As part of its "Exploring the Mind" lecture series, the University of Michigan will host a discussion at the Ann Arbor District Library on how psychology should rethink the way mental illnesses are diagnosed.
Experts in psychology continue to debate what defines mental illness and whether diagnoses should allow for more nuance.
Leading the lecture is U-M Professor of Psychology Aidan Wright. He says mental illness diagnoses come from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, which hasn’t majorly changed in over 40 years.
“The model that we currently have only seen modest changes since 1980. And if you think about any other area of medicine, there have been drastic changes in how we conceptualize things like cancer.”
Wright says this push for reform in the APA’s DSM can hopefully lead to improved treatments and understanding of mental illnesses.
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