Give Them A Word

In May 2013 the American Psychiatric Association plans to launch the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version 5. This is apparently the most anticipated event in the mental health field and is accompanied by hype more often associated with the release of a new iphone (and the similarity doesn’t end there). This presentation will explore the scientism associated and perpetuated by these diagnostic manuals, the notion that faith, rather than science underpins many of the assertions made by spokespeople (often with conflicted interests) in the mental health industry and it will consider the impact of these manuals on mental health practice culture. Cite As: Lakeman, R. (2012, 19th April). Give the people a new word and they think they have a new fact. Paper presented at the NSW Branch of the Australian College of Mental Health Nursing - 2012 Education Forum - Healing: Making the Implicit Explicit: New Paradigms in the Neuroplasticity Era Southern Cross University, Lismore and by video conference.