Schedule for Rating Disabilities-Mental Disorders and Definition of Psychosis for Certain VA Purposes

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending the portion of its Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) dealing with mental disorders and its adjudication regulations that define the term "psychosis." The VASRD refers to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), and VA's adjudication regulations refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR were recently updated by issuance of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). This rulemaking will remove outdated DSM references by deleting references to DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR and replacing them with references to DSM-5. Additionally, this rulemaking will update the nomenclature used to refer to certain mental disorders to conform to DSM-5.