DSM-5 revisions
CT Daily | October 24, 2011
Heather Rudow
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Britsh Psychological Society (BPS)
Psychologists petition against DSM-5 | October 25, 2011
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Psychology Today
DSM-5 in Distress
Dr Allen Frances
Psychologists Petition Against DSM-5: Users Revolt Should Capture APA Attention
By Allen J Frances, MD | October 24, 2011
Dr Frances was Chair of the DSM-IV Task Force and is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine
also (with registered access) same text at Psychiatric Times
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Forensic Psychologist
Karen Franklin, Ph.D. | October 23, 2011
Psychology coalition urges rethinking of DSM-5 expansions
Karen Franklin, Ph.D. is a forensic psychologist and adjunct professor at Alliant University in Northern California.
Dr Franklin also blogs at Psychology Today Witness, A blog about forensic psychology
dx revision watch 