The Language of Psychiatry

The knowledge explosion of recent years has generated a language explosion in every field, especially in the behavioral sciences. In addition, existing terms are often used in new, jargonistic, or contradictory ways, and some words have become so popularized that they no longer have validity for scientists. The editor of the fifth edition of the Psychiatric Dictionary tells how terms gain entry into its pages, why some are eliminated, and why some definitions are revised. He discusses how the new categories and nomenclature of the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders were handled, particularly since clinicians throughout the world have been accustomed to the terminology of DSM-II.