Unfamiliar is not the same as abnormal, distinction between these two is vital to understanding psychopathology and those affected by mental illness. As abnormal psychology evolves and progresses in treatments, therapies, and research the central theme of the six core concepts continues to guide researcher. These six concepts define and provide understanding of abnormality. The concepts also illustrate the range between normal and abnormal behavior of individuals experiencing personality disorders. Another concept is studying cultural and historical relativism in defining and classifying abnormality in relation to environment.
For example, one psychologist may use descriptive psychopathology to which will strive to provide answers for symptoms or mental illness. Either way, psychopathology is formally used to study mental illness or the distresses which may be affecting an individual. The issues of the abnormal psychology will assist in the study by the way we would use it in the attempt to capture interest, trigger concerns, and demands our attention. It also brings us to form and ask certain questions pertaining to any study. Psychopathology is not the same as psychopathy, which has to do with antisocial
In order for them to be diagnosed properly, diagnostic criteria is used. One of the key points on the criteria is that individuals must recognise that their behaviour is unreasonable otherwise the clinician may diagnose them to another mental illness e.g. Schizophrenia. Another thing is that Anxiety is not necessarily a phobia therefore instead of being phobic they may be labelled as just very anxious. Reliability is an important thing in terms of diagnosing phobias as they have to be consistent and accurate.
What is ‘Attributional’ therapy in your own words (5) 1 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a form of psychotherapy developed from a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioural therapy. The aim of CBT is to change unhealthy/faulty thinking and behaviours. The approach is based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and the resulting behaviours rather than external events. By identifying and challenging unhealthy or faulty thinking patterns and beliefs the thinking patterns can be replaced by more rational and healthy alternatives. 2 CBT can be used with many different problem areas including depression, anxiety, anger and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
What defines what is considered abnormal and normal behaviour? This is a question that only society can answer. “...It is a psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected”. (Barlow, & Durand, 2009. Chp1.
Psychopathology is the term used to describe psychological function which deviates from the norm. This can include mental disorders, and so explanations of psychopathology attempt to describe why individuals develop these disorders. As with all aspects of psychology, there are many different perspectives, and in this essay the Biological and Cognitive models will be addressed. The biological approach sees mental disorders as caused by abnormal physiological processes such as genetic and biochemical factors. Psychological abnormality, according to this model, is an illness or disease.
Outline and Evaluate issues surrounding the classification and diagnosis of Schizophrenia The DSM-IV and the ICD-10 are based on a series of categories. They assume that all mental disorders are distinct from each other, and if you fulfill the relevant criteria you have the disorder. However, some patients show comorbidity, which is where an individual suffers from two or more mental disorders at the same time. This creates problems of reliability and validity in the classification and diagnosis of Schizophrenia. For a classification system to be useful it needs to be reliable.
In general a personality disorder can be defined as a “long-term pattern of thinking, feeling and behavior” that contrasts drastically from the accepted norms of a culture or society (Clinton, Hart & Ohlschlager, 2005). The DSM-4 outlines the specific criteria an individual’s thinking, feeling and behavior must meet in order to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. In order to be classified an individual’s personality traits must be pathological and show impairment in both self and interpersonal function. An individual must meet five or more of the criteria outlined in the DSM-4 in order to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Individuals that exhibit a personality disorder are inclined to react in an identical way when confronted with an assortment of interpersonal situations (Clinton, et al., 2005).
Why do some people object to the term ‘mental illness’? To understand the complexity of the term ‘mental illness’, it is necessary to explore a diverse range of perspectives on varying topics that often arise within the ‘world’ of mental health. Using the elements of the K225 course model as a basis for exploration, this essay shall aim to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the individual experiences that could lead to possible reasons why, some people may not be in favour of the term ‘mental illness’. (Unit 1, p.19). The ‘world’ of mental health briefly consists of people, services, policy, and legislation.
Underreporting occurs due to individuals being dishonest regarding their behavior, therefore causing an error in the research done. A possible solution to this limitation is focusing on observed behavior, and correlating the findings with the self-reporting behavior, therefore developing a conclusion that is more in-depth. Furthermore, Article 2 emphasized that other factors can influence self-labeling as a victim in relation to work-place bullying, not just anxiety and anger. In addition, discovering a moderation effect regarding negative acts of violence and self-labeling is hard to discover due to the psychological way an individual may experience an event. Lastly, Article 3 honed on the lack of variances of deviant behavior.