Implementing Improved Descriptors for Psychotic Disorders
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: To the Editor, We thank Kotov and colleagues1 for their kind remarks on our article2 that reviewed why course description should be restored as a critical aspect of the differential diagnosis of psychotic disorders. We noted that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) models provide course descriptors, but they are neither required for diagnosis nor commonly used. In their article, Kotov and colleagues presented a detailed list of alternatives for documenting course and reviewed the evidence supporting the use of these descriptors. They recommend further research to help clarify which alternatives were most likely to be both valid and reliable. We agree but would observe that such research may go on indefinitely. In the meantime, there are evidence-based choices that could be used as a required element for standard diagnosis in the near future. We suggest that the time has come to formally vet those choices and implement the most promising descriptors in the next versions of the DSM and ICD diagnostic models.
Source: Schizophrenia Bulletin
Authors: Bruce M Cohen, Dost Öngür
Institutions: Harvard University, McLean Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4417274194