Pychopathology Case Study

Introduction

Mental illness and mental disorders have a strong relationship with those that commit violent crimes. This has lead to psychologists looking at how psychopathology is relevant to understanding and treating those convicted of violent crime. Psychopathology, for the purpose of this essay, will be defined as our understanding and knowledge of any illness or disorder within the mind that affects an individual’s cognition and behavior (Sinnamon, 2017; Stirling & Hellewell, 2002). As such, mental disorders are considered to be a part of psychopathology because a mental disorder originates within the individual rather than it being a situation reaction that is outside the individuals physical and/or mental control (Sinnamon, 2017). Therefore,

A mental disorder has been defined as a condition that affects or disrupts thinking, feeling and other psychological processes within an individual (Siegel, 2013; Cassel & Bernstein, 2007). This affect then leads to the individual behaving in a way that deviates from the social norm and causes deficiency in other areas of the individuals daily functioning, such as interpersonal communication skills (Siegel, 2013; Cassel & Bernstein, 2007). There are two models that help identify the factors that may result in a mental disorder. The first is known as the biopsychosocial model (Cassel & Bernstein, 2007). This model suggests that genetic influences; learned ways of thinking, behaving and feeling; and other social systems which people grow up with play a part in whether or not the individual will manifest a mental disorder (Cassel & Bernstein, 2007). The second model, the diathesis-stress model, suggests that an individual’s predisposition for psychopathology interacts with environmental factors. This means that the mental disorder will not appear unless traumatic events, deprivations or other stressors arise to trigger it (Cassel & Bernstein, 2007). Therefore, this provides further knowledge as to how psychopathology is relevant to the understanding of mental disorders and the provision of treatment for those convicted of violent

One side of the research suggests that having a mental disorder does not mean that an individual is necessarily going to engage in violent behaviour (Gavin, 2014; Hollin, 2013). McGuire (2004) states that individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder are no more likely to engage in deviant behaviour than the population as a whole. However, some disorders can disrupt an individual’s thinking, mood and ability to relate to others (Gavin, 2014; National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d.). If that person is lacking treatment for their mental disorder and the means to overcome such a disruption, they may turn to anti-social behaviour (Cassel & Bernstein, 2007; Gavin, 2014). Despite the opposing sides of research regarding the relationship between psychopathology and crime, offending by the mentally ill remains relatively low (Sinnamon, 2017). This is because people with mental disorders are not everywhere, however there are some mentally disordered states that can contribute to the risk of offending (Sinnamon, 2017). These are highlighted below when addressing the specific disorders that are related to violent