Melancholia: restoration in psychiatric classification recommended

The classification of depressive disorders has varied considerably over the last 80 years, with quite contrasting models. Present-day DSM and ICD guidelines are based on a categorical model, using symptom check list criteria and weighting severity. The resulting heterogeneity of clinical and research populations has proved to be detrimental to effective clinical care and research. Concerns about the utility of the criteria for the diagnosis of major depression led to a three-day conference in Copenhagen in May 2006. Eighteen researchers and clinicians from Australia, Canada, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States considered problems intrinsic to the concept of ‘major depression.’ Their reports and a summary of the discussions are published in the ‘Melancholia: Beyond DSM, Beyond Neurotransmitters’ supplement to Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.