International standards and approach

[Anuket]

This came to mind since there seem to be some members on this site who live outside the US.  

The DSM-IV is the American manual for standards in diagnosis of mental conditions. But I was wondering..
- Do the standards for diagnosis of bipolar disorder vary by global region?  (Europe, Asia Pac, Middle East)
- Do other countries maintain diagnostic manuals similar to the DSM-IV?  
- Do treatment approaches vary by global region?  

An example that comes to mind is that there seems to be a more frequent use of SAM-e for treatment of depression in Europe, rather than the American approach of immediately prescribing SSRIs and other pharma meds. Is there any analagous difference in treatment of bipolar depression?
(Side note and warning that SAM-e is described as inappropriate for bipolar disorder because of potential to trigger anxiety and mania.)

Interested to hear any thoughts on this, thanks.

  

[Anuket]

Interesting about Europe vetting the natural remedies, thanks for the info!

[ILADVOCATE]

  I believe the DSM-4 and the ICD-10 (used for all medical conditions) are used throughout the world though specific approaches used in psychiatry may differ. Natural remedies are unregulated in the U.S. but in Europe are researched and clinically approved for specific purposes which is why they might be more in use.