Pros and Cons of the new DSM-5 Chapter of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

DSM-IV categorized obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as an anxiety disorder, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) as a somatoform disorder, and trichotillomania as an impulse control disorder not elsewhere classified. In DSM-5, these three disorders, together with hoarding disorder and excoriation (skin picking) disorder, which are new disorders in DSM-5, are classified together in a new chapter of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. In this paper we consider some of the relevant considerations at play in making this change, some of the potential advantages and disadvantages of this new chapter, and a number of potential research and clinical misconceptions about the new chapter. Keywords: DSM-IV, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders.