Psychiatric Abnormality

Since the discrete nature of the DSM relies on a yes-no approach to classification, patient is either afflicted with a certain mental illness, or not. On the discussion of the not criminally responsible individual, this means that if an individual answers incorrectly or does not provide the right information, they may not be properly characterized under a certain disorder. This may not necessarily mean that the individual does not possess this certain disorder. Furthermore, disorders that have not yet been discovered by psychiatrist will not be found within the DSM manual. The obvious consequence for this would mean that individuals who have special types of disorders might not be diagnosed at all and if they are, they may be diagnosed under incorrect categories due to a lack of understanding. A second criticism of the DSM-IV is that the cut-off points for each disorder are often chosen with little empirical justification. Merely relying on the number of symptoms and the duration of which they appear could mean that those who do not meet the cut-off points for a given category are simply funnelled into the criminal justice system without receiving the quality of mental health attention that they may require. In certain cases, having only two symptoms instead of the required three to possess a certain mental disorder would mean that you do not have that disorder at all. This sort of information should be considered as potentially being sufficient to leave someone in a position where they do not appreciate the nature and quality of their actions. Even if these factors are insufficient to warrant an acquittal based on an entry of NCRMD, it should at the very least be used as a mitigating

The term ‘abnormal’ means deviating from the average. Therefore, if we were to adopt a literal approach to defining abnormality, we would conclude that any rare behaviour or ability was abnormal. This, however, is not a useful way of defining abnormality as it doesn’t take into account whether or not the behaviour is desirable. There are three ways of defining abnormality; deviation from

An explanation of your rationale for assigning the diagnosis on the basis of the DSM

According to Mathers et al., (1996) “Schizophrenia ranks among the top ten causes of disability worldwide and affects one in one hundred people at some point in their lives.” (Cardwell and Flanagan, 2012). Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder which is commonly diagnosed in 15-30 year old individuals. It disrupts a person’s cognition, perceptions and emotions, making it extremely difficult to diagnose. Bleuler (1911) introduced the term schizophrenia, which translates as ‘split-mind’ or ‘divided self’ and accounts for the earlier interpretations of the disease. These misunderstandings and the ongoing misrepresentations, especially within the media, has stigmatised the illness. This raises the need for better understanding and

It is hard to say if the human mind is a fragile or resilient thing. On the one hand, humans are able to grow and adapt and take on struggles, while on the other, their minds can crumble beneath pressure from the stressors of life on earth, resulting in a variety of psychological disorders. One such disorder is post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Encyclopedia of Psychology, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, occurs after an individual experiences a particularly traumatic event, usually one where there is physical harm or an extreme threat of physical harm (Kazdin, 2000). The disorder was formally recognized for the first time in 1980 when the American Psychology Association added it to its new edition of the Diagnostic

Being able to form a diagnosis properly for a client is a process that is wide-ranging and broad. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) supports recommendations and standards for identifying a diagnosis for a client. The procedure of diagnosing is more than skimming for symptoms in the DSM; one must assess, interview and identify issues, as well as refer to the DSM for a diagnosis.

The episode of the Jim portrayed in the case falls in the dimension of Axis II. The present edition of DSM-IV published in 1994, offers virtually 400 disorders (Crowe, 2000). The advantage of this is that it enhances diagnostic impartiality by adding decision trees demarcating significant characteristics of disorders, which makes clinicians by collections of questions concerning the presence or the absence of the symptoms. The present DSM-IV manual comprises of extensive anthology of information organized into portions for easier reference (Purse, 2009). The first section encompasses instructions on the way to use the tools contained in the DSM-IV, while following section contains comprehensive classification systems catalog of the official codes for each single diagnosis. The fourth section comprises of the manual detailing the diagnostic criteria accompanied by a description for each disorder. Despite the advantages highlighted above, there are some disadvantages in the manual compilation. First, the DSM-IV compilation lacks the exactitude in diagnostic criterion to evidently, differentiate one diagnosis from the other as well as the distinguishing mental disorder, from the situation, such as mental distress. DSM is not visibly clear on how experiences and behaviors cited within the diagnostic criterion justifiably can consider as substantiation of mental disorder as distinctive from rejoinders to life events (Crowe,

The American Psychiatric Association published the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013. There have been eight publications of the manual (APA, 2013). Regardless of theoretical background clinicians need to understand the DSM. It is now the industry standard for evaluation and diagnosis. The DSM-5 comprehensively covers most behavioral mental and emotional concerns. Expertise and knowledge of the DSM-5 is necessary to obtain reimbursement from insurance companies. The complexity of the human mind and all of the working of psychopathology cannot be limited to a single book. Practitioners are bound by the DSM-5 as a universal communication system. The DSM-5 is a medical approach to a bio-psycho-social-spiritual malady. Diagnosis in the DSM is the classification of a mental illness or other problem by interpretation of the symptoms. Pathology of medical ailments is characterized by and organ, defect, and symptoms. Psychiatry seems to only have the handle on one component. Psychiatrists will openly admit that they know almost nothing in regards to the cause of most diagnoses (Whitaker, 2010 & Allen, 2013). Some clinicians and authors have been outspoken about their criticisms of the DSM-5. Frances (2013) states “our classification of mental disorders is no more than a collection

Cultural Diversity and Defining Abnormality All ways of defining of abnormality are limited to a certain extent by cultural variations. This makes it difficult for psychologists to be sure that their definition technique would be effective and accurate in diagnosing all cases of abnormality. The main issue for psychologists regarding cultural diversity is that what may be considered normal in one place may be abnormal in another and therefore psychologist must consider this fact before making a diagnosis.

Abnormality is a term that should be used with extreme caution due to its subjective nature. What's defined as normal or abnormal is generally determined by the standard of behavior that is expected in regards to a specific community or group. Human societies tend to gravitate towards norms, correct ways to behave, standard ways to look, socially acceptable attitudes that we deem as ordinary. To be judged abnormal is to be rejected, to be regarded as faulty; in need of repair. This contrived idea is all about conformity, what the average is, about what we believe the absolute measure of reality is. In observation you shall see that in many cases society's problems arise from the mismatch between what we really are and the social myths that

Abnormality may be defined as behavior that causes distress, loss of freedom, physical or emotional pain, and increased risk of death or injury to self or something that causes a disability of some sort. Abnormal behaviour is however difficult to diagnose because it is, to a large extent, based on the symptoms people exhibit. Psychiatrists and psychologists use a standardized system called a diagnostic manual to help them but this system isn’t without faults. Since there is no clear definition of normality or abnormality – and symptoms of the same psychological disorders may vary not only between individuals but also between social and cultural groups, it is clear that a

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has a number of features. First of all, every disorder is identified using a name and a numerical code. In addition, the manual provides the criteria for diagnosing each disorder as well as establishes subtypes of a disorder and examples that would illustrate the disorder. The manual goes further by addressing the typical age of onset, culturally related information, gender-related information, prevalence of a disorder, typical clinical course of a disorder, typical predisposing factors of a disorder and genetic family patterns of a disease (Summers, 2009). The DSM-IV is a tool that is used by mental health practitioners and social service workers. As has been demonstrated

For many years scientists, including doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, have been interested in trying to understand human behaviour, in particular behaviour that is described as being ‘abnormal’. It is difficult to define ‘abnormal’ in terms of behaviour because there are many differing descriptions which have radically changed over the years. ‘Abnormal’ behaviour is widely categorised as being persistent and in a serious degree contrary to the continued wellbeing of the individual and/or the surrounding community. Cultural beliefs and expectations determine which behaviour patterns are deemed as being ‘abnormal’.

Abnormal behavior is defined as a psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or impairment in functioning and response that is not typical or culturally expected (Durand, 2005). There are

The gay personality has long been a scrutinized myth. Many psychologists have described homosexuality as a mental disorder or a treatable complex. However, recently homosexuality was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and is no longer considered a disorder. The American Psychiatric Association believes that “the causes of sexual orientation (whether homosexual or heterosexual) are not known at this time and likely are multifactorial