Shrinks Discuss Rewrite of Psychiatric Bible

The American Psychiatric Association will unveil dozens of proposals for new psychiatric disorders today, as it begins its first revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—or DSM, as the kids call it—since 1994. Kids prone to temper tantrums might soon be diagnosed with “temper dysregulation with dysphoria,” while eccentric teens could be diagnosed with “psychosis risk syndrome.” Too interested in sex? You might have “hypersexual disorder.”

Today will begin two years of debate on those and other proposed changes, which supporters say will make the book more up-to-date and accurate. But critics say the process hasn’t been sufficiently shielded from pharmaceutical industry influence, the Washington Post reports. The DSM is an immensely important document, defining what is considered mental illness, what drugs are developed and prescribed, and what insurance companies will pay for. (More Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders stories.)