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Pictured is Brent Robbins, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and chair of the Department of Humanities and Human Sciences. | Photo by Martha RialBrent Dean Robbins, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, served as co-author and guest editor of the March 2017 special issue of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, which focused on alternatives to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) approach to psychiatric diagnosis.

For the past six years, Robbins has taken a leading role in the organization of public commentary on criticisms of the DSM-5 through his work with the Society of Humanistic Psychology, Division 32 of the American Psychological Association.

"Many human service organizations have raised concerns about major problems with the DSM-5, including a lack of scientific reliability and validity, among other things," explained Robbins.

According to Robbins, an international diagnostic summit on this topic of concern was held in Washington, D.C., in 2014. Since then, one of the projects that emerged was a series of special issues in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology dedicated to exploring alternatives to psychiatric diagnosis.

"We just published the first issue of this series and four more special issues are at press," Robbins said.

He added: "Our efforts have been endorsed by more than 50 international organizations, and have been supported by over 15,000 signatures of mental health professionals through an online petition. We want to continue to keep this issue at the forefront."

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