Diagnosing Abnormality

Diagnosing Mental Illnesses

Medical model: rooted in a view that abnormal behavior stems from one’s physiology (for example, problems with neurotransmission).

Problem is that this model is often influenced by social factors.

In the last century, women who were pregnant without being married could be admitted into an asylum.

Bidirectional Ambiguity

Which is the cause: is it biology that causes mental illness or mental illness that cause changes in biology?

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)

Handbook used by psychiatrists in the US to identify and classify symptoms of mental illnesses.

Based on a person’s medical and clinical conditions, psychosocial stressors, and the extent to which a person’s mental state interferes with his or her daily life.

How is someone diagnosed with a

mental illness by a psychiatrist?

Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID): Psychiatrist primarily rely on patient’s subjective descripton of the problem.

Medical exams, brain scans, observations, and psychological tests may all be made for further information.