Kraepelin is well known for his distinction of manic-depressive insanity and schizophrenia. 

His core ideas include relating psychiatry with medicine, using descriptive language, linking pathoanatomical observation with psychopathological observation, and observing psychiatry through an empirical lens.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Historical background

Emil Kraepelin

Neo-Kraepelinians

John Feighner

The rise of DSMIII

Sanders, J. L. (2011). A distinct language and a historic pendulum: the evolution of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 25(6), 394-403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2010.10.002

A distinct language and a historic pendulum: the evolution of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

By the 1960s, with its psychodynamic roots, psychiatric diagnosis became increasingly viewed as unreliable, overly subject to interpretation, and not clearly defined. The profession of psychiatry underwent significant theoretical changes toward an empirical , positivistic orientation. 

Historical background

Emil Kraepelin

Eli Robins, Samuel Guze, and George Winokur, who sought to return psychiatry to its medical roots, were called the neo-Kraepelinians.

They were dissatisfied with the lack of clear diagnoses and classification, low interrater reliability among psychiatrists, and blurred distinction between mental health and illness. They advocated descriptive and epidemiological work in psychiatric diagnosis. 

Neo-Kraepelinians

In 1972, Feighner et al. published a set of diagnostic criteria based on a synthesis of research so it's not based on opinions or traditions. Explicit criteria were used to increase reliability. This classification was referred to as the "Feighner criteria".

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