ABSTRACT
The relationship between individual pathology and systemic or relational pathology is far from clear. Family therapy has traditionally located problems within the relationship or context, while traditional models of psychopathology have located problems within the person. Assessment of psychopathology at either the individual or relational level relies on the development of a system of classification. The primary system of classification of psychopathology in use today is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR; APA, 2000). This classification system focuses overwhelmingly on individual psychopathology, not on relational pathology. Though there is disagreement among family therapists about the need for a system for diagnosing psychopathology at either the individual or relational level, many family therapists have actively worked for the inclusion of more categories of relational pathology in the DSM-IV-TR.
