To make a long story short, the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) is abandoning the DSM. Why, some may ask?
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2013/dsm-5-and-rdoc-shared-interests.shtml
"As NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project website states, "The diagnostic categories represented in the DSM-IV and the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10, containing virtually identical disorder codes) remain the contemporary consensus standard for how mental disorders are diagnosed and treated."
Yet, what may be realistically feasible today for practitioners is no longer sufficient for researchers. Looking forward, laying the groundwork for a future diagnostic system that more directly reflects modern brain science will require openness to rethinking traditional categories. It is increasingly evident that mental illness will be best understood as disorders of brain structure and function that implicate specific domains of cognition, emotion, and behavior. This is the focus of the NIMH’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project. RDoC is an attempt to create a new kind of taxonomy for mental disorders by bringing the power of modern research approaches in genetics, neuroscience, and behavioral science to the problem of mental illness."
The DSM is a collection of diagnosis built around symptom groupings. The NIMH is researching a book that will methodically list genetic mutations that result in brain structure and chemistry changes. ADHD, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and many similar illnesses are caused by specific, known mutations and gene expression. Testing and diagnosing around those mutations is a far more efficient way to treat patients- particularly with diseases with overlapping symptoms (pre-adult bipolar and adhd, for example).
Interestingly enough, the CCHR was overjoyed to report that the NIMH was abandoning it's full support of the DSM... which isn't fully true. It also claims that there are no genetic markers for mental illness... which is completely untrue.
http://www.cchrint.org/2013/05/07/the-new-dsm-is-doa/
"Even Columbia University psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Spitzer, the Chairman of the DSM-III, has stated that “no biological markers have been identified” for any alleged psychiatric disorder. So, if there are no “biological markers” and no validity to the diagnosis, does it not also raise serious questions about the use of pharmaceutical psychiatric drugs?"
There is a wealth of information out there regarding the mutations that cause mental illness and altered brain function in general. Shoot, we even know why certain meds work on only certain patients! Scientology and the CCHR will not be able to deny the truth forever as medical science develops treatments based around these specific problems. Hopefully it's reliance on lies, outdated information and paid talking heads will earn the CCHR a quick trip to the dustbin of history.
(example study on specific genetic mutations causing specific mental illnesses)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121015085411.htm