Publisher's Synopsis
Psychiatric nosology and classification have received increasing attention. The development of operational diagnostic approaches using psychopathological, time- and course-related diagnostic criteria to define mental disorders has been realized in a variety of diagnostic systems, for example DSM-III, DSM-III-R, DSM-IV and ICD-10. The recent increase in research activities and publications concerning problems of classification has improved theoretical and clinical concepts of both psychiatric and psychodynamic diagnoses. This text introduces and surveys the latest innovations in psychiatric classification. Topics covered include a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of descriptive multilaxial diagnostical models and the development of instruments for improving the validity and reliability of psychiatric diagnoses. A discussion of the results of a multi-centre field trial, part of an international study initiated and co-ordinated by the WHO Department of Mental Health, is also featured.
