How Australia adopted America’s bible of psychiatry
It’s time for a robust review into how America’s mental illness diagnostic manual, which has been fully adopted here, is affecting Australians.
Critics of the American ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ say it promotes a “hyper-medicalised model” that reduces the complexity of human behaviour to a tick-box list, devoid of empathy.
While Australians may decry the effects of Hollywood, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s on our culture, most are completely ignorant of the dominant role American psychiatry plays in contemporary Australia, says mental health researcher Dr Martin Whitely.
“It affects millions of individuals and their families,” says Whitely, a research fellow in Public Policy at Curtin University in WA. “The central document used in Australia to define who is sane and who is mentally ill – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) – has been drawn up entirely by committees in the US.
Jill MargoSenior writerJill Margo is based in the Sydney office. Jill has won multiple prizes, including two Walkley Awards and is an adjunct associate professor at School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Connect with Jill on Twitter. Email Jill at jmargo@afr.com
