Science Progress | Where science, technology, and progressive
policy meet  The Tricky Business of Defining Mental Disorders
The DSM-5, Its Critics, and Its Values  In the wake of the
shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, the
nation is taking a moment to pause and reflect on how it handles
mental disorders and disability.  Before we can diagnose and
treat mental disorders, we must first answer a more fundamental
question, “What should count as a mental illness?” This
question, which exists at the intersection of cultural values
and medical science, is inherently thorny. Deciding where to
draw the line between “normal” behavior and “dysfunctional”
behavior requires us to define both what constitutes normal and
what we consider to be dysfunctional—both include a degree of
subjectivity.  The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, or the DSM, touted as the “bible” of psychiatry, is
the document that draws these lines. It represents the consensus
of the psychiatric community an