L2 - Classification & Diagnosis Flashcards
Who publishes the DSM?
American Psychiatric Association
What does DSM stand for?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
What model of abnormal psychology does the DSM currently reflect?
The medical model.
What is the ultimate goal of medical (psychiatric) classification?
To identify diagnostic categories that have a specific cause AND a specific treatment
List some of the assumptions which the medical model of abnormal psychology is based upon:
i. that psychological illness is distinctly different from psychological health.
ii. that different illnesses are clearly distinguishable from one another.
iii. that different illnesses occur independently from each other.
iv. that illnesses have specific identifiable causation, and respond to specific treatment.
When is a ‘syndrome’ referred to as a disease?
A ‘syndrome’ is referred to as a disease once a cause is known.
Outline Henry Cotton (1907-1930)’s theory of causes of insanity as well as treatments.
Henry Cotton theorised ‘focal sepsis’ as a cause of insanity. He said that a localised chronic infection in an individual released toxins into the body which reached the brain and caused insanity.
Treatment was to remove the infected organ(s).
Mortality rate about 45%, post surgery infections.
Lobotomies were also a potential treatment for insanity.
What was the most influential model of psychiatry in the 1940-1950’s?
The psychoanalytic model.
What were the main 3 underpinnings or the Psychoanalytic model?
- There is no clear division between normality and abnormality; ‘pathological’ is an extreme manifestation of normal.
- It expands upon only including psychotic states.
“Neuroses: depression, anxiety, various phobias” - There is no dividing line between different categories of disorder, all are on a continuum.
When did the DSM begin to reflect the medical model of mental disorders?
DSM III (1980) was the first to reflect the medical model.
Before DSM III (1980), what model of mental disorders did the DSM reflect?
The psychoanalytic model.
What does the DSM outline in an attempt to help diagnoses if causation is not known?
If causation is not known, the DSM III (1980) and beyond provides a description of symptoms which are based on direct observation, measurement, and patient reports.
