The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders:

Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines

1st Edition

-Digital Version

This ebook provides clinical descriptions, diagnostic guidelines, and codes for all mental and behavioral disorders commonly encountered in clinical psychiatry. The book was developed from chapter V of the Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). The clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines were finalized after field testing by over 700 clinicians and researchers in 110 institutes in 40 countries, making this book the product of the largest-ever research effort designed to improve psychiatric diagnosis. Every effort has been made to define categories whose existence is scientifically justifiable and clinically useful. The classification divides disorders into ten groups according to major common themes or descriptive likeness, a new feature that increases the convenience of use. The book comprehensively describes the main clinical features and all other important but less specific associated features for each disorder. Diagnostic guidelines indicate the number, balance, and duration of symptoms usually required before a confident diagnosis can be made. Inclusion and exclusion criteria and conditions for differential diagnosis are also provided. The guidelines are worded so that a degree of flexibility is retained for diagnostic decisions in clinical work, mainly when a provisional diagnosis must be made before the clinical picture is entirely transparent or information is complete.