Schedule for operationalized diagnosis according to the Leonhard classification of endogenous psychoses

Abstract

Psychiatric diagnoses in endogenous psychoses are still largely based on clinical psychopathology. Despite intensive efforts including progress to more reliability in classification, no definite and causally relevant biological abnormalities have been identified so far. This failure might be due to the present standard classification systems like DSM or ICD being too crude to allow the distinction of homogeneous nosological entities. The classification developed by K. Leonhard offers a more subtle alternative. In order to facilitate the handling of this system and in the interest of reliability, an algorithm for computer-assisted diagnostic decision making based on similarities to Leonhard's ideal types is presented.