Beyond DSM-5: An alternative approach to assessing Social Anxiety Disorder

• Many changes to the diagnostic criteria of SAD over several DSM editions.
• Further revision of DSMs SAD diagnostic criteria is necessary.
• The changes made to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for SAD do not all seem to be completely in line with research so should be amended to more accurately reflect the research literature.
• A proposed set of diagnostic criteria that address several concerns is presented here.
• The proposed criteria reflect a hybrid categorical–dimensional system of classification.

This article focuses on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) classification of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). The article details the diagnostic criteria for SAD that have evolved in the various editions and demonstrates that whilst there have been some positive steps taken to more comprehensively define the disorder, further revision is necessary. It will be argued that the DSM-5 (APA, 2013) has made some changes to the diagnostic criteria of SAD that do not seem to be completely in line with theory and research and do not describe SAD effectively in terms of both diversity and presentation. This article concludes with the presentation of a proposed set of diagnostic criteria that address the concerns raised in the article. The proposed criteria reflect a hybrid categorical–dimensional system of classification.