Today, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released the Diagnostic And Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). The manual, which the APA has published and updated since 1952, defines and classifies mental disorders in order to improve diagnosis, treatment and research.

Developed with the help of more than 200 subject matter experts, DSM-5-TR includes the fully revised text and references of the DSM-5, as well as updated diagnostic criteria and ICD-10-CM insurance codes. It features a new disorder, Prolonged Grief Disorder, as well as codes for suicidal behavior and nonsuicidal self-injury.

As the revision was prepared, 29 U.S.-based and international experts in cultural psychiatry, psychology, and anthropology reviewed it for cultural influences on disorder characteristics, incorporating relevant information in the sections on culture-related diagnostic issues. An additional workgroup composed of 14 mental health practitioners from diverse ethnic and racialized backgrounds with expertise in disparity-reduction practices reviewed references to race, ethnicity, and related concepts throughout the manual to avoid perpetuating stereotypes or including discriminatory clinical information.

“This text revision reflects the most recent updates in the literature with the added lens of ethnocultural and racial constructs in diagnosis as well as sex and gender constructions,” said APA President Vivian Pender, M.D. “It will be a powerful tool in the hands of psychiatrists and other mental health clinicians as we work to diagnose and treat our patients. In producing this volume, APA continues to advance the science of the mind.”

The DSM-5, since 2013, has been updated through an online process; researchers who wished to propose updates to the manual submitted them through the online portal. Each proposal underwent an extensive multi-stage review process by panels of experts before final approval and inclusion as appropriate. Ultimately, the DSM-5-TR includes all of these updates as well as technical fixes. The online process will remain open for DSM-5-TR as well.

“Two hundred expert researchers and practitioners put in countless hours to ensure that the DSM-5-TR is an indispensable contribution to our understanding of mental illness,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A. “We are grateful to all who contributed to its production and look forward to seeing it used by researchers, clinicians and students worldwide.”

For more information, visit psychiatry.org/dsm.

American Psychiatric Association

The American Psychiatric Association, founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 37,400 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. APA's vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information please visit www.psychiatry.org.