From Bibles to Biomarkers: The Future of the DSM and Forensic Psychiatric Diagnosis

24 Pages Posted: 1 Jun 2017 Last revised: 8 Jun 2017

See all articles by Teneille R. Brown

Teneille R. Brown

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law

Date Written: May 30, 2015

Abstract

Given its importance to the law, it is regrettable that judges and lawyers do not fully understand how the DSM is constructed, and the bedrock of values on which it rests. As evidence of this, lawyers and judges often refer to the DSM as the “psychiatric bible.” This language is both fascinating and perplexing. This Article will attempt to correct the notion that the DSM is a legal “psychiatric bible” by explaining how it is created and used by the medical field. It will also provide a few reasons why the law may have come to view it as a “bible," and will describe an alternative to the DSM, empowered by a new research tool called the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC). While the DSM may be an imperfect legal tool, this Article calls for a more nuanced application of its diagnoses rather than abandoning it whole cloth in favor of the RDoC, or any other singular diagnostic criteria.

Keywords: DSM-V, DSM, Forensic Psychiatry, Psychiatric Diagnosis, RDoC

Suggested Citation

Brown, Teneille R., From Bibles to Biomarkers: The Future of the DSM and Forensic Psychiatric Diagnosis (May 30, 2015). Utah Law Review, Vol. 2015, No. 4, p. 743, 2015, University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 216, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2977425

Teneille R. Brown (Contact Author)

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law ( email )

383 S. University Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
United States

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