Neurological Correlates Rewrites the DSM: Introducing the DSM-A-Matic

DSM is at best irrelevant and at worst, arbitrary and capricious. If we ruled the psych world, we’d toss this book and instead base diagnostics on observable physical traits.  We don’t doubt the sincerity of the psych profession; it’s just that there is entirely too much subjective judgment. While a little subjective judgment from experience is fine, people’s lives are at stake here, first of all and, second of all, it seems to us, that the people that do the most harm in society are the ones who are never diagnosed with anything at all. Moreover, the patient, typically, is unwilling and sees no reason why they should be analyzed at all, unless by court order or because they’ve “hit bottom” in one sad way or another. At that point being diagnosed with something is besides the point; the damage is done. One knows what the problem is because one has just seen it.

The trouble is that the entire exercise is a proxy for figuring out how other people think. Implicit in this is judgment: one imparts one’s own biases when determining what another is thinking.  Isn’t that the point of having theory of mind? Yet, also implicit, is if you are using the DSM, ab initio, the other person doesn’t think like you.  No wonder the process takes years.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) will be published in May 2013, and for those not so versed in the Health-Industrial Complex, this is the book shrinks use to prescribe psych meds, to bluntly state the main purpose . Everything is rigged toward swooping in the most people who could possibly benefit from (a) some kind of treatment, or (b) one or more psych med. The entire diagnosing system is gamed, and people who are most severely damaging others escape diagnosis, sending the ones they damage running for the psych meds and the couch. As long as the shrink can keep the person who is stalking/harassing/causing you grief around, they have a patient – you. The chief cause of the problem is the person who needs some sort of restraint or sedative.

Some of the diagnoses are invalid for vagueness. Let’s just look at one diagnosis, albeit a minor, non-treatable one:  Manic Episode.  Anyone in love would fall into this category. (Cf.,the late Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love). We are aware of a certain biopharma company that had stock options that vested all at once (as opposed to a 4 year period) when the strike price hit. That price, $75/share, hit in July of 1997 (the 1990s were like that). For the next week, the entire company would fit the bill for all the criteria (not just 3 of the 7 listed)  for “Manic Episode”.

Ultimately, an imaging and genetic workup would probably cover something like 80% of the diagnoses out there, and much less expensively than decades worth of head shrinking or taking psych meds that don’t work.

So,  we introduce the Neurological Correlates DSM-A-Matic, currently in prototype form (alas, no diagnosis, if you hit the submit button at the end it will head straight to my spam box at present reload the page). Plus, the format should be different so that more than one item from the drop down can be selected. But you can see the point.

Ta-Dah! You’ll be criticizing and telling us why this won’t work, but you’ll be figuring out how to copy it. Have at it!

PLEASE NOTE: THE CODE IS MESSED UP, WHEN YOU PRESS “SUBMIT” YOU MAY GET A CONTACT FORM. IGNORE IT.The page reloads.

Tags: diagnosing how people think, DSM, medico-industrial complex, neuroscience, psychology, shrinks