Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders in DSM-5, ICD-11, and RDoC: Conceptual questions and practical solutions

Key nosological questions facing the DSM-5 and ICD-11 work groups on obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) included whether putative OCRDs should be classified together, and whether obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) should retain its classification as an anxiety disorder. Given that some of the putative OCRDs were new to the official nosologies, the work groups also had to grapple with the perennial questions of how to decide whether any condition is a mental disorder, and how to draw boundaries between disorder and normality. This chapter reviews some of the conceptual questions that emerged and some of the practical solutions that were suggested. The emphasis on both diagnostic validity and clinical utility is consistent with an integrative approach which holds that nosology should be both evidence-based and values-based.