Contemporary Directions in Psychopathology: Toward the DSM-IV

New York: The Guilford Press, 1986. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Hardcover. The first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I) was published in 1952. After a second version (DSM-II) was released in 1968, a major leap forward was made with the release of DSM-III (1980). DSM III was significant in its scale and impact. It attempted to improve the uniformity and validity of psychiatric diagnosis and to standardize diagnostic practices within the United States and with other countries. Still, there was criticism of the faults in DSM-III. This work was an attempt to bring together the criticiques of leading psychiatric investigators, in preparation for the creation of a DSM-IV, which was eventually released in 1994. While DSM-IV was also hailed as a major advance, it of course has also been replaced with the passage of time by DSM-V. This is a very interesting historical piece documenting the evolution of thinking is the field of psychiatry. Contributors include Meehl, Eysenck, Zubin, Lorr, Grunbaum, Andreasen, Garfield, Weissman, Kiesler, and Benjamin. Octavo. Black paper-covered boards with black cloth-covered spine. Title in gilt to spine. Yellow dust jacket with title in black to front and spine panels. Sunning to spine panel. Pages are bright and clean. Small smudge at bottom of text block. 737 pages, including index. PSY1/2042.