Clinical psychology Show Introduction Psychopathology: the field concerned with the nature, development, and treatment of mental disorders.
Sigma: the destructive beliefs and attitudes held by a society that are ascribed
to groups considered different in some manner, such as people with mental illness.
The
treatment of individuals with mental disorders throughout recorded history has not generally been good, and this has contributed to their stigmatization. Mental disorder is one disorder that contains several characteristics.
Four key characteristics that any comprehensive mental disorder definition ought to have:
No single characteristic can fully define the concept. Personal distress A person’s behavior may be classified as disordered if it causes him or her great distress. But not all mental disorders cause distress. Disability Impairment in some important area of life. Disability alone cannot be used to define mental disorder. Not all disorders involve
disability. Violation of social norms In the realm of behaviors, social norms are widely held standards that people use consciously or intuitively to make judgments about where behaviors are situated on such scales as good-bad, right-wrong, justified-unjustified, and acceptable-unacceptable. This is not enough for defining mental disorder. It is too broad and too narrow. Dysfunction Harmful dysfunction. Has a value judgment and a objective component (dysfunction). But
DSM Early demonology Before the age of scientific inquiry, all good and bead manifestations of power beyond human control were regarded as supernatural. Demonology: the doctrine that an evil being or spirit can dwell within a person and control his or her mind and body. The belief that odd behavior was caused by possession led to treating it by exorcism. Early biological explanations In the fifth century B.C,
Hippocrates separated medicine from religion, magic, and superstition. Hippocrates classified mental disorders into three categories:
Hippocrates believed that normal brain functioning depended on a delicate balance among four humors, or fluids of the body. Through his teachings, the phenomena associated with mental disorders became more clearly the province of physicians rather than priests. Hippocrates’ ideas did not withstand later scientific scrutiny. The dark ages and demonology Christian monasteries, through
their missionary and educational work, replaced physicians as healers and as authorities on mental disorders. The persecution of witches Witchcraft was seen as a heresy and a denial of God. Lunacy trials Mental illness was not primarily ascribed to witchcraft. Beginning in the thirteenth century, lunacy trials to determine a person’s mental health were held in England. Development of asylums Until the fifteenth century, there were very few hospitals for people with mental illness in Europe. Asylums: refuges for the confinement and care of people with mental illness. Bethlehem and other early asylums Confining people with mental illness in hospitals and placing their care in the domain of medicine did not necessarily lead to more humane and effective treatment. Pinel’s reforms Philippe Pinel (1745 – 1826) has often been considered a primary figure in the movement for humanitarian treatment of people with mental illness. He reserved the more humanitarian treatment for the upper classes, patients of the lower classes were still subjected to terror and coercion as a means of control, with straitjackets replacing chains. Moral treatment Moral treatment: patients had close contact with attendants, who talked and read to them and encouraged them to engage in purposeful activity. Residents led lives as close to normal as possible and in general took responsibility for themselves within the constraints of their
disorders. Moral treatment was largely abandoned in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Biological approaches Discovering biological origins in general paresis and syphilis The anatomy and workings of the nervous system were partially understood by the mid-1800s, but not enough was known to let investigators conclude whether the structural brain abnormalities presumed to cause various mental disorders were present or not. The most striking medical success was the elucidation of the nature and origin of syphilis, a venereal disease that had been recognized for several centuries. Biological treatments The general warehousing of patients in mental hospitals earlier in the twentieth century, couples with the shortage of professional staff, created a climate that allowed experimentation with radical interventions. In the early twentieth century, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was originated. In 1935 the prefrontal lobotomy was introduced. Especially for those
whose behavior was violent. Psychological approaches The search for biological causes dominated the field of psychopathology until well into the twentieth century. Mesmer and charcot Mesmer is regarded one of the earlier practitioners of
modern-day hypnosis. Breuer and the Cathartic method Cathartic method: reliving an earlier emotional trauma and releasing emotional tension by expressing previously forgotten thoughts about the event. Freud and psychoanalysis Psychoanalytic theory: psychopathology results from unconscious conflicts in the individual. Structure of the mind (or psyche)
Defense mechanisms, a strategy used by the ego to protect itself from anxiety. Psychoanalytic therapy. Psychotherapy based on Freud’s theory.
Neo-freudian psychodynamic perspectives Jung and analytical
psychology Adler
and individual psychology Continuing influences of Freud and his followers. Freud’s original ideas and methods have been criticized over the years. The work of Freud and his followers continues to have an impact on the field of psychopathology.
The rise of behaviorism Behaviorism focuses on observable behavior.
Behavior therapy
The importance Human beings don’t just behave, they feel and think too. Cognitive therapy Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) The professions associated with the field have evolved.
Who is the founder of the modern study of psychopathology?The scientific discipline of psychopathology was founded by Karl Jaspers in 1913. It was referred to as "static understanding" and its purpose was to graphically recreate the "mental phenomenon" experienced by the client.
Who studied psychopathology?An early use of the term "psychopathology" dates back to 1913 when the book General Psychopathology was first introduced by Karl Jaspers,1 a German/Swiss philosopher and psychiatrist.
Who is the founding father of abnormal psychology?(1886) Sigmund Freud developed his personality theory, which has continued to impact abnormal psychology treatment methods today.
What is the study of psychopathology?Psychopathology is the scientific exploration of abnormal mental states that, for more than a century, has provided a Gestalt for psychiatric disorders and guided clinical as well as scientific progress in modern psychiatry.
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