chapter 1: concepts of mental disorders throughout history

psychological abnormality

behaviour, speech, or thought that impairs the ability of a person to function in a way that is generally expected of them in the context where the unusual functioning occurs

psychopathology

scientific study of psychological abnormality and the problems faced by people who suffer from such disorders

psychological disorder

aka mental disorder; a specific manifestation of this impairment of functioning, as described by some set of criteria that have been established by a panel of experts

mental illness

term often used to convey the same meaning as psychopathology but implies a medical rather than psychological cause

Wakefield

harmful dysfunction is the key notion

dysfunction

failures of internal mechanisms to perform naturally selected functions

clinical psychologists

professionals initially trained in general psychology and then receive graduate training in application of this knowledge to the understanding, assessment, diagnosis, and amelioration of disorders of thinking and behaviour

psychiatrists

trained in medicine prior to doing specialized training in dealing with mental disorders

super-natural causes

causes beyond the understanding of ordinary mortals, such as the influence of gods, demons, or magic

trephination

circular sections cut out of skulls; originally thought to let out evil spirits but may have been performed to remove bone splinters or blood clots caused by blows to head during warfare

Hippocrates (460-377 BCE)

“father of modern medicine”; denied popular belief of the time that psychological problems were caused by intervention of gods or demons, which was first first recorded instance of rejection of supernatural causes for mental illness

humours

bodily fluids that, when disturbed, affect psychological functioning

hysteria

defined by Hippocrates as psychologically induced blindness, deafness, or other apparent defects in perceptual or bodily processes; now known as conversion disorder

Plato (427-347 BCE)

Greek philosopher who took up Hippocrates’ ideas but placed more emphasis on socio-cultural influences on thought and behaviour

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

Greek philosopher who took up Hippocrates’ ideas and wrote extensively on mental disorders and other aspects of psychological functioning

Galen (129-198 CE)

Greek physician living in Rome who continued work of Hippocrates; thought there were physical and psychological sources of mental disorder

asylums

place of refuge and protection; created in other Arab cities in years after 800 CE; treatment followed tradition of care, support, and compassion

Avicenna (980-1037 CE)

Persian philosopher and physician who developed an astonishing understanding of medicine and psychological functioning in “The Canon of Medicine”

Paracelsus (1493-1541)

famous Swiss alchemist and physician, one of the first to attack beliefs about supernatural possession

St. Vitus’ dance

epidemic of mass hysteria near end of Middle Ages, where groups of people would suddenly be seized by irresistible urge to leap about, jumping and dancing, and sometimes convulsing

Johannes Weyer (1515-1588)

accepted that devil was cause of some cases of mental illness but also advocated natural and physical treatments while rejecting exorcism

Moors

Muslims from North Africa who had brought knowledge and attitudes of Arab world

Teresa of Avila

head of group of nuns at the time of Spanish Inquisition who claimed that her charges were sick when they began to display hysterical behaviours and were in danger of being accused of possession by the devil

Vincent de Pail (1567-1660)

eminent religious teacher who is today widely recognized for compassion; claimed that mental disease and bodily disease aren’t different

La Bicêtre

asylum in Paris where patients were shackled to walls in unlit cells, unable to lie down even to sleep, had inadequate food, weren’t permitted to wash regularly, and treated like animals

Philippe Pinel (1745-1826)

appointed as director of La Bicêtre in 1792; ordered inmate’s chains be removed, institution cleaned, windows replaced to let in full sunlight, encouraged healthful exercise on grounds, and instructed staff to treat patients with kindness

moral therapy

therapeutic approach to mental health that emphasized kindness, compassion, and dignity

mental hygiene movement

characterized by a desire to protect and to provide humane treatment for individuals with mental illness

Cabanis (1757-1808)

combined psychological and somatic factors in an account of mental disorders

Benedict Augustin Morel (1809-1873)

a Viennese physician who was the first to introduce “degeneration” theory

“degeneration” theory

proposed that deviations from normal functioning are transmitted by hereditary processes, and that these deviations progressively degenerate over generations

Cesare Lombroso (1836-1909)

concluded from personal observations that criminality was inherited and could be identified

Emil Kraepelin

published “Clinical Psychiatry” in 1883, which attempted to classify mental illness and attempts guide the selection of treatment and indicate the likely course and outcome of the disorder

syndromes

groupings of certain symptoms that tended to occur together; could serve as a way of grouping patients who shared certain features into categories that identified specific disorders

Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902)

became interested in possibility that patients with general paresis of the insane (GPI) might’ve acquired this disorder by an infection

general paresis of the insane (GPI)

aka neurosyphilis; now known to result from untreated infections by syphilis sprochete

somatogenesis

idea that psychopathology is caused by biological factors

Manfred Sakel

German physician who thought that shock treatments might be effective in treating the insane

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

procedure that uses a mild electrical current to cause a brief seizure; effectively treats severe mental health conditions, including, depression, schizophrenia

Otto Loewi

isolated the first neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in 1926

Henri Laborit

examined value of some recently developed antihistamines of phenothiazine group of drugs

patients’ right movement

suggested that patients can better recover if they are integrated into the community

deinstitutionalization

beginning in 1950s, hundreds of thousands of institutionalized patients were discharged, but many individuals became homeless and lacked adequate support

Anton Mesmer (1734-1815)

thought that hysteria was result of disturbed distribution of magnetic fluid in all bodies

Jean Charcot (1825-1893)

came to believe that hypnotism might have value in treating hysterics

Josef Breuer (1842-1939)

approach employed hypnosis in order to patient talk freely about, and relive, unpleasant past events that he believed cause the hysteria

cathartic method

vividly reliving past experiences can exhaust emotional problems that resulted from them

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

had a similar approach to Breuer but also used procedures other than hypnosis, and treatment came to be called psychoanalysis

John B. Watson (1878-1958)

published “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It” and established what became known as behaviourism

behaviourism

psychology must be restricted to study of observable features, specifically the behaviour of organisms

lobotomy

surgical removal, or disconnection, of the frontal lobes of the brain

Albert Bandura

developed social learning theory with Richard Walters to explain how aggressive behaviour is acquired as part of learning process that occurs mostly in childhood

cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)

extension of behavioural approaches to include modification of cognitions; led by a handful of researchers, including Canadian psychologist Donald Meichenbaum

evidence-based practice (EBP)

the conscientious, explicit adn judicious use of the best available research evidence to inform each stage of clinical decision-making and service delivery