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Key strengths and limitations of the psychiatric classification system
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The Social Construction of Abnormality
The fields of psychology and psychiatry similarly postulate that there are proper inherent functioning attributes and characteristics, which can be identified in human nature as normal, and this provides the means to characterize ‘abnormal functioning’. Within the diagnostic process of mental disorders there is a classificatory system, which the field of psychiatry developed through means of social construction, and it defines if someone does or does not have a mental illness. Hence, the purpose of this paper arises from this realization, and it is to elucidate the means by which psychiatry has missed the mark in attempting to declare mental illness as natural kinds by using the standard model of science in the development of psychiatric theories.
In this paper, I will begin by describing aspects of abnormal psychology and how “abnormal behavior” is evaluated. This will include the diagnostic criteria of Social Anxiety Disorder, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatry Association, to provide an example of diagnostic symptomatology to compare in relation to theories in social constructionism and the standard model of science as they pertain to defining mental disease or illness. The following questions will be analyzed to extract the socially constructed elements of mental illness in relation to the standard model of science: what is the line that distinguishes between people who meet or do not meet diagnostic criteria, and who created this? If abnormal behaviors are able to be deciphered, then, is the paradigm for normal versus abnormal behaviors or functioning innate in the human condition or did we create it? Should abno...
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...ific law is considered to be unconditionally true, yet all “truths” in mental illness are conditionally true dependent upon a person’s society, culture, and ethnicity. The focus must be on the fact that, that which comes to be a theory through the standard model is a set of laws that are supported through evidence that discovers and explains some physical phenomena; furthermore, in psychiatry, the standard model is utilized in such a way that it is not discovering something that is universally true, it is creating the theory said to be proven true by experimentation. Nevertheless, if what has been said is accepted as true, then one can easily see that mental health diagnoses should not be married with the standard model that is used to define a theory or law that is innate to existence. Rather, we must understand this form of scientific inquiry through another lens.
1. The main thesis of the article is that deviance means going against the social norms. Social norms are also different for which person. Rosenhan says that pseudo patients are never detected as sane because each staff member has a confirmation bias. The setting of the mental hospital confirms their bias and they read each behavior from every patient and taper the behavior to fit the diagnosis.
In his essay, "Unreality Star", Andrew Marantz says that all mental illnesses have rules, " clinically recognized delusions
Deviance is any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs (Kendall, 2012). Our experiment will study the behavioral deviance of a social norm. Sociologists use symbolic interactionism to study face-to-face interactions. We are expected to follow these certain unwritten rules of behavior telling us the way that we should act in certain situations. The social norm or folkway I chose to break was that of invading an individual’s personal space. See Figure 1.0 showing the proximity generally utilized by Americans, according to Edward T.Hall. Personal space is the region surrounding a person, approximately 18 inches, which they regard as psychologically theirs. People value their personal space, and feel discomfort, anger, or anxiety when their personal space is encroached (Personal space, n.d.). We walked around to find the best scenario and individuals to interject our teammate in purposefully invading their comfort zone.
According to (Barlow, 2001), Schizophrenia is a psychological or mental disorder that makes the patient recognize real things and to have abnormal social behavior. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms such as confused thinking, hallucinations, false beliefs, demotivation, reduced social interaction and emotional expressions (Linkov, 2008). Diagnosis of this disorder is done through observation of patient’s behavior, and previously reported experiences (Mothersill, 2007). In this paper, therefore, my primary goal is to discuss Schizophrenia and how this condition is diagnosed and treated.
It is generally accepted within healthcare that to understand mental health we must adopt the biopsychosocial model. This model assumes that an interdependent relationship exists between biological, psychological and social factors which are involved in all aspects of mental health (Toates, 2010, p. 14). To be true to the model research must be holistic and not investigate the factors in isolation.
There are wide ranges of social issues affecting mood, thinking, and behavior. What is considered normal in the United States of America, may perhaps not be normal to another. Being diagnose mentally ill requires train professionals to evaluate a person state of mind. Being normal in the United States of America is conforming to a standard, and standards can change within societal standards. Up to now the DSM-V shows the exact symptoms of mental disorders and thoroughly explains the type of illness. Yet abnormal behavior treatment is not the same, professionals who’ve master therapy skills should be aware that their knowledge has affect to client’s treatment. When clients interact amongst counselors, clients can explain their life experiences,
There are multiple criteria that come into play when determining a psychological disorder. One reason is because, it is hard to know for sure if an action is abnormal or not. Something could be abnormal in our country, but a custom in another. According to Psychology in Action, “[r]ather than being fixed categories, both “abnormal” and “normal” behaviors exist along a continuum, and no single criterion is adequate for [i]dentifying all forms of abnormal behavior” (Huffman). There are four criteria used to determine whether a behavior is abnormal.
Kendell, R. and Jablensky, A. (2003), Distinguishing between the validity and utility of psychiatric diagnoses, American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 160, No. 1, pp. 4-12.
In comparing and contrasting the definition of mental disorder in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5) to the Individual Psychology perspective, one is presented with the dichotomy between the mental illness model and the mental health model. The DSM-5, driven by the use of categorizations and classifications, tends to align with a more strict mental illness, or medical model. In contrast, the Individual Psychology perspective, aims to direct focus back onto the uniqueness of each individual. Individual Psychology returns attention to the significance holistic care plays in the wellness of the individual.
However, mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders and there are a number of problems that can interfere with a person’s cognitive, social and emotional abilities. Biological approaches to mental health view all psychiatric disorders as being caused by organic factors such as genetic and biochemical factors. The role of psychiatrists or clinical psychologists is to help the patient cope with the illness or control the effects of it by means of medication or therapy (Cardwell, Clark, and Meldrum, 2008). In contrast to the biological theory, the social theory to mental ill health offers a holistic approach to try and understand mental disorders. This means that there may also be social factors that may influence a person’s resistance or susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. These could be triggered by certain life events such as a tragedy or stress. It also takes into consideration the labelling theory where society labels a person as ‘mentally ill’ who then accepts that status (self-fulfilling prophecy) and may lead to a severe mental
Comer, R. J. (2011). Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology (Sixth ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
What Valenstein argues is that we have come to a point where we accept all mental illness as purely biological in origin, and have discarded older ideas about social and psychological effects, rather then attempting to see how these two different types of explanations fit together. While some may argue that this shift has helped to significantly de-stigmatize mental illness, it also has caused a neglect of important factors which must play a role in these disorders. In 1999, in a report by the Surgeon General, it was stated that research into the biology of the brain is "a potent antidote to stigma," but it was also emphasized that psychotherapy not be forgotten as it sometimes plays a large role in recovery.
Halgin, R. P., & Whitbourne, S. K. (2010). Abnormal psychology: clinical perspectives on psychological disorders (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Barlow, D., Durand, V., & Stewart, S. (2009). Abnormal psychology an integrative apporach. (2nd ed.). United States of America: Wadsworth
Abstract Chapter 2, Social Pathology and Perspectives, begin with Dr. Earl Rubington and Dr. Martin Weinberg explaining the origin of the concept of defining what to do about a Social Problem. This chapter discusses the organic analogy, child savers, and a universal criterion for pathology, how pathology is used in everyday life and the moral premise of social pathology. The Concept of Social Problems First, Rubington and Weinberg suggest that urbanization, around the 19th century, was the root cause of social problems. The migration of farmers and countrymen into the cities and factories created situations where there were migrations from inside and outside of the American borders created unstable conditions for living and working.