Am J Psychiatry 1984; 141:406-409
Copyright © 1984 by American Psychiatric Association
DSM-III and family therapy
A Frances, JF Clarkin and S Perry
In its current form, DSM-III is of only limited value to family therapists.
The authors suggest several innovations that might render future
nomenclatures more useful. Axis II ratings that are interpersonal and
dimensional, rather than individual and categorical, might provide
important additional data for predicting and planning a family
intervention. Several available family classifications suggest ways in
which to derive an axis VI rating of family functioning. The authors
address a number of conceptual issues that make family classification
especially interesting and difficult.
