There are many psychological disorders and problems that exist in the world and that require treatment. Depression and anxiety are some of them, but we can also find others such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder.
If we know these disorders it is because they have a name, a diagnostic label that allows us to name the joint presentation of a series of symptoms linked together. And sometimes determining what problem the person in question has can be difficult to assess, given that different professionals can value different aspects and ignore others.
Fortunately, to overcome this difficulty, some professionals have developed classification systems for mental disorders throughout history, the most well-known and currently used being the DSM-5 and the ICD-10. But although these are classification systems with great similarities to each other, they are not the same. What are the main differences between DSM-5 and ICD-10? Let’s see it throughout the following article.
Before talking about the differences between the DSM-5 and the ICD-10, perhaps it would be advisable to first briefly mention what these acronyms, known to all psychologists and psychiatrists, refer to.
When we talk about DSM-5 we are talking about the fifth edition of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”, one of the most well-known manuals and classification systems for the most well-known mental disorders and alterations and relevant. This edition was published in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association (hereinafter APA) through expert consensus and multiple research.
This classification system, although it is increasingly controversial due to the pathologization of more and more behaviors and modes of functioning and due to accusations of the existence of commercial interests behind the formulation and overdiagnosis of some of these disorders, is one one of the most relevant since it offers a framework from which to determine whether patients manifest symptoms and criteria of a specific disorder, in such a way that diagnosis and treatment is facilitated both for the professional who cares for them and for future interpretations by the patient. other professionals.
As for the ICD-10, in this case the acronym refers to the tenth edition of the “International Classification of Diseases”. This is another of the great manuals and classification systems that exist, although this time It does not only analyze mental disorders but also the set of all diseases, disorders and alterations that exist In it, mental disorders only occupy one chapter, the fifth (or F).
It was published in 1992 by the World Health Organization. Although the next edition, the ICD-11, was published in 2018, the truth is that even today the ICD-10 version and even the one before it (ICD-9) continues to be more used and widespread. .
Main differences between DSM-5 and ICD-10
Although DSM-5 and ICD-10 have multiple similarities and include within them very similar psychological/psychiatric problems, the truth is that they are two different reference manuals with several differences to take into account. Below we will see some of the clearest differences between the two.
1. Level of specificity: mental disorder or general classification of diseases
One of the main aspects in which we can find differentiating elements between DSM-5 and ICD-10 is the fact that while the DSM is a reference manual focused on mental disorders, the ICD is the International Classification of Diseases, including not only alterations of the psyche but the set of disorders and medical diseases that can appear in humans.
Thus, while In the DSM-5 we will only find mental problems and disorders these are just one of the chapters or sections of the ICD-10, which although it includes mental disorders in chapter V (or F) it also includes any illness or medical problem.
Although both are very useful classification systems in the healthcare field and their contents are highly similar to each other, a difference can be found in the specific objective that each of them has.
Although both are diagnostic-oriented, while the DSM aims at a systematic and precise description of the diagnostic criteria and characteristics of a disorder, The ICD is more oriented towards recording and analyzing the present characteristics of the disorder In this sense, the first is also slightly more precise in its description of the symptoms.
3. Organization that generates them
An also quite relevant difference between both systems is found in the organization that has generated them, as well as the recognition they have.
The DSM-5 It has been prepared by the American Psychiatric Association , one of the most relevant American organizations in the world regarding the study of mental health problems. On the other hand, the ICD-10 has been developed by the World Health Organization, which has worldwide impact.
4. Level of recognition
Although the DSM-5 is probably the best-known classification system and is undoubtedly the most used in America, A large majority of psychiatrists in the world and especially in Europe use the ICD-10
5. Number of major categories
Already within what would be the content or the classification made between the different mental disorders, one of the differences that we can find is the number of large sections or categories
While the ICD-10 incorporates a total of 10 differentiated sections in the chapter dedicated to psychological disorders, of which three are dedicated to childhood disorders, in the DSM we can find a total of 21 large diagnostic categories. It must be taken into account that we are talking about large groups of disorders, with various disorders existing in the majority of each of the groups.
6. Different disorders or presence of the same disorder with different names
Perhaps the most notable difference is the fact that both DSM-5 and ICD-10 They classify psychiatric disorders with different names , include criteria that may be divergent from each other (for example, they may take into account different time periods in which the symptom should occur). There are even some that do not exist directly or are not considered as diagnostic entities in one of the classification systems, as is the case with mixed anxious-depressive disorder.
Most of these differences are not very relevant and refer to the same realities, being highly arbitrary.
7. Transculturality
Another differentiating element between both classifications, and this is something that is even more evident between the DSM-5 and the recent ICD-11, is that although both classification systems have great usefulness, the DSM-5 is based on a perspective and understanding of the psyche based on Western mentality and culture, while in the case of ICD-10 The existence of different problems more typical of other cultures is taken into account more
Thus, while in the DSM it is possible that some problems do not fully fit the diagnostic criteria due to divergent cultural elements with respect to Westerners, the ICD is more cross-cultural and allows greater applicability in other regions of the world with different circumstances and ways. to understand reality.
8. A system… multiaxial?
Throughout their history, both the DSM and the ICD classificatory systems have used a multiaxial system, with different axes that allow the annotation of different types of problems in such a way that the diagnosis and classification of the various problems is facilitated. However, with the arrival of the DSM-5 this characteristic has gone from being something common to being a differentiating element.
And the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has dispensed with the multiaxiality that characterized its previous version (DSM-IVR had a total of five axes), while in the ICD-10 three main axes are maintained: (clinical diagnosis, disabilities and contextual elements).
