Assessing the opinions and experiences of German-speaking psychiatrists regarding necessary changes for the 11th revision of the mental disorders chapter of the international classification of disorders (ICD-11)

We performed an Internet-based questionnaire survey of the opinions of German-speaking psychiatrists regarding the experiences with the 10th revision of the international classification of mental disorders (chapter F of ICD-10). We received 304 completed questionnaires including more than 500 free-text comments. The responding group was characterized by professionally experienced middle-aged psychiatrists. German-speaking psychiatrists were comparatively content with ICD-10. Most diagnostic categories received a “satisfied” or “very satisfied” rating by the majority of respondents. Negative “goodness of fit” ratings – a possible indicator of the need for revision – were not higher than 50% for any category. Based on free-text entries, neurasthenia was the single diagnostic category most often suggested for deletion in ICD-11. Changes were considered necessary mainly for dementias and personality disorders. Adult attention deficit disorder and narcissistic personality disorder were the two diagnostic categories most frequently suggested to be added as new categories. This study provides valuable information related to perceived clinical utility of the classification, though with a narrow sample. Information about clinicians’ experiences should be combined with scientific evidence for the revision process of ICD-11.