List of DSM Codes Used in Psychiatric Diagnosis

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders sets out a list of codes which identify each individual diagnosis used by psychiatrists and some other mental health professionals.

Important Caveat

Many online lists of DSM codes exist across the web. Some are newer, some are older, and some are even a mix of older codes and newer ones. Any of these are probably fine simply for getting a brief taste of how the DSM is organised or even for checking the rough meaning of a specific numerical code.

However, no serious use should ever be made of any online rendition of DSM codes except those provided directly by the APA’s canonical source. No other source should ever be trusted to provide a current and accurate rendition of the book, regardless of what that source might claim, imply or suggest.

As explored in more detail in the article “Basic Science: Treatment, Therapy and Diagnostic Criteria for Mental Disorders“, DSM diagnostic categories are defined in terms of lists of symptoms. Scientifically speaking, the diagnostic categories of the DSM therefore have almost nothing to do with the usual notion of diagnosis common throughout Western medical practice. Unlike real medical diagnoses, the diagnostic categories of the DSM can be altered and updated and tweaked on the basis of changes in prevailing opinion, shifting political concerns, and other factors entirely external to the individual being “diagnosed”. They are in fact updated and tweaked so frequently that changes in coding are typically labelled not only with a year of publication, but even with a month of publication.

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For these reasons and more, as indicated at the outset, no online resource should ever be trusted to provide a current picture of the DSM except the original source.