Introduction to the special section on the development of theoretically coherent alternatives to the DSM system.

This introduction outlines a series of articles in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology that represent a theoretically organized challenge to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; e.g., 4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). A criticism of the DSM is offered on the basis that a taxonomy based on inadequately explicated theory has not been and cannot be a successful basis for a scientific research program. The special section offers examples of behaviorally based alternative ways of understanding behavior of clinical interest. Others are invited to develop taxonomies based on different theoretically coherent foundations.