Dsm-5: A bioethical overview

Abstract

The presentation of the new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), in May 2013 during the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association held in San Francisco, California, was preceded by a strong controversy, where not only the scientific community intervened, but so did the printed and digital media outlets. Through these media, the general public also witnessed an unprecedented situation in the development of psychiatry: not only was the public being informed, but they also had the opportunity to express their points of view through social media, web pages of specialized publications, and digital journals or newspapers. The controversy was initially focused on how the process of constructing the manual was conducted. However, this was not the only point that was being questioned: in addition to the positive aspects of the fifth version of the DSM (DSM-5), various opinions, more or less illustrated, were being made public about the limitations of the instrument. The approaches being presented herein lead us to watch more carefully how the DSM-5 should be applied, because an increasing number of authors recommended caution and care in the use of the manual. From a bioethical perspective, these positive and negative points are presented and discussed to then offer some conclusions and recommendations.