Yasuteru Muraga
It is difficult to capture the complexity of the psychiatric condition with a single diagnostic category, and a multiaxial approach provides a more comprehensive picture of the current disorder. The WPA section on classification has developed a multiaxial schema based on the ICD-10 family of classifications. Four axes are proposed. Axis I: on clinical disorders; axis II: on disabilities; axis III: on contextual factors, and axis IV: on quality of life. Even though the multiaxial approach has been widely taught and surveys report on its international acceptability, daily use by clinicians of the ‘non-diagnostic’ axes have till now been limited, despite expressed interest by the very same clinicians.
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