The classification of psychiatric disorder

Altogether 26 psychiatrists and other mental health workers, from Colombia, Brazil, Sudan, Egypt, India and the Philippines tried to reach agreement on the classification of 10 case histories, using the International Classification of Diseases (8th revision). The exercise was part of the WHO Collaborative Study on Strategies for Extending Mental Health Care. Conventions, mistakes, differences of opinion and a lack of rules are discussed as causes for disagreement.