ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a history of the origins of classification systems for psychiatric disorders and summarizes the theoretical rationale, development and content of each edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It considers other systems of diagnosing and classifying psychiatric disorders and describes a chronological history of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, from its origins as a means of classifying the inmates of lunatic asylums to a consideration of each consecutive version of the manual. Research evidence suggested that some presentations of the disorder occur after that age. Feedback from clinicians with a specialty in anxiety disorders questioned the criterion for Panic Disorder, which specified that the condition could only occur after at least three panic attacks. In clinical practice, specifying the precise nature of the impairment or the severity of a disorder is often secondary to the primary identification of the disorder.
