Summary Clinical psychopathology Chapter 1

-4 characteristics that define psychopathology
1. experience debilitating distress
2. important aspects of their life (such as their moods or cravings) are out of their control
and they cannot cope,
3. failing to function properly in certain spheres of their life
4. life appears to be controlled by thoughts and memories which are delusional and are
probably not real


1.1.2 The Medical or Disease Model

The emergence of Disease Modelfrom ‘madness’ to ‘disease’
 as we began to understand some of the biological causes of physical disease and illness,
then our conception of ‘madness’ moved very slowly towards treating it as a disease
(hence the term ‘mental illness’).
 The impetus for this change in conception came in the 19th century when it became
apparent that many forms of behaviour typical of psychopathology were the result of
physical illnesses, such as strokes or viral infections.

The example of syphilis
 without proper treatment, the later stages of the sexually transmitted disease syphilis are
characterized by the inability to coordinate muscle movements, paralysis, numbness,
gradual blindness and dementia – and many of these symptoms cause radical changes in
the individual’s personality.
 The discovery that syphilis had a biological cause, and was also an important contributor
to the mental disorder known as general paresis, implied that many other examples of
mental or psychological illness might also have medical or biological explanations

Syphilis-->general paresisA brain disease occurring as a late consequence of syphilis,
characterized by dementia, progressive muscular weakness and paralysis

somatogenic hypothesisThe hypothesis that the causes or explanations of psychological
problems can be found in physical or biological impairments

The medical model of psychopathology
 was fostered by the somatogenic hypothesis was an important development because it
introduced scientific thinking into our attempts to understand psychopathology, and
shifted explanations away from those associated with cultural and religious beliefs
 has given rise to a large body of scientific knowledge about psychopathology that is based
on medicine, and this profession is known as psychiatry
 primary approach of the medical model is to identify the biological causes of
psychopathology and treat them with medication or surgery
 attempt to explain symptoms in terms of such factors as
o brain abnormalities (e.g. in dementia, autism),
o biochemical imbalances (especially imbalances of brain neurotransmitters) (e.g.
major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia),
o genetic factors (e.g. learning disabilities, autism, schizophrenia),
o chromosome disorders (e.g. intellectual disabilities)
o congenital risk factors (such as maternal infections during pregnancy) (e.g.
intellectual disorders, ADHD),
o abnormal physical development (e.g. autism)
o and the physical effects of pathological activities (e.g. the effect of
hyperventilation in panic disorder)

, The implications of the medical model
 bizarre behaviour can be developed by perfectly normal learning processes
 psychodynamic and contemporary cognitive accounts of psychopathology argue that
many psychological problems are the result of the individual acquiring dysfunctional ways
of thinking and acting, and acquiring these characteristics through normal, functional
learning processes it is the experiences they have had that are dysfunctional and have
led to them thinking and acting in the way they do.

Reductionist approach vs recovery model
 the medical model adopts a reductionist approach by attempting to reduce the complex
psychological and emotional features of psychopathology to simple biology
 problems can be influenced by the socio-economic situation in which the individual lives,
their potential for employment and education, and the support they are given that will
provide hope for recovery and support for social inclusion (this broad ranging approach to
understanding and treating mental health problems is known as the recovery model)
Stigmatising views
 ‘something is broken and needs to be fixed’ view of psychopathology is problematic for a
couple of reasons
 psychopathology can be viewed as being on a dimension rather than being a discrete
phenomenon (medical modelone extreme)

Abnormal = medically ill?


1.1.3 From Asylums to Community Care

Asylums=madhouses
18th century, hospitals and asylums were few and those that were established were often devoted
to very specific and often highly infectious illnesses (such as leprosy).
‘Madness’ was considered to be a local or domestic problem, and individuals suffering mental
health problems would either be cared for by their families or by their local parish authorities.

many traditional infectious diseases became less common, many hospices for these diseases were
converted into asylums

there was no coordinated government response to mental health issues until the 19th century,
individual privately funded hospitals or ‘madhouses’ began to appear prior to this time

Life in these asylums was often cruel and inhumane, and because ‘madhouses’ were essentially
businesses established for financial profit, many expanded to take more and more sufferers in
conditions that were not subject to inspection under the relevant legislation of the time

Any medical treatments provided were usually crude and often painful

Combating ‘degeneration’ ->the roots of modern day stigma
approaches to mental health care that were based around combating moral degeneration and
‘social weakness’, and such approaches probably represent the roots of the modern-day stigma
that is associated with mental health problems

the nature of the inmates often expanded to include not just those with mental health problems,
but paupers and individuals from poor backgrounds – especially young pregnant women