'Diagnosisgate' Deconstructed and Debunked

Paula Caplan has been peculiarly furious at me for more than 20 years. The enduring chip on her shoulder first formed when I didn't take seriously her written proposal that 'Delusional Dominating Personality Disorder' be considered for DSM IV. I honestly thought she had submitted 'DDPD' as a clever satire intended to illustrate how silly DSM diagnoses can sometimes be -- it made no sense to me in any other way. I misunderstood. Dr. Caplan was serious in suggesting 'DDPD' for inclusion in DSM IV and was understandably offended when I took it as a joke. Realizing my error, I apologized to Dr. Caplan, but she has apparently continued to feel offended ever since. She has repeatedly written a distorted, self-dramatizing version of the event, greatly exaggerating her role in the DSM IV process (which was minimal) and posing as an expert on the flaws in psychiatric diagnosis (which she is not). Now in her usual dramatic and distorted way, Dr. Caplan feels she can score points and gain public attention by exposing a supposed, creatively named, "Diagnosisgate." Dr. Caplan, as always, is careless with facts, quick with misinterpretations, and filled with wild accusations. I will first debunk what is simple nonsense in her claims and then discuss the issues that do have a factual basis. It is nonsense to state that my participation in guideline development was in any way a conflict of interest with DSM IV or affected in any way its preparation. The guideline project occurred several...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news