Psychopathology

Type of psychology: Psychopathology
Fields of study: Behavioral therapies; general constructs and issues;
models of abnormality; organic disorders; personality disorders
As a field of study, psychopathology has as its focus the description and causes of abnormal
behavior and of psychological and emotional problems. Models or approaches
to psychopathology differ with respect to the assumed causes of psychological problems.
Many clinicians integrate different models to understand the basis of a client’s problems
and combine different treatment approaches to maximize effectiveness.
Key concepts
• behavior therapy
• biological approach
• biopsychosocial approach
• cognitive approach
• cognitive therapy
• culture and psychopathology
• learning approach
• mental illness
• somatic therapy
Psychopathology refers to psychological dysfunctions that either create distress
for the person or interfere with day-to-day functioning in relationships
or at the workplace. “Psychological disorders,” “abnormal behavior,” “mental
illness,” and “behavior and emotional disorders” are terms often used in
place of psychopathology.
As a topic of interest, psychopathology does not have an identifiable, historical
beginning. From the writings of ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, and
Greeks it is clear, however, that ancient societies believed that abnormal behavior
had its roots in supernatural phenomena, such as the vengeance of
God and evil spirits. Although modern scientists have opposed that view, in
the twenty-first century many people who hold fundamentalist religious beliefs
or live in isolated societies still maintain that abnormal behavior can be
caused by demoniac possession.
The Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 b.c.e.) rejected demoniac
possession and believed that psychological disorders had many natural
causes, including heredity, head trauma, brain disease, and even family
stress. Hippocrates was wrong when it came to specific details, but it is remarkable
how accurate he was in identifying broad categories of factors that
do influence the development of psychopathology. The Roman physician
Galen (c. 129-198 c.e.) adopted the ideas of Hippocrates and expanded
upon them. His school of thought held that diseases, including psychological
disorders, were due to an imbalance among four bodily fluids, which he
called humors: blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. For example, too
much black bile, called melancholer, was believed to cause depression.
Galen’s beliefs have been discredited, but many of the terms he used have
lived on. For instance, a specific subtype of depression is named after
Galen’s melancholer: Major Depression with Melancholic Features.
A major figure in the history of psychopathology is the German psychiatrist
Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926). He claimed that mental illnesses, like
physical illnesses, could be classified into distinct disorders, each having its
own biological causes. Each disorder could be recognized by a cluster of
symptoms, called a syndrome. The way in which he classified mental disorders
continues to exert a strong influence on approaches to categorizing
mental illnesses. The official classification system in the United States is published
by the American Psychiatric Association in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR (rev. 4th ed., 2000). Many features
of this manual can be traced directly to the writings of Kraepelin in the early
years of the twentieth century. 675