Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and Diagnosis
Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and
Diagnosis
An early use of the term "psychopathology" dates back to 1913 when the
book General Psychopathology was first introduced by Karl Jaspers,1 a
German/Swiss philosopher and psychiatrist. This new framework for
understanding the mental experience of individuals followed a long history of varied
attempts at making meaning out of "abnormal experiences."
What Is Psychopathology?
How do we currently define psychopathology? In
short, this discipline can be understood as an in-depth
study of problems related to mental health. Just
like pathology is the study of the nature of disease
(including causes, development, and
outcomes), psychopathology is the study of the same
concepts within the realm of mental health (or illness).
In this way, psychopathology is all about exploring
problems related to mental health: how to understand
them, how to classify them, and how to fix them.
Because of this, the topic of psychopathology extends
from research to treatment and covers every step in
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Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and Diagnosis
between. The better we can understand why a mental disorder develops, the
easier it will be to find effective treatments.
Signs of Psychopathology
Signs of psychopathology vary depending on the nature of the condition.
Some of the signs that a person might be experiencing some form of
psychopathology include:
• Changes in eating habits
• Changes in mood
• Excessive worry, anxiety, or fear
• Feelings of distress
• Inability to concentrate
• Irritability or anger
• Low energy or feelings of fatigue
• Sleep disruptions
• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
• Trouble coping with daily life
• Withdrawal from activities and friends
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Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and Diagnosis
Diagnostic Systems
Professionals engaged in research and treatment of psychopathology must
use systems to arrive at conclusions regarding the best course of action for
treatment. These systems are used to classify what are considered mental
health disorders. Currently, the most widely used systems for classifying
mental illness in the United States are the following.2
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM)
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is created by
the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as an assessment system for
mental illness. The DSM-5-TR (Text Revisions) published in 2022 is the
current edition and includes identifiable criteria that mental health
professionals use to arrive at a specific diagnosis.3
The criteria and list of disorders sometimes change as new research emerges.
Some examples of disorders listed in the DSM-5-TR include major
depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, paranoid personality
disorder, and social anxiety disorder.
International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
The ICD is a system similar to the DSM. Now in its eleventh version, the ICD
was developed over a century ago and was taken over by the World Health
Organization (WHO) when it was founded in 1948. So, how does the ICD-11
differ from the DSM-5-TR?
First, the ICD-11 is produced by a global agency (the World Health
Organization), while the DSM-5-TR is produced by a national professional
association (the American Psychiatric Association). The ICD-11 is approved
by the World Health Assembly composed of health ministers from 193 WHO
member countries.
Second, the goal of the ICD-11 is to reduce the burden of disease globally. It
includes medical as well as mental health diagnoses. Third, the ICD-11 is
freely available on the Internet. In contrast, the DSM must be purchased, and
the American Psychiatric Association derives revenue from sales of the book
and related products.
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Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and Diagnosis
Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)
Beyond these standard systems for classifying mental disorders, there also
exists a burgeoning area of research and theory that moves away from the
checklist format of making diagnoses. Since it's possible to have symptoms
of a mental illness but not meet the criteria for an official diagnosis, studies
of descriptive psychopathology hold promise for a better system of
understanding.
The RDoC is a research framework initiative by the National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH) based on translational research from areas such as
neuroscience, genomics, and experimental psychology. In this way, the RDoC
is involved in describing the signs and symptoms of psychopathology rather
than grouping them into disorders as has been historically done with the
DSM and ICD.
Who Works In Psychopathology?
Just as the scope of psychopathology is broad-ranging from research to
treatment, so too is the list of types of professionals who tend to be involved
in the field. At the research level, you will find research psychologists,
psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and others trying to make sense of the
different manifestations of mental disorders seen in clinical practice.
At the clinical level, you will find many types of professionals attempting to
apply the diagnostic systems that are in place to provide effective treatments
to individuals living with psychopathology. These can include the following
and more:
• Clinical psychologists
• Counselors
• Criminologists
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Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and Diagnosis
• Marriage and family therapists
• Nurse practitioners
• Psychiatric nurses
• Psychiatrists
• Social workers
• Sociologists
Identifying Psychopathology
How do psychologists and psychiatrists decide what extends beyond normal
behavior to enter the territory of "psychopathology?" Psychiatric disorders
can be conceptualized as referring to problems in four areas: deviance,
distress, dysfunction, and danger.4
For example, if you were experiencing symptoms of depression and went to
see a psychiatrist, you would be assessed according to a list of symptoms
(most likely those in the DSM-5-TR):
• Deviance: This term refers to thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that
deviate from what is common or at odds with what is deemed
acceptable in the society. In the case of depression, you might report
thoughts of guilt or worthlessness that are not common among other
people.
• Distress: This symptom refers to negative feelings either felt within a
person or that result in discomfort in others around that person. In the
case of depression, you might report extreme feelings of distress over
sadness or guilt.
• Dysfunction: With this symptom, professionals are looking for the
inability to achieve daily functions like going to work. In the case of
depression, you might report that you can't get out of bed in the
morning or that daily tasks take you much longer than they should.
• Danger: This term refers to behavior that might put you or someone
else at some type of detrimental risk. In the case of depression, this
could include reporting that you are having thoughts of suicide or
harming yourself.
In this way, you can see that the distinction between normal versus
psychopathological behavior comes down to how issues are affecting you or
the people around you.
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Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and Diagnosis
Causes
There is not a single cause for psychopathology. There a number of factors
that can increase the risk of mental illness, including:
• Biological factors, including genes and brain chemistry
• Chronic medical conditions
• Family members with mental illness
• Feelings of isolation
• Lack of social support
• Substance or alcohol use
• Traumatic or stressful experiences
It is also important to realize that mental health can change over time. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that 50% of all
people will be diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their life.6
Types
Some of the different types of psychopathology include, but are not limited
to:
• Anxiety disorders
• Bipolar disorders
• Depressive disorders
• Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders
• Dissociative disorders
• Eating disorders
• Neurocognitive disorders
• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Obsessive-compulsive disorders
• Personality disorders
• Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
• Sleep disorders
• Somatic symptom disorders
• Substance-related disorders
• Trauma- and stressor-related disorders
Dimensional vs. Categorical Definitions
It's easy to see that there has been some disagreement historically about
what constitutes mental illness. At the same time, even in the current field,
there is disagreement about how mental illness should best be
conceptualized.7
Are all of the disorders in the DSM distinct, or are there higher-order
overarching factors that play a role in mental illness and that might better
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Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and Diagnosis
explain why some people are diagnosed with many illnesses
(called comorbidity)?
Some research suggests that there are neuropsychological dimensions that
cut across current diagnostic categories, noting the problems inherent in the
"checklist" approach to mental health.
Hopefully, in the future, better diagnostic systems will be developed that will
take all these issues in the field of psychopathology into account.
History of the Study of Mental Illness
We've come a long way since the earliest beginnings of trying to make sense
of mental illness. Although individuals with mental health issues still
face stigma and a lack of understanding, things were very different in the
past.
Hippocrates, the 4th century BC Greek physician, rejected the notion of evil
spirits and argued instead that mental illness was a disease of the brain
relating to imbalances of bodily humors, or chemicals in the body fluids.
Around the same time, the philosopher Plato argued that mental distress
involved issues of virtue, morality, and the soul.
If you lived in the 16th century with a mental health problem, chances are you
would not have been treated very well. At that time, mental illness was often
viewed from a religious or superstitious point of view. Accordingly, it was
assumed that people demonstrating strange behavior must have been
overtaken by evil spirits or demons. The cure? You might have been tortured
to bring you back to sanity. If that didn't work? Execution.
Later, in the 19th century, interest surged in the role of childhood and trauma
in the development of mental illness. Following on the heels of this
era, Sigmund Freud introduced talk therapy to deal with these unresolved
childhood issues.
As of the present day, our understanding of mental illness has broadened,
and so, thankfully, have the available treatments.
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Psychopathology: Definition, Types, and Diagnosis
A Word From Verywell
Are we any closer to an appropriate understanding of psychopathology? That
remains to be debated. However, we've certainly moved forward toward a
program of research that holds promise for characterizing psychopathology
in increasingly helpful ways.
What Is a Psychological Disorder?
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