Classification of mental disorders

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The classification of mental disorders, also known as psychiatric nosology or psychiatric taxonomy, is central to the practice of psychiatry and other mental health professions.

The two most widely used psychiatric classification systems are chapter V of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10), produced by the World Health Organization (WHO); and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), produced by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

Both systems list disorders thought to be distinct types, and in recent revisions the two systems have deliberately converged their codes so that their manuals are often broadly comparable, though differences remain. Both classifications employ operational definitions.^[1]

Other classification schemes, used more locally, include the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders.

Manuals of limited use, by practitioners with alternative theoretical persuasions, include the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual.