CLINICAL - Historical context of mental illness Flashcards
prehistoric times view of mental illness
mental illness was due to the supernatural and an individual being possessed by demons
prehistoric times treatment for mental illness
evidence of trepanning where the skull is pierced so there is a hole for spirits to be released from - used to treat seizures, migraines and mental disorders
ancient greek view of mental illness
400BC hippocrates proposed bodily humours relate to different personality dimensions
black bile - introversion
yellow bile - impulsiveness
blood - being courageous
phlegm - being calm
mental illness comes from an imbalance of humours
ancient greek treatment for mental illness
to restore the body’s balance the greeks used phlebotomies, bloodletting, purging and imposing diets on the afflicted
1880s view of mental illness
views shifted to attribute mental illness to psychological factors and freud suggested mental illness was due to unconscious processes
1800s treatment of mental illness
talking therapies such as psychoanalysis as pioneered by freud
mid 1900s view of mental illness
renewed focus on physical factors leading to medical model focusing on abnormalities of the brain structures
mid 1900s treatment of mental illness
physiological treatments
insulin treatments for schizophrenic patients, ECT (electric current passed through brain), lobotomies (removing parts of the brain
statistical infrequency definition
behaviour rarely seen in the general population
statistical infrequency strength
provides a quantitative measure of abnormality which is therefore objective and can be applied in a reliable way
statistical infrequency limitation
the individuals may be perfectly happy and function well in society
statistical infrequency clinical example
schizophrenia is only 1% of the population
deviation from the social norm definition
behaviour that can be seen as a departure from what one society or culture defines as acceptable
deviation from the social norm strength
considers the desirability of the behaviour and is therefore more useful e.g some behaviours may be rare but desirable and so wouldn’t be classes as an illness
deviation from social norm weakness
it means that abnormality can’t be considered to be universal due to cultural differences in social norms - the definition is ethnocentric
behaviour may deviate from social norms due to eccentricity rather than abnormality