The DSM-5 has shaped how mental health practitioners think about diagnosis and treatment — but it is not always the most effective approach.
Join Associate Professor Miri Forbes as she explores the limitations of the DSM framework and introduces the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): an evidence-based model that uses empirical patterns of co-occurrence among symptoms and diagnoses to better understand mental health.
HiTOP is a research-driven framework that aims to classify mental health problems based on dimensions that reflect how symptoms tend to occur together in the real world, rather than relying solely on the traditional categories in diagnostic manuals like the DSM-5 or ICD-10.
HiTOP organises mental health problems into dimensions rather than strict categories, arranged in a hierarchical structure:
Associate Professor Miri Forbes is a leading researcher in the classification of mental disorders, with an internationally recognised track record in advancing evidence-based alternatives to traditional diagnostic frameworks. Since being awarded her PhD in Psychology in 2014, she has produced a substantial body of peer-reviewed research that has shaped the field’s understanding of the structure of psychopathology.
Her work draws on large-scale epidemiological and clinical datasets to identify the underlying dimensions that explain why symptoms and disorders so often co-occur. This research has contributed to the development and refinement of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) model, offering a more precise and scientifically grounded approach to assessment.
A/Prof Forbes has held competitive fellowships at the University of Minnesota, the Centre for Emotional Health, and Macquarie University, supported by prestigious awards such as the Macquarie University Research Fellowship (2018) and back-to-back NHMRC Investigator Grants (2021, 2026). She has authored numerous high-impact publications in leading journals, with her findings cited widely across psychology, psychiatry, and public health.
