In an opinion piece for the New York Times (3/15), author, physician, and psychiatrist in training Lisa Pryor observed, “With [its] focus on diagnosis and classification, you would be forgiven for thinking that psychiatry is a profession devoted merely to sorting and labeling humans,” as is “highlighted by the common description of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – the thick volume published by the American Psychiatric Association listing the various diseases of the mind – as the ‘bible’ of psychiatry.” In real life, however, the DSM “is an explanation of the human mind no more than a dictionary is an explanation of literature,” Dr. Pryor wrote. Instead, she promoted the concept of “psychiatric formulation.” Under that concept, “a formulation gathers up all the biological, psychological and social factors that have led to a person becoming unwell and considers how these factors interconnect,” and in so doing, “provides clues to the pathway out of suffering.”
Related Links:
— “Mental Illness Isn’t All in Your Head, “Lisa Pryor, The New York Times, March 15, 2019