Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders - Essay Example

There are a number of changes in the upcoming DSM-5 when compared with the currently valid DSM-IV-TR with respect to schizophrenic spectrum disorders. The main difference is that the currently used subtypes of schizophrenia (paranoid type, disorganized type, catatonic type, undifferentiated type and residual type) are going to be removed from the DSM-5 section. Additionally, DSM-5 will see the addition of dimensions (related to depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment and reality distortion).

The reason for this is that these symptoms are common to many mental disorders and therefore it can be more informative to the patient and the clinician to have a dimensional assessment of these areas. The disorders in the category will also be ordered by psychopathology from least to most severe. There are also incidences of renaming (Psychotic Disorder Not Elsewhere Classified from Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) in an attempt to make the DSM-5 more relevant to health professionals.

The ICD-10 classifies schizophrenia differently from the proposed diagnostic criteria for DSM-5, although it does have some similarities with the DSM-IV-TR. The most obvious similarity between these latter two criteria is that the ICD-10 retains the categorization for schizophrenia, including catatonic schizophrenia (removed from DSM-5), paranoid schizophrenia, and undifferentiated schizophrenia. Additionally, it also includes hebephrenic, residual, simple and other schizophrenias, as well as classifying post-schizophrenic depression as part of the disorder.

This suggests that there will be some difference between diagnoses of the same individual depending on the diagnostic criteria used and the clinician. However, the mental health community may find it difficult to use a standard classification (such as that found elsewhere in the ICD-10) because of the nature of mental illness and the differences in expression and treatment response between patients. This can make it very hard to make a standardized diagnosis without proper examination of the patient and their needs.