Get Early Look At DSM-V Planning Process

What multidisciplinary research advances have occurred in mental health since the 2000 publication of DSM-IV-TR? APA is devoting an extended period for research planning in advance of DSM-V to explore this question thoroughly. This process involves in-depth assessments of the current“ state-of-the-science” in relevant fields, exploration of gaps between current knowledge and what still needs to be known, and the production of research agendas to stimulate new research to address these gaps.

These and other questions will be discussed in the forum “Research Planning for DSM-V” at APA's 2005 annual meeting. It will be held Monday, May 23, at noon in Room A410 on Level 4 of the Georgia World Congress Center. The session will be chaired by Darrel Regier, M.D., director of APA's Division of Research and the American Psychiatric Institute on Research and Education (APIRE).

Presenters will summarize the latest progress in the mechanisms that APA has in place to accomplish these goals: work groups that are addressing factors, such as gender and age, that can affect diagnosis of all disorders; a conference series sponsored by the National Institutes of Health addressing issues in specific diagnostic categories (and the outcomes of three diagnosis-specific research conferences on personality disorders, substance use disorders, and stress and fear-circuitry disorders, as well as a conference on research methods); and “A Prelude to the DSM-V,” a Web site created for the public, psychiatrists, mental health professionals, and researchers to encourage comments and suggestions from all user groups. Global perspectives in the research-planning process will also be discussed.

The presenters are Wilson Compton, M.D., of the National Institute on Drug Abuse; Bruce Cuthbert, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Mental Health; Michael B. First, M.D., of the New York State Psychiatric Institute; William E. Narrow, M.D., and Maritza Rubio-Stipec, Sc.D., of APA's Division of Research and APIRE; and Norman Sartorius, M.D., of the World Health Organization.

For those who prefer a more in-depth look at the state of the science, symposia and workshops will be presented by the DSM work groups on issues related to gender, early childhood, geriatrics, and personality disorders, based on each group's most current knowledge. ▪