Similarities:
- Both are diagnosis and categorizing manuals which require two or more symptoms to be present in order for the diagnosis to be made.
- They aren't self-diagnosis manuals; they're intended to be used by qualified health professions, and more specifically psychiatrists.
- Both are officially recognised manuals used to categorize and diagnose mental disorders.
Differences:
- The ICD is used internationally, and was published by WHO (World Health Organisation) whilst the DSM was created by the American Psychological Association and is used primarily in the USA. Often, British research tends to use the DSM in order to fit in with American research, as most psychological research that is published and widely known is conduced in the US.
- What it includes. The ICD is a much larger manual and encompasses all types of disorders; only chapter V is relevant for mental disorders. The DSM is purely for mental disorders.
- The DSM requires the psychiatrist to evaluate the patient in five axes whilst the ICD is more symptom-based, and it also includes more groups of mental disorders with 10 in total.
ICD: includes 10 groups such as delusional disorders, mood disorders, etc. and clinical/personality disorders are part of the same group.
DSM: - Clinical disorders (such as depression)
- Personality disorders (such as mental retardation)
- Physical health
- Environmental factors (optional)
- Global assessment of functioning (optional)
