The HiTOP effort is changing quickly, but currently includes:
1) A data-driven empirical framework for classification,
2) A new society to organize the social, political, and financial aspects of HiTOP,
3) An international consortium of researchers working in the field, and
4) A network of clinicians interested in working with the framework in practice.
The Hierarchical Taxonomy Of Psychopathology (HiTOP) framework is an effort of nosologists from various mental health disciplines to improve the organization, description, and measurement of psychopathology. It hews closely to existing data. We expect that these insights will facilitate research and clinical practice, improving their precision, impact, and evidentiary basis. In fact, the system is ready for practical applications.
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The HiTOP Society is dedicated to advancing the empirical classification of psychopathology and disseminating these advances to scientists and clinicians. The Society formalizes the social, political, and (new) financial aspects of HiTOP, as well as organizing the annual conference, and will support members’ quantitative psychopathology research through awards, scholarships, and grants.
We hope you’ll join us in this next chapter!
The HiTOP Consortium aims to (1) cumulate data to improve and extend the HiTOP system and (2) disseminate resulting information to researchers and clinicians. Ultimately, we aim to advance classification of psychopathology beyond the traditional diagnostic systems (e.g., DSM-5 and ICD-10).
These research efforts—including workgroup projects and the revisions of the official model—will remain independent and are protected in the bylaws from the influence of the Society's social, political, and financial interests.
The HiTOP clinical network is an informal association of clinicians and researchers dedicated to learning about the challenges and opportunities of using a model like HiTOP in practice. We are open to any individual or organization who wishes to learn more about the HiTOP model, or who wishes to help the HiTOP consortium advance its mission of integrating the model into practice.
LEARN MOREWe are very excited to invite you to join the next chapter for HiTOP as a founding member of the new HiTOP Society. The HiTOP Society is dedicated to advancing the empirical classification of psychopathology and disseminating these advances to scientists and clinicians.
Over the past nine years we’ve outgrown our grassroots origins, and we need a formal structure with clear and transparent procedures and policies. We developed some initial bylaws with the guiding principle of democratising leadership, which we are using to incorporate as a non-profit organisation.
Importantly, although the society will formalize the social, political, and (new) financial aspects of HiTOP, all HiTOP-related research efforts—including workgroup projects and the revisions of the official model—will remain independent and are protected in the bylaws from the influence of the social, political, and financial interests of the society.
Trainees who are interested in being included in HiTOP updates can add their details here.
Trainees with a track record of research investigating the empirical structure of psychopathology can join the HiTOP Consortium, and all students can join the HiTOP Society.
Many workgroups welcome trainees to join, the grant review scheme is open to trainees, and each year we will collate information on HiTOP researchers who are accepting graduate students in the coming year.
The Clinical Translation Workgroup created a workshop to provide training in applying HiTOP principles to clinical practice, including: how to assess and conceptualize symptoms though a HiTOP lens, how to integrate findings into treatment planning and monitoring, and how to apply principles to work with diverse and underserved populations.
Training included hands-on interactive discussion of cases, review of evidence and limits for the clinical utility of HiTOP relative to other systems, and practical considerations such as billing and reporting. Presenters were educators, clinicians, and researchers from the HiTOP consortium. You can access the free workshop here.
