The term psychopathology was used for the first time in 1913 in the book by Karl Jaspers, a German/Swiss philosopher and psychiatrist, called General Psychopathology. This one follows a long history of varied attempts at making meaning out of abnormal experiences.
If you are interested in psychopathology but you have no idea where to start, you may want to check out the brief information about it below. The information is taken from an article posted on Kampus Psikologi, which seems to use an article made by Arlin Cuncic posted on Very Well Mind as the source.
What is Psychopathology?
Psychopathology is described as an in-depth study of problems related to mental health. Just like pathology, which is known as the study of the nature of disease, psychopathology is the study of the same concept within the realm of mental health or illness. It can include a few elements, such as symptoms, behaviors, causes, course, development, categorization, treatments, strategies, and so on.
Talking about psychopathology, there is something called abnormal psychology. Both psychopathology and abnormal psychology are in the same theoretical framework. These two are identical. What makes them different is that psychopathology is considered a more contemporary term than abnormal psychology. The term psychopathology is formed from two words: psycho and pathology. The word psycho means an absorption of psyche and pathology means the science of disease, something that causes disturbance to living things. In short, the term psychopathology is defined as the scientific study of mental or behavioral disorders.
Signs
Depending on the nature of condition, signs of psychopathology vary. Some of the most common ones include:
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- Change in eating habits
- Change in mood
- Excessive worry, anxiety, or fear
- Stress
- Inability to concentrate
- Irritability or anger
- Always feel fatigue
- Lack of sleeps
- Suicidal thoughts
- Have a hard time to live
- Withdrawal from activities and friends
Diagnostic System
It is a must for every professional who is engaged in research and treatment of psychopathology to use systems to arrive at conclusions regarding the best course of action for treatment. These kinds of systems are used to classify the things that are considered as mental health disorders. The most widely used systems for classifying mental illness in the United States are as follows:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
There is an assessment system for mental illness called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is also known as DMS. This one was created by the American Psychiatric Association or APA. In 2013, the DSM-5 was published. It is the current edition of DSM. It includes identifiable criteria used by mental health professionals to arrive at a certain diagnosis.
As new research emerges, sometimes the criteria and list of disorders change. There are a number of disorders that are listed in the DSM-5. Among them, there are major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder, and social anxiety disorder.
International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
The International Classification of Disease, which is also more known as ICD in short, is similar to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM. This one was developed over a century ago and was taken over by the World Health Organization or WHO when it was founded in 1948. Right now, it is in its 11th version.
There are several things that make International Classification of Disease different from DSM-5, as follows:
First, a global agency (the World Health Organization or WHO) was the one that produced ICD-11. This one was approved by the World Health Assembly composed of health ministers from 193 WHO member countries. As for the DSM-5, it was produced by a national professional association (the American Psychiatric Association).
Second, ICD-11 has the goal of minimizing the burden of disease globally, which includes medical and mental health diagnoses.
Third, ICD-11 is freely available on the internet. On the other hand, the DMS must be purchased. Besides, the producer derives revenue from sales of the book and related products.
Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)
In addition to these standard systems for classifying mental disorders, there is also an area of research and theory that moves away from the checklist format of making diagnoses. As there is a possibility of having symptoms of mental illness without meeting the criteria for an official diagnosis, studies of descriptive psychopathology hold promise for a better system for understanding.
Research Domain Criteria or RDoC refers to a research framework. This one was initiated by the National Institute of Mental Health of NIMH. It is based on translational research from a few areas, such as neuroscience, genomics, and experimental psychology. Instead of grouping the signs and symptoms of psychopathology into disorders as has been historically done with DMS and ICD, RDoC is involved in describing them.
Who Works in Psychopathology?
The list of professionals who tend to be involved in psychopathology is pretty long. At the research level, there are research psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and so on. They are all trying to make sense of the different manifestations of mental disorders seen in clinical practice. At the clinical level, there are many professionals who are trying to apply the diagnostic systems that are in place to give effective treatments to those who are living with psychopathology. The list of professionals that are involved in psychopathology can include but not limited to:
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- Clinical psychologists
- Counselors
- Criminologists
- Marriage and family therapists
- Nurse practitioners
- Psychiatric nurses
- Psychiatrists
- Social workers
- Sociologists
Methods to Identify Psychopathology
What is something that can be considered as psychopathology? Psychiatric disorders are able to be conceptualized as referring to some issues in four areas, such as:
Deviance: It refers to thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that deviate from what is common or are the opposite of what is accepted in society. In the case of depression, you may report thoughts of guilt of worthlessness, which are not common among other people.
Distress: It refers to negative feelings, which can be felt either within a person or that cause discomfort in others around that individual. In the case of depression, you may make a report saying that you have extreme feelings of distress over sadness or guilt.
Dysfunction: With this one, professionals are finding an inability to achieve daily functions such as going to the office. In the case of depression, you may make a report that you cannot get out of your bed in the morning or that daily tasks take you much longer than they are supposed to.
Danger: It refers to behavior that might put you or someone else at some kind of detrimental risk. In the case of depression, it could include reporting that you are having suicidal thoughts or harming yourself.
As you can see, the difference between normal and psychopathological behavior is how issues are affecting you or the people around you.
Causes
Apparently, there is not a single cause for psychopathology. It means there are several factors that can increase the risk of mental illness. These factors include:
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- Biological factors, including genes and brain chemistry
- Chronic medical conditions
- Family members with mental illness
- Feelings of isolation
- Lack of social support
- Substance or alcohol use
- Traumatic or stressful experiences
Take note that mental health can change over time. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDS, 50% of all people will be diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their life.
Types
There are several types of psychopathology. These include but not limited to:
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- Anxiety disorders
- Bipolar disorders
- Depressive disorders
- Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders
- Dissociative disorders
- Eating disorders
- Neurocognitive disorders
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Obsessive-compulsive disorders
- Personality disorders
- Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
- Sleep disorders
- Somatic symptom disorders
- Substance-related disorders
- Trauma- and stressor-related disorders
Definition of Dimension vs. Categorical
In fact, there has been some disagreement historically about what constitutes mental illness. Besides, there is also disagreement about how mental illness should be conceptualized.
Are all disorders in DSM different or are there overall factors that play a role in mental illness and might better explain why people are diagnosed with multiple illnesses?
Apparently, there are a few studies that suggest that there is a neuropsychological dimension that cuts across current diagnostic categories. Remember that all the issues are inherited in a checklist approach to mental health.
Let’s hope there will be better diagnostic systems that will be developed in the future. With these systems, these issues in the psychopathology field will be taken into account.
History of Study of Mental Illness
A Greek physician from the 4th century BC named Hippocrates rejected the notion of evil spirits and said that mental illness was a disease of brain relating to imbalances of bodily humors, or chemicals in the body fluids. Apart from that, there was also a philosopher named Plato who argued that mental distress involved issues of virtue, morality, and the soul.
Just like those who suffered mental illness in the 16th century, you would have been treated badly if you suffered from the same thing. At the time, this illness was often seen from a religious or superstitious point of view. Therefore, people at the time believed that those who showed strange behavior must have been overtaken by evil spirits or demons. To make them get back to their senses, they were tortured. If that did not work, then execution was the option.
In the 19th century, the interest in the role of childhood and trauma in the development of mental illness increased. To follow the trend, Sigmund Freud introduced talk therapy to deal with these unresolved childhood issues.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
