Allen Frances Calls DSM-5 A "Colossal Waste"

Details: Category: News; Published on Wednesday, 20 June 2012 15:57; Written by Lara Landis; Hits: 413

Asexuals and Transgender activists have raised concerns about the DSM-5. The latest concern over the publication of the upcoming edition of the book does not deal with medical or psychiatric issues. The American Psychiatric Association has gone into debt trying to produce the document. The organization is running a $350,000 deficit.

The Huffington Post attributed the deficit to declining membership, reduced profit from the sale of its books, and declining attendance at its annual meeting. A budget deficit has renewed calls for the organization to take more time on the DSM-5 and reinstate the quality control process that the committee dropped during the production of the book.

Some critics have questioned the amount of people on the committee who have ties to drug companies, creating potential conflicts of interest.

Allen Frances called the book a colossal waste in his Huffington Post column and stated that the book had flunked its own field test. Frances worries that the APA may try to push publication of the book that he calls “deeply flawed.”