DSM-5: Time to Rethink the Future of Psychiatry and Medicine

Lunch provided at NOONTalk begins at 12:10PMJulian Savulescu, PhDUehiro Chair in Practical EthicsDirector, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical EthicsUniversity of OxfordThe American Psychiatric Association released the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in May 2013 amid criticism from the British Psychological Society and other eminent voices. Professor Savulescu argues that among DSM-5¿s problems are its over-emphasis on biological causes of mental distress and its classification of arguably normal states as disorders. In this talk, he will explain why these strategies are harmful and argue that the purpose of psychiatry¿and of medicine generally¿must be reconsidered if advances in medicine are to be effective in benefiting people. He will advance an alternative framework in which medicine focuses not on disease but on biophysical traits that, combined with other factors, reduce well-being.