Abnormal Psychology and Mental Health: Disorders, Assessment and Therapy
Defining abnormality
Criteria include statistical deviation, violation of norms, personal distress, dysfunction, and danger. No single criterion suffices. Classification systems (DSM and ICD) use categorical diagnosis; understand reliability and validity concerns and cultural context.
Major disorder groups
Anxiety disorders (generalised anxiety, panic, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder now often separate), mood disorders (major depression, bipolar), schizophrenia (positive symptoms: delusions, hallucinations; negative: flat affect, avolition), personality disorders (clusters A, B, C), dissociative and somatic disorders, and neurodevelopmental conditions. Know diathesis-stress and biopsychosocial models.
Assessment
The clinical interview, mental status examination, psychological tests (MMPI, Beck Depression Inventory), behavioural observation, and neuropsychological assessment. Differential diagnosis matters.
Therapy
Psychodynamic, behavioural (systematic desensitisation, exposure, token economy), cognitive and cognitive-behavioural (restructuring, thought records), humanistic (client-centred), biological (medication, ECT), and group or family therapy. Evaluate by evidence base and ethical practice.
Traps and rule of thumb
A common trap is labelling OCD as an anxiety disorder without noting current classification debates, or confusing schizophrenia's positive and negative symptoms. Rule of thumb: positive symptoms add experience; negative symptoms subtract function. Also do not equate therapy with advice-giving.