Individual Differences in Mental Health and Wellbeing - Lecture 1

Vocabulary flashcards covering medical, social, and biopsychosocial models, clinical psychology versus psychiatry, and critiques of psychiatric diagnostic systems.

Mental Health (WHO)

A state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their community.

Mental Distress

A range of experiences in a person's internal life (thoughts, feelings, etc.) that are in wider society suggested to be troubling, confusing, or unusual, for which individuals might seek support from professionals.

Wellbeing

A concept encompassing living well, positive emotions, life satisfaction, and how people feel about themselves and their lives, extending beyond merely being free from illness.

Psychiatry

The medical specialty devoted to the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders, including affective, behavioural, cognitive, and perceptual abnormalities.

Clinical Psychology

A branch of psychology aiming to use psychological theory, methods, and clinical knowledge to understand, reduce, and prevent distress, and promote psychological well-being.

Mental Disorder (DSM-5)

A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behaviour, reflecting a dysfunction in underlying psychological, biological, or developmental processes.

Psychological Distress

A state of emotional suffering associated with stressors and demands that are difficult to cope with in daily life.

Categorical Approach

A model that assumes a sharp, rigid distinction between normality and abnormality, using a binary 'yes' or 'no' criteria to classify mental health conditions.

Dimensional Approach

A model describing distressing experiences as lying on a continuum with normal functioning, dynamic and fluctuating without a sharp dividing line between normal and abnormal.

Medical Model (Biomedical Model)

An approach coined by Ronald Laing assuming that mental health difficulties result from physical problems (e.g., brain anomalies, chemical imbalances) and should be managed with medical interventions.

Biopsychosocial Model

A model proposed by George L. Engel (1977, 1980) stating that biological, psychological, and social determinants of mental health are entwined and interact complexly.

Social Model of Disability

A model coined by Mike Oliver in 1984 asserting that disability is created by societal barriers (physical, social, and attitudinal) that prevent individuals from participating equally.

Clinical Recovery

The remission or complete disappearance of psychiatric symptoms.

Personal Recovery

A recovery perspective emphasizing building resilience, gaining control over problems, and leading a meaningful life, regardless of whether symptoms disappear.

Polythetic System

A diagnostic criteria framework where members of a diagnostic group share a number of common characteristics, but no single characteristic is essential for membership.

DSM-5-TR

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition, Text Revision), published in 2022 by the American Psychiatric Association.

ICD-11

The International Classification of Diseases (11th Revision), published in 2022 by the World Health Organization as a global classification system for physical and mental health.

Inter-rater Reliability

A measure evaluating whether two different clinicians independently assessing the same individual assign the exact same diagnostic category.

Kappa Statistic

A statistical measure of agreement between raters, where 1 indicates perfect agreement and 0 indicates no agreement.

Construct Validity

The degree to which a measurement tool, scale, or diagnostic system accurately measures the specific theoretical concept or condition it claims to evaluate.

Co-morbidity

The condition of meeting criteria for more than one diagnostic category simultaneously.

Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF)

An alternative non-diagnostic model published by the BPS Division of Clinical Psychology in 2018 for conceptualizing mental distress without biomedical labeling.