Psychopathology

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Psychopathology

Psychopathology is a term which refers to either the study of mental illness

Mental illness

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture....
or mental distress, or the manifestation of behaviours and experiences which may be indicative of mental illness or psychological impairment

Impairment

Impairment may refer to:* A disability* In accounting, a downward revaluation of fixed assets* In physical therapy it is any loss or abnormality of physiological, psychological, or anatomical structure of function, whether permanent or temporary....
, such as abnormal, maladaptive behavior or mental activity.

different professions may be involved in studying mental illness or distress.

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Encyclopedia

Psychopathology is a term which refers to either the study of mental illness

Mental illness

Impairment

Psychopathology as the study of mental illness

Many different professions may be involved in studying mental illness or distress. Most notably, psychiatrist

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry and is certified in treating mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy....
s and clinical psychologists

Clinical psychology

Clinical psychology includes the scientific study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or Mental illness and to promote subjective Mental health and personal development....
are particularly interested in this area and may either be involved in clinical treatment of mental illness, or research into the origin, development and manifestations of such states, or often, both. More widely, many different specialties may be involved in the study of psychopathology. For example, a neuroscientist

Neuroscience

Neuroscience is a field devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system. The Society for Neuroscience was founded in 1969, but the study of the brain started a long time ago....
may focus on brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as cnidarian and echinoderm have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all....
changes related to mental illness. Therefore, someone who is referred to as a psychopathologist, may be one of any number of professions who have specialized in studying this area.

Psychiatrists in particular are interested in descriptive psychopathology, which has the aim of describing the symptoms and syndromes of mental illness. This is both for the diagnosis

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is the identification of the nature of anything, either by process of elimination or other analytical methods. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines, with slightly different implementations on the application of logic and experience to determine the cause and effect relationships....
of individual patients (to see whether the patient's experience fits any pre-existing classification), or for the creation of diagnostic systems (such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides diagnostic criteria for classification of mental disorders....
) which define exactly which signs and symptoms should make up a diagnosis, and how experiences and behaviours should be grouped in particular diagnoses (e.g. clinical depression

Clinical depression

Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by a pervasive depression , low self-esteem, and anhedonia in normally enjoyable activities....
, schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia , from the Ancient Greek Root schizein and phren, phren- is a psychiatry diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality....
).

Psychopathology should not be confused with psychopathy

Psychopathy

Psychopathy is a psychology construct that describes chronic immoral and antisocial behavior.The term is often used interchangeably with sociopathy....
, which is a type of personality disorder

Personality disorder

Personality disorders, formerly referred to as character disorders, are a class of Personality psychology styles which deviate from the contemporary expectations of a society....
.

Psychopathology as a descriptive term

The term psychopathology may also be used to denote behaviours or experiences which are indicative of mental illness, even if they do not constitute a formal diagnosis. For example, the presence of a hallucination

Hallucination

A hallucination, in the broadest sense, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus . In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space....
may be considered as a psychopathological sign, even if there are not enough symptoms present to fulfill the criteria for one of the disorders listed in the DSM

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides diagnostic criteria for classification of mental disorders....
.

In a more general sense, any behaviour or experience which causes impairment, distress or disability

Disability

Disability is a lack of ability relative to a personal or group standard or norm. In reality there is often simply a spectrum of ability. Disability may involve physical impairment such as sense impairment, cognitive impairment or intellectual impairment, mental disorder , or various types of chronic disease....
, particularly if it is thought to arise from a functional breakdown in either the cognitive and neurocognitive

Neurocognitive

Neurocognitive is a term used to describe cognitive functions closely linked to the function of particular areas, neural pathways, or Cerebral cortex networks in the brain....
systems in the brain, may be classified as psychopathology.

Psychopathology

Psychopathology as the study of mental illness

Psychopathology as a descriptive term

See also

Bibliography

Further reading

External links