Where Do Religion and Spirituality Appear in the DSM-5-TR?

SUMMARY: This month’s seminar will provide a comprehensive review of where “Religion” and “Spirituality” appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Text Revision published by the American Psychiatric Association in March, 2022. While the diagnostic criteria were mostly unchanged, 2/3rds of the text was revised from the 2013 version. Specific areas to be reviewed include the impact of racism and discrimination as a social determinant of mental health, “Culture-Related Diagnostic Issues” in the narrative descriptions of some disorders, the Z codes Religious or Spiritual Problem and Target of (Perceived) Adverse Discrimination and Persecution, the Outline for Cultural Formulation, and the Cultural Formulation Interview including the Supplementary Module on Religious, Spiritual, and Moral Traditions.

PRESENTER: Dr. Francis G. Lu is the Luke & Grace Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry, Emeritus, University of California at Davis. Dr. Lu has contributed to the areas of cultural psychiatry including the interface with religion/spirituality, psychiatric education, diversity/inclusion, health equity, and psychiatry/film. The American Psychiatric Association has awarded him Special Presidential Commendations in both 2002 and 2016 for his contributions to cultural psychiatry, and in 2020, a Distinguished Service Award. In 2020, the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award. He successfully proposed with 2 others including the diagnostic category of Religious or Spiritual Problem in the DSM-IV to help with differential diagnosis of distressing experiences involving religion or spirituality. Since 1987, he has led or co-led 37 film seminars at Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, on positive psychological qualities and character virtues, 28 with Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk.