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Abnormal psychologyis a part ofpsychology which studies theminds of people who have amental disorder. Abnormal behaviour is when someone is not able to change how they behave to fit different settings.[source?] This is often also used to define some mental disorders.
When someone cannot change their behaviour to fit the people and situations around them when they need to, it can causedistress andsuffering. Their behaviour could be unreasonable or hard to understand. Their behaviour can even bedangerous.[1] Not everyone with a mental disorder struggles to adjust to their surroundings.
Asupernatural belief is a belief in a force that is beyond scientific understanding. There are a lot of cultures that believe in supernatural events. These cultures includereligious cultures, as well as theAncient Chinese,Ancient Egyptians,Hebrews, andAncient Greeks. These cultures have writings that saydemons orGods that would take over a person and act through those people. This was calledpossession. In theRoman Catholic Church,exorcisms were done to make thesedemons leave the body of the individuals they possessed. Exorcism involvedprayer, noises and potions.[2]p. 11 People who had abnormal behaviour were often told they were possessed.
In some cultures,trepanation was often used. This was when a hole was made in someone's head to release the "bad spirit".
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"Lunaticasylums" were buildings that kept patients that had abnormal behaviour. They became popular with the Madhouse Act of 1774,[3] although they did exist before the Act. Asylums were meant to look after people who could not take care of themselves. But they were known for being cruel and abusive to their patients. The buildings were often dirty and not looked after very well.
During the late 1700s, William Tuke made areligious retreat for patients. This was a turn away from the horrors of mental asylums.[2]p. 14 Also, in the late 1700s,Philippe Pinel started to encourage better treatment of the mentally insane.
Most of the big asylums were closed in the20th century because of the invention ofantipsychotic medicines. There are stillpsychiatric hospitals for people with mental illness. This includes Broadmoor Hospital, which houses some of Britain's most dangerouscriminals with mental illnesses.
In the 1800s,Dorothea Dix fought for better treatment of patients in mental asylums. She started a "mental hygiene" group to encouragepoliticians to change the treatment of mental patients in theUnited States. When people became aware of the wrongdoing in mental asylums, money was raised to improve the treatment of patients and the asylums. Dix is thought to have helped to create 32 mental hospitals.
By 1940 there were more than 400,000 patients living in mental asylums in the United States. The asylums were quickly becoming overcrowded. Most treatments were still cruel to patients and were not effective.
Mary Jane Ward wrote a book in 1946 called "The Snake Pit" that raised awareness of the inhumane treatment of mental patients. The National Institute of Mental Health was created the same year. The organisation provided training and support for mental patients and workers that cared for them. The Hill-Burton Act was passed to give money to the mental health hospitals.
Later, the Community Health Services Act of 1963 was passed. This law created buildings for patients to live at home rather than in hospitals. Rehabilitation and community care centers were also built under this act.[2]p. 14
During the late 1900s, mental asylums were less accepted. The cruel treatment of patients and the overcrowding and ways of living were seen as not needed. Less money was given to asylums. So many closed all around the world. The closing down of mental hospitals was calleddeinstitutionalization. The movement from asylum to community was meant to help patients' development and recovery. The lack of good support programs meant that patients felt abandoned and found it hard to fit into normal life. This led to many becominghomeless.[2]p. 16
In the past there were three ways to explain abnormal behaviour. These weresupernatural,biological, and psychological explanations. ModernWesternmedicine no longer uses supernatural explanations.
Biological explanations usegenetics andneuroscience to explain abnormal behaviours. The biological explanation is based on how the brain works and howgenes change the way it works. Psychological explanations use how the mind works to explain abnormal behaviours.
Early cultures believed that abnormal behaviour was from demons,spirits andastrology.Trepanation was when a hole wasdrilled in a person's head. This was done to let the spirits or demons out of the person's head.
Exorcism was practiced mainly by theCatholic Church. Exorcism was believed to ward the spirits out of the person that they possessed.
These practices were normal during theMiddle Ages. Abnormal behaviour was thought to be areligious issue rather than apsychological one. Some abnormal behaviour was thought to bewitchcraft. Peopleaccused of witchcraft were almost alwayspunished. In many cases, the punishment was to bemurdered.
The Biological approach to explaining abnormal behaviour assumes that the behaviour can be explained by physical factors.Hippocrates lived during the5th century and is thought by many to be the father of modernmedicine. He did not accept thatevil spirits orastronomy were the causes of psychological disorders. Hippocrates believed that there were natural causes for the disorders and appropriate treatments could be found. He focused on the "four humors" of thebrain. He believed that the four humours must be balanced for healthy mental states and when one humour was stronger, various disorders would appear. To balance the humors, Hippocrates would tell patients to change their lifestyles.[2]p. 11 There are now new ideas when talking about the biological explanations of psychological disorders. But, Hippocrates' focus on mental processes andclinical practice was a big change.
Another Greek physician calledGalen also took a scientific approach to the causes of psychological disorders. He divided them into physical and mental categories. Among Galen's causes werehead injuries,alcohol abuse, and life experiences. During the18th century, Galen's concepts influenced the medical industry. Galen's focus was on the biological causes for mental disorders.[4]p. 13
Psychological explanations for abnormal behavior sometimes take a behavioral approach in which thepositive behaviors are reinforced and negative ones are not. This approach is more focused on changing the actual behavior of a person than the cause of it.
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Sigmund Freud was one of the most popular psychological theorists of the 20th century. The method he used to study and treat patients was known aspsychoanalysis. Methods ofhypnosis were used by Freud, but also byFranz Mesmer and physicians in theNancy School. Freud attempted to have his patients confess their deepest, truestemotions, which was referred to as acatharsis. He would have his patients speak freely about themselves, infree association. He would conductdream analysis where patients would record and discuss theirdreams.
Freud's work led to other great psychoanalytic theorists such asCarl Jung,Alfred Adler, andHarry Stack Sullivan.Wilhelm Wundt andWilliam James were credited for opening up the firstexperimental psychologylaboratories. This led to many studies and psychological methods, such asclassical conditioning led byIvan Pavlov andJohn B. Skinner, whileEdward Thorndike andB. F. Skinner were the leaders of the study ofoperant conditioning.[4]p. 18
The North American reference book used bypsychiatrists and psychologists todiagnose and treat psychological disorders is known as theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It is produced by theAmerican Psychiatric Association. The version released in May of 2013 and is known as theDSM-5. The DSM is relied upon by clinicians,health insurance companies, medicine companies, and the legal system as a reference for understanding and identifying mental disorders.[5] The DSM divides mental disorders into groups and provides descriptivesigns and symptoms that define each disorder. In addition, it listsstatistics for each disorder ranging fromits frequency in the general population to the most effective form oftreatment
Before diagnosing an individual with aspecific mental disorder, a professional must first determine whether that individual does in fact suffer from a mental disorder. The DSM defines a mental disorder as a condition that:
TheInternational Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is the universal diagnostic system for mental disorders. It was created by theWorld Health Organization (WHO).
The ICD is widely used. Health officials from 193 WHO member countries have approved the ICD, and it is available for free on theinternet. Its purpose is to help countries reduce the problems associated with mental disorders.
The coding system used in the DSM is designed to be compatible with the system used in the ICD; however, some codes may not match because the two publications get revised at different times.[7] The ICD-10 was made public in 1994; its most recent update occurred in 2010.[needs update] Chapter 5 of the ICD-10 covers over 300 mental and behavioral disorders which are divided into the following categories:[8]
The Online ICD-10 can be found in its entiretyhere
Psychoanalysis is a form of therapy based on psychoanalytic theory. This theory states that human behavior is controlled by unconscious forces such asinstinct and that there is no such thing asfree will. Many ideas found in the theory can be traced back toSigmund Freud. Freud believed mental disorders are a result of repressed memories and emotions from childhood; psychoanalysis is designed to search for these hidden memories and emotions and bring them to the patient's attention. Techniques such ashypnosis are used to tap into the unconscious mind with the hopes that the source of the disturbance is found. Freud also believed dreams had hidden meanings, and often asked patients to record their dreams for analysis.[9] Because of the lack of scientificevidence supporting most Freudian ideas, psychoanalysis is rarely used by clinical psychologists and has been replaced by more effective forms of therapy.
Behavior therapy is based on the theory ofbehaviorism, which states that all human behavior is a result of astimulus and reinforcement. Famous behaviorists includeJames Watson,B.F. Skinner, andJoseph Wolpe. The goal of this therapy is to increase one's positive or socially reinforcing behavior.[10] Behavior therapy can be broken down into three areas:
Humanistic therapy is a method taken fromCarl Rogers, which aims to focus on a client as a human rather than the problem that they have. A therapist can adjust the environment and mood of a session in a way that mimics normal conversation. This often helps the patient realize the issues they have, and share them with the therapist more successfully than in a traditionalcounseling session. Humanistic therapy creates an effective means of getting to the source of a problem and treating it properly.[12]
Roger's own term was "client-centered therapy", which has the idea that the therapist is helping the client to become a genuine psychological adult.[13][14]
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