The current psychiatric nomenclature (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition [DSM-5]), the predominant system used to classify, assess, and diagnose mental health disorders/psychiatric illness, has received considerable praise and significant criticism. Empirically supported by major research studies and clinical input, critical appraisals focus on the conceptual framework underlying “disorders” featured in the DSM-5, the purposeful exclusion of theoretical perspectives, and DSM-5’s emphasis on categorical determinations of illness based on symptom counts rather than dimensionality (i.e., any person displays psychiatric features existing on a continuum or range that do not necessarily represent “abnormality”). In terms of intervention and treatment, clinicians have long struggled with the DSM-5’s “top-down” approach to disorder. “Depression,” for example, is nothing more than a construct comprised of numerous symptoms, each of which likely reflects underlying factors and a complex entanglement of etiological pathways far more salient than the symptom itself and the label ultimately assigned to the grouping of the symptoms.

The good news, however, is an innovative shift to the much needed “bottom-up” appraisal of functioning. In an entirely new approach to mental disorders emerging from a program of research developed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the “Research Domain Criteria (RDoc) Framework” will likely have a significant impact on the fields of psychiatry and psychology. In the next in-person meeting of the Men’s Group Seminar on Saturday, August 5, 2023 (10:15 to 11:30 AM), we will discuss this new model of mental health and its profoundly innovative conceptual framework, the “RDoc Matrix”.

The RDoc Matrix is composed of 6 interlocking system domains: Negative Valence Systems; Positive Valence Systems; Cognitive Systems; Social Processes; Arousal and Regulatory Systems; and Sensorimotor Systems. Within each domain are constructs which serve to further characterize the domain. For example, in the domain of Social Processes are the constructs “social communication” and “perception and understanding of self’; in the domain of Negative Valence Systems are the constructs “loss” and “frustrated nonreward.” These systems, and their associated constructs, offer clearer depictions of the elements of everyday functioning and provide a way to understand how a person’s unique set of competencies and limitations may be relevant for the level of success achieved when faced with pragmatic situational demands such as managing personal finances or maintaining a healthy, intimate relationship. The application of the RDoc Matrix to the unique challenges men face, and to male psychology in general, will be topics addressed in this seminar.

*Registration Directions: If you would like to attend the next in-person meeting of the Men’s Group Seminar on Saturday, August 5, 2023, 10:15 AM to 11:30 AM, please RSVP to me at 949-338-4388 or jt@jamestobinphd.com no later than Thursday, August 3, 2023. The seminar will be held at 15615 Alton Parkway, Suite 450, in Irvine, CA.  The fee is $30.00 and informed consent for participation must be completed prior to the seminar. Please note that the Men’s Group Seminar is psychoeducational in nature, not therapeutic, and does not constitute psychotherapy or counseling.