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"Dogmas take endless forms, and when you can persuade different people to hold opposing dogmas, the manipulation of conflict and control through "divide and rule" becomes easy. It is happening today in the same way - more so, in fact - as it has throughout human history."
David Icke - The New World Order
American Psychiatric Association
Accused of Normalizing Pedophilia
SPECIAL REPORT
What Is 'Pedophilia?'Dr. Mogul Was Wrong!
Massachusetts News
November 1--Dr. Mogul informed us at the rally what the American Psychiatric Association says about pedophilia, but she was wrong.
It was impossible to know what the panelists meant when they kept saying, "We all hate pedophilia." It’s very reassuring to hear that; but in order to have an intelligent discussion, they would have to define the term.
Dr. Mogul’s primary reason to be at the rally was to protect the American Psychiatric Association of which she is a Trustee.
Under their definition of pedophilia, only children who are 13 years and younger are protected. Any teenager who is 14 years or older is not protected.
Therefore, if a 50-year-old man has sexual relations with a 14-year-old boy, that is not pedophilia under the rules of the psychiatrists as to what is a mental disorder. However, the psychiatrists do not write the law. They only decide if a person is mentally ill.
Dr. Mogul took great pride in the fact that the law is very strict about pedophilia, but the psychiatrists cannot take credit for that because they have nothing to do with it. It is the role of the legislature to define sexual molestation. (In Massachusetts, any sexual relations with a child under 16 years is statutory rape, regardless of whether or not it is consensual.)
Psychiatrists are also Normalizing Pedophilia
The doctor was upset because in addition to reporting the news about the psychologists, we reported that the American Psychiatric Association may also be normalizing pedophilia.
No one disputes that they have said for years that sexual relations with a 14-year-old is not pedophilia. Therefore, it would be difficult for them to mount any strenuous objection to lowering the age of consent to that age or lower.
How about below that age? We reported in our mailing that the psychiatrists have also changed the rules about pedophilia for children who are 13 years or younger. That is what upset Dr. Mogul. She had to defend her organization. We had written in the mailing:
"Their association, the American Psychiatric Association, very quietly changed its diagnostic manual a few years back so that a person no longer has a ‘disorder’ simply because he molests children (who are 13 years or younger).
"To be diagnosed as ‘disordered,’ the psychiatrists will look to the psyche of the adult. If the adult does not feel anxious about the relationship with the child or if he is not impaired in his work or social relationships, then he has no ‘disorder.’" We then continued:
"The psychiatrists have attempted to backtrack and to confuse journalists. They have prepared a ‘Fact Sheet’ for journalists which presents an entirely different picture from the official manual. They tell journalists that any adult who has sex with children is ‘by definition’ considered to be a pedophile. But that is not what the official manual says. In order for any journalist to understand the truth behind this ‘Fact Sheet,’ he will have to be very sophisticated. It is a very professional attempt at obfuscation."
We are still unable to determine what they mean when they say that such a person is a pedophile "by definition." If Dr. Mogul will advise where that "definition" can be found, we would like to refer to it. The truth is that there is no such "definition" anywhere except in their imagination. They’re trying to "cover" themselves. The purpose of the manual of disorders is to provide the official ‘definition.’
It is apparent that Dr. Mogul was not happy with us, and she sent a letter to the editor of the Newton Tab in which she said our mailing was "outrageous" and "scurrilous." She said, "Most adults who have sexual encounters with children meet all three criteria for the diagnosis of pedophilia." That is clearly not true because most of them do not feel remorse nor they are hampered in their functions.
This is all spelled out very clearly in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition on page 527.
At the rally, Dr. Mogul attempted to explain the change in their manual by saying that all of the sexual disorders in the entire manual had been changed to require that the person have remorse or be dysfunctional. But what does that prove? Nobody made them change all or any of them. It was entirely their decision to do so.
Dr. Mogul Was Wrong On Almost Everything
Dr. Mogul was the only one on the panel who talked at all about pedophilia, and she was incorrect on almost everything she said.
The highlight of the evening was her assurance that homosexuals are not involved in pedophilia. She stated:
"There is no evidence as far as I know that pedophilia is at all more common among men who have homosexual sexual preference than it is among heterosexual men.
And she reiterated later:
"There have been some studies of that, and none of them have shown a greater prevalence among homosexuals than among heterosexuals, so misinformation is a good way to stir up fear… they’re certainly at no greater risk from gays as from heterosexuals."
She was totally stunned when a citizen asked her to explain that if homosexuals are only 3% of the population and commit 30% of the molestation, doesn’t that mean that a homosexual is ten times more likely to be a pedophile?
She was stunned into total silence for about eight seconds until Rev. Malmberg finally broke in and started talking about something else.
She never did answer the question.
Nothing Wrong with Mailing
When answering a resident’s question, "Is the truth hate mail?" she replied that she couldn’t point to anything in the mailing that was incorrect, but if you looked at it as a whole it was wrong.
"My main objection to it was that it strung together some things that each in itself may not be wrong, but if you string it together the way it’s strung together in this, it’s totally wrong."
She also said that the majority of pedophilia is father-daughter incest, which was inaccurate. The experts say that 80% of pedophilia is adult males on boys inasmuch as pedophiles who are homosexuals interact with many more children than do heterosexual pedophiles."
Will Pedophilia Be Next In Massachusetts Schools?
"Child Molestation" Is Being "Normalized"
by J. Edward Pawlick
Publisher, Massachusetts NewsThe American Psychological Association has sent a strong message that it will soon approve the practice of adults having sex with children, now known as "pedophilia" or "child molestation."
It has published a study indicating that pedophilia can have a positive influence on a child. This conclusion was based upon a compilation of fifty-nine studies about how college students have coped with childhood sexual "abuse."
We must eliminate the use of "judgmental terms" such as "child abuse," "molestation," and "victims," according to the study. We should use neutral, value-free terms like "adult-child sex." We should not talk about "the severity of the abuse," but instead refer to "the level of sexual intimacy."
APA Attempts to Distance Itself
The APA is attempting to distance itself from the article by saying that the publication of such a study does not imply an endorsement.
"We are a scientific organization, and we publish a lot of scientific literature and we try to create a lot of dialogue," stated APA spokeswoman Rhea Farberman.
She said that any attempt to build a bridge "between this study and so-called attempt to normalize pedophilia is ridiculous. The APA is on the record time and time again to protect children and to protect the integrity of families. It is clear to us that child sexual abuse is harmful."
However, the article, which was printed in the Psychological Bulletin [1], was clear.
It stated that the "negative potential" of sexual abuse has "been overstated." Forty-two percent of the male college students viewed their sexual involvement as positive when looking back on it. Between 24-37% of the men saw it as a positive influence on their current sex lives.
The authors of the study believe that pedophilia is not a moral problem: "Classifying a behavior as abuse simply because it is generally viewed as immoral or defined as illegal is problematic."
Psychiatrists Agree
Meanwhile, the psychiatrists of the country have already sent a signal that they too will support the "normalization" of sex with children.
Their association, the American Psychiatric Association, very quietly changed its diagnostic manual a few years back so that a person no longer has a "disorder" simply because he "molests" children. To be diagnosed as "disordered," the psychiatrists will look to the psyche of the adult. If the adult does not feel anxious about the relationship with the child or if he is not impaired in his work or social relationships, then he has no "disorder."
Because of an outcry by the professional organization, National Association on Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (known as NARTH) and others, the psychiatrists have attempted to backtrack and to confuse journalists. They have prepared a "Fact Sheet" for journalists which presents an entirely different picture from the official manual. They tell journalists that any adult who has sex with children is "by definition" considered to be a pedophile. But that is not what the official manual says. In order for any journalist to understand the truth behind this "Fact Sheet," he will have to be very sophisticated. It is a very professional attempt at obfuscation.
Boston Phoenix Leads the Charge
The Boston Phoenix is a leading advocate of pedophilia in Massachusetts. A popular columnist for the Phoenix, Michael Bronski, wrote in March 1999 that the concern about protecting our children is only "gay-bashing." He said that the concern about pedophilia is "simply the latest in a series of ongoing attacks on gay people and gay rights that use the protection of children as a cover for homophobia."
But Bronski let the-cat-out-of-the-bag in the last paragraph of his article when he repeated the canard that children are "empowered" and have "autonomy" when they have the ability to have sex with adults. He wrote, "Gay-bashing under the guise of child protection will never go away until we as a culture can discuss the lives and needs of children openly and honestly — and include recognition of their sexuality, freedom, and autonomy." [emphasis added] In his world, a child who is twelve years, or even younger, will be allowed to decide when or where he will have sex. This is exactly what the pedophiles wish because it will totally empower them.
1. "A Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples," PsychologicalBulletin, 1998 (July), vol. 124(1), 22-53.
My recent column dealing with pedophilia and related issues stimulated a number of reactions. The subject of sexual deviancy always does. There's good news, and there's bad news.
Before getting to that, I want my readers to know that I meticulously research subjects I write about. Prior to writing the "pedophilia" column, I talked at length with a number of practicing psychiatrists; I reviewed the literature in depth; I delved into the Internet databanks of the Family Research Council (www.frc.org), the American Psychiatric Association (www.psych.org) and the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (www.narth.com), among others. I am also very close to another great resource, my husband-hero, who is a Phi Beta Kappa and just happens to be a clinical psychologist.
The good news is that the American Psychological Association -- which was the real focus of my column -- has backtracked from a very controversial study they published suggesting that sexual relations between an adult and a "willing" child might be beneficial to the child. In its June 13 Sunday edition, the New York Times headlined a report detailing the "political storm" caused by the study.
After the publication of my column, American Psychological Association Chief Executive Officer Raymond D. Fowler sent a letter to Majority Whip Tom Delay, R-Texas, promising to be more careful in evaluating future publications and offering to create legal briefs to attack any use of this particular study to defend or justify pedophiles in courts of law.
My opinion perfectly reflects that of radio talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who said, "Without everyone's focused attention on this issue, children victimized by child molesters would have been even more vulnerable."
Now for the bad news. I have received a threatening letter from the Washington D.C law firm Crowell & Moring LLP, which represents the American Psychiatric Association (not to be confused with the American Psychological Association). The main points I made in my column are refuted with this claim: "DSM-IV, the current version of the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, makes no change in the status of pedophilia as a psychiatric disorder, nor does it require shame or remorse for diagnosis."
Here is the change from DSM-III to DSM-IV. Judge for yourself:
"DSM-III: Diagnostic Criteria of 302.2 Pedophilia:
"DSM-IV: Diagnostic Criteria for 302.2 Pedophilia:
A. Over a period of at least six months, recurrent, intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 or younger).
B. The person has acted on these urges, or is markedly distressed by them.
C. The person is at least 16 years old and at least five years older than the child or children in A."
A. Over a period of at least six months, recurrent, intensive sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 or younger).
B. The fantasies, sexual urges or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
C. The person is at least age 16 years and at least five years older than the child or children."
Dr. Charles W. Socarides said, when I talked to him, that the diagnostic changes set forth in DSM-IV are "significant and absurd! These changes are flawed and should be corrected immediately!" he continued. "They are causing turmoil and confusion for clinicians, the public and the pedophiles themselves."
Dr. Socarides' credentials entitle him to an opinion. He is currently the president of NARTH and a life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He was a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1979 until 1996.
Let's listen to Dr Joseph Nicolosi, director of The Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic, a scholar on the subject of sexual pathologies. In an article entitled "Pedophilia Not Always a Disorder?" he wrote, "With the release of ... DSM-IV, we see some alarming changes in the definition of pedophilia. According to the new DSM-IV, a person is no longer a pedophile simply because he molests children or fantasizes about molesting children. ... If he feels no guilt or anxiety and is otherwise functioning reasonably well, a child molester would be violating the law, but he would not be psychologically disordered."
Dr. Nicolosi went on to say that "these DSM changes are particularly dangerous because they are a re-enactment of the pattern which led to the de-pathologizing of homosexuality."
I would like to finish on a positive note. The lawyers demand that I acknowledge the "APA's clear opposition to pedophilia ..." I happily do so. In a recent press release, the American Psychiatric Association reaffirmed its position that "an adult who engages in sexual activity with a child is performing a criminal and immoral act which never can be considered normal or socially acceptable behavior."
I don't have a clue as how to reconcile their stated attitude toward pedophilia with their criteria for diagnosing it -- but I am nevertheless thrilled and delighted. I never ever dreamed that an association of over 40,000 psychiatrists would sit in stern moral judgment of sexual deviates, even saying their behavior is not normal. Hallelujah! I stand corrected.
I recommend to Rep. Tom DeLay that he arrange full and open hearings to clear up inconsistencies and confusion before giving any public money or other considerations to the American Psychological Association or the American Psychiatric Association. I have a long list of the most qualified experts in the country who are anxious to be heard.
http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/
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From the American Psychiatric Associations' Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Pg. 527-28. (See Third edition.)
302.2 Pedophilia
The paraphiliac focus of Pedophilia involves sexual activity with a prepubescent child (generally age 13 years or younger). The individual with pedophilia must be age 16 years of older and at least 5 years older than the child. For individuals of late adolescence with pedophilia, no precise age difference is specified, and clinical judgment must be used; both sexual maturity of the child and the age difference must be taken into account. Individuals with Pedophilia generally report an attraction to children of a particular age range. Some individuals prefer males, other females, and some are aroused by both males and females. Those attracted to females generally prefer 8-to 10-year-olds whereas those attracted to males usually prefer slightly older children. Pedophilia involving female victims is reported more often than pedophilia involving male victims. Some individuals with Pedophilia are sexually attracted only to children (Exclusive Type), whereas others are sometimes attracted to adults (Nonexclusive Type). Individuals with Pedophilia who act on their urges with children may limit their activity to undressing the child and looking, exposing themselves, masturbating in the presence of the child, or gentle touching and fondling of the child. Others, however, perform fellatio of cunnilingus on the child or penetrate the child's vagina, mouth, or anus with their fingers, foreign objects, or penis, and use varying degrees of force to do so. These activities are commonly explained with excuses or rationalizations that they have "educational value" for the child, that the child derives "sexual pleasure" from them or that the child was "sexually provocative"-themes that are also common in pedophiliac pornography.
Individuals may limit their activities to their own children, step children, or relatives or may victimize children outside of their families. Some individuals with Pedophilia threaten the child to prevent disclosure. Others, particularly those who frequently victimize children develop complicated techniques for obtaining access to children, which may include winning the trust of the child's mother, marrying a women with an attractive child, trading children with other individuals with Pedophilia, or, in rare instances taking foster children from nonindustrialized countries or abducting children from strangers. Except in cases in which the disorder is associated with Sexual Sadism, the person may be attentive to the child's needs in order to gain the child's affection, interest and loyalty and to prevent the child from reporting the sexual activity. The disorder usually begins in adolescence, although some individuals with Pedophilia report that they did not become aroused by children until middle age. The frequency of pedophiliac behavior often fluctuates with psychological stress. The course is usually chronic especially in those attracted to males. The recidivism rate for individuals with Pedophilia involving a preference for males is roughly twice that for those who prefer females.
Diagnostic criteria for 302.2 Pedophilia
Specify if:A. Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years of younger).
B. The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
C. The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children in Criterion A.Note: Do not include an individual in late adolescence involved in an on going sexual relationship with a 12- or 13-year-old.
Sexually attracted to Males
Sexually attracted to Females
Sexually attracted to Both
Specify if:
Limited to Incest
SpecifyType:
Exclusive Type (attracted only to children)
Nonexclusive TypeDSM-IV Criteria for Pedophilia Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behavior involving sexual activity with prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 or younger).
Has the person had repeated fantasies or urges about engaging in sexual activity with a child generally 13 years or younger, or has he actually had sexual encounters with a child? If a psychiatrist sees an individual who has engaged in sexual contact with a child, the diagnosis of Pedophilia should be strongly considered. (An individual who committed a single act of molestation while under the influence of drugs, for example, but who had not intentionally targeted a child and was unaware or the victim's age, would not receive the diagnosis. However, this of course in no way diminishes the seriousness of the act of molestation.) A person need not have actual sexual contact with a child to be diagnosed with Pedophilia. A person who is preoccupied with sexual urges and fantasies that disturb his functioning (that is, negatively affect his relations with others or impair his ability to work effectively) could be diagnosed as having Pedophilia, even without ever engaging in sex with a child.
The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
Is the problem clinically significant? That is, has it caused "significant distress or impairment in social occupational, or other important areas of functioning? (Note: The same criterion is applied throughout the DSM-IV to other mental illnesses.) Under this criterion, a sexual encounter with a child constitutes "clinical significance."
To make a DSM-IV diagnosis, the psychiatrist assesses the individual for either significant distress or clinically significant impairment. Most individuals with psychiatric symptoms experience a subjective sense of distress which many include feelings such as pain, anguish, dysphoria (unpleasant mood), shame, embarrassment or guilt. However, there are numerous situations in which the individual has symptoms or exhibits behaviors that do not cause any subjective sense of distress, but nonetheless would be judged "clinically significant" and warrant a diagnosis of mental disorder if they come to the attention of a psychiatrist. In such situations, this judgment is based on whether the presentation causes significant impairment in one or more areas of functioning, including social, relational, occupational, and academic functioning. For example, it is well-recognized that many individuals who are experiencing serious problems related to substance abuse (e.g., violent behavior, poor work, or poor school performance due to alcohol or other drug use) deny that their substance abuse is causing them any distress. Such individuals would be given a diagnosis of Substance Dependence or Substance Abuse, in spite of their denial, if the psychiatrist determines that these substance-induced problems are causing significant impairment. Similarly, many individuals who act on their pedophiliac urges claim that their behavior is non-problematic and may even claim it is "beneficial" to the child. Nonetheless, DMV-IV would consider such individuals to have Pedophilia because, by definition, acting on pedophiliac urges is consider to be an impairment in functioning.
The person is at least 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child on children in Criterion A. Note: Do not include an individual in late adolescence involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 12- or 13-year-old.
Is the person at least 16 years old and at least five years older than the child who is the object of his fantasies or activities? Psychiatrists must use judgment when evaluating a person in late adolescence who is engaged in a single ongoing sexual relationship with a 12- or 13-year-old. Although such a person might not be considered as having Pedophilia, such relationships often lead to other psychological, medical (e.g., sexuality transmitted disease, pregnancy), social, and family problems and should be strongly discouraged.
This is the old DSM. Under its Part B, any person who had sex with a child had a disorder. Under the new DSM the adult does not have a disorder unless the sex with the child causes the adult some stress or if it impairs his functioning.Diagnostic Criteria for 302.20 Pedophilia
A. Over a period of at least six months, recurrent intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies involving activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 or younger).
B. The person has acted on these urges, or is markedly distressed by them.
C. The person is at least 16 years old and at least 5 years older than the child or children in A.
Note: Do not include a late adolescent involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 12- or 13-year old.Specify: same sex, opposite sex, or same and opposite sex.
Specify if limited to incest.
Specify: exclusive type (attracted only to children), or nonexclusive type.
Publisher’s Note: This is the Fact Sheet that is given to the press by the American Psychiatric Association.
It is much different than what is in the psychiatrists’ offices. When a journalist receives page three of this Fact Sheet, entitled “DSM-IV Criteria for Pedophilia,” he will believe that this entire page is a part of DSM-IV, even though that is not true. Page three states that a pedophile who acts on his urges is a pedophile "by definition,” but the source of this “definition” is not indicated.APA FACT SHEET
PedophiliaMost adults who sexually molest children are considered to have pedophilia, a mental disorder described in the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). An adult who engages in sexual activity with a child is performing a criminal and immoral act which never can be considered normal or socially acceptable behavior.
Pedophilia is categorized in the DSM-IV as one of several paraphiliac mental disorders. The essential features of a paraphilia (“sexual deviation”) are recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors that generally involve nonhuman subjects, the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one’s partner, or children or other nonconsenting persons.
The Characteristics of Pedophilia
According to the DSM-IV definition, pedophilia involves sexual activity by an adult with a prepubescent child. Some individuals prefer females, usually 8- to 10-year-olds. Those attracted to males usually prefer slightly older children. Some prefer both sexes. While some are sexually attracted only to children, others also are sometimes attracted to adults.
Pedophiliac activity may involve: undressing and looking at the child or more direct physical sex acts. All these activities are psychologically harmful to the child, and some may be physically harmful. In addition, individuals with pedophilia often go to great lengths to obtain photos, films, or pornographic publications that focus on sex with children.
These individuals commonly explain their activities with excuses or rationalizations that the activities have “educational value” for the child, that the child feels “sexual pleasure” from the activities, or that the child was “sexually provocative.” However, child psychiatrists and other child development experts maintain that children are incapable of offering informed consent to sex with an adult. Furthermore, since pedophiliac acts harm the child, psychiatrists condemn publications or organizations which seek to promote or normalize sex between adults and children.
Individuals with pedophilia may limit their activities to their own children, stepchildren, or relatives, or they may victimize children outside their families. Some threaten the child to prevent the child from telling others. Some develop complicated techniques for gaining access to children. They may select a job, hobby, or volunteer work that brings them into contact with children. Others may win the trust of a child’s mother, marry a woman with an attractive child, or trade children with other individuals. Except when pedophilia is also associated with sexual sadism, the individual may be kind and attentive to the child’s needs in order to gain his or her affection, interest, and loyalty, and also to prevent the child from reporting the sexual activity. Pedophilia usually begins in adolescence, although some individuals report that they did not become aroused by children until middle age. Often the pedophiliac behavior increases or decreases according to the psychological and social stress level of the individual.
There is little information on the number of individuals in the general population with pedophilia because individuals with the disorder rarely seek help from a psychiatrist or other mental health professional. However, the large commercial market in pedophiliac pornography suggests that the number of individuals at large in the community with the disorder is likely to be higher than the limited medical data indicate. Individuals generally come to the attention of mental health professionals when their child victims tell others and when they are arrested. Pedophilia is almost always seen in males and is seldom diagnosed in females.
How Psychiatrists Diagnose Pedophilia
When evaluating who may have pedophilia, psychiatrists apply three criteria spelled out in DSM-IV. All three must be present for the diagnosis to be made. Whether or not all three criteria are present, and individual who has had a sexual encounter with a child has committed a crime. Psychiatrists nationwide support the federal and state statutes that define the criminality of any sexual act or molestation involving a child.
Treatment for Pedophilia
Pedophilia is generally treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy. The therapy may be prescribed alone or in combination with medication. Some examples of medications which have been used include anti-adrogens and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). But unlike the successful treatment outcomes for most other mental illnesses, the outlook for successful treatment and rehabilitation of individuals with pedophilia is guarded. Even after intensive treatment, the course of the disorder usually is chronic and lifelong in most patients, according to DSM-IV, which is the reason that most treatment programs emphasize a relapse-prevention model. However, both the fantasies and the behaviors often lessen with advancing age in adults.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The purpose of the DSM-IV (and of the manuals which preceded it) is to provide clear, objective descriptions of mental illnesses, based on scientific data. Psychiatrists and research scientists use these descriptions to diagnose and individual’s mental illness, to communicate with each other in a common language about mental illnesses, to develop new treatments tailored to specific illnesses, and to plant he most effective treatments for their patients. The DSM-IV is not a diagnostic “cookbook,” but is intended to guide the psychiatrist’s own informed clinical judgment. DSM-IV and its predecessors are not legal documents. The cautionary statement in the introduction to DSM-IV reads, in part: “The purpose of DSM-IV is to provide clear descriptions of diagnostic categories in order to enable clinicians and investigators to diagnose, communicate about, study, and treat people with various mental disorders. It is to be understood that inclusion here, for clinical and research purposes, of a diagnostic category such at Pathological Gambling or Pedophilia does not imply that the condition meets legal or other nonmedical criteria for what constitutes mental disease, mental disorder, or mental disability. The clinical and scientific considerations involved in categorization of these conditions as mental disorders may not be wholly relevant to legal judgments, for example, that take into account such issues as individual responsibility, disability discrimination, and competency.
