Intro to Psychopathology

Question 1

what is Psychopathology?

Answer 1

the study of deviations from normal or everyday psychological or behavioural fucntioning

Question 2

what is clinical psychology?

Answer 2

the branch of psychology responsible for understanding and treating psychopathology

Question 3

History of Psychopathology: Demonic Possession

Answer 3

Definition: Historical explanations of psychopathology such as ‘demonic possession’ often alluded to the fact that the individual had been ‘possessed’ in some way

demonology: many ancient civilisations, such as those in Egypt, China, Babylon and Greece, believed that those exhibiting symptoms of psychopathology were possessed by bad spirits - known as demonology.

Question 4

History of Psychopathology: Medical or Disease Model

Answer 4

An explanation of psychopathology in terms of underlying biological or medical causes of physical disease and illness and treat them with medication or surgery.

General Paresis: a brain disease occurring as a late consequence of syphilis, characterised by dementia, progressive muscular weakness and paralysis. This discovery implied that other mental/psychological illness might also have medical or biological explanations.

Somatogenetic Hypothesis: the hypothesis that the causes or explanations of psychological problems can be found in physical or biological impairments.

Psychiatry: A scientific method of treatment that is based on medicine, the primary approach of which is to identify the biological causes of psychopathology and treat them with medication or surgery.

implications of Medical Model for the way we conceive mental health problems:

• implies medical/biological causes underlie psychopathology, not the case as bizarre behaviour can develop from normal learning processes.
• It is not the individual or any part of their biology that is dysfunctional, it is the experiences they have had that are dysfunctional and have led to them thinking and acting the way they do.
• the model adopts a reductionist approach by attempting to reduce the complex psychological and emotional features of psychopathology to simple biology. it is argueable whether factors involving psychological problems can be reduced to simple biological descriptions.
• implicit assumption that psychopathology is caused by ‘something not working properly’. probematic view.

historically individuals with mental health problems were often locked away in asylums or given lifelong custodial care in psychiatric hospitals. current models of mental health care espouse compassion, support, understanding, and empowerment.