1 ueflne abnormal psychology and cllnlcal psychology

AbnormaI psychoIogy is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns

of behavior, emotion and thought, which may or may not be understood as precipitating a mental
disorder. There is a long history of attempts to understand and control behavior deemed to be aberrant or
deviant (statistically, morally or in some other sense), and there is often cultural variation in the approach
taken. The field of abnormal psychology identifies multiple causes for different conditions, employing
diverse theories from the general field of psychology and elsewhere, and much still hinges on what
exactly is meant by "abnormal". There has traditionally been a divide between psychological and
biological explanations, reflecting a philosophical dualism in regard to the mind body problem, as well as
different approaches to the classification of mental disorders.
Clinical psychology is the applied field of psychology that seeks to assess, understand and treat
psychological conditions in clinical practice. The theoretical field known as "abnormal psychology" may
form a backdrop to such work, but clinical psychologists in the current field are unlikely to use the term
"abnormal" in reference to their practice. Psychopathology is a similar term to abnormal psychology but
has more of an implication of an underlyingpathology (disease process), and as such is a term more
commonly used in the medical specialty known as psychiatry.

CIinicaI psychoIogy is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of
understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote
subjective well-being and personal development.
[1][2]
Central to its practice are psychological
assessment andpsychotherapy, although clinical psychologists also engage in research, teaching,
consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration.
[3]
n many countries,
clinical psychology is a regulated mental health profession.
The field is often considered to have begun in 1896 with the opening of the first psychological clinic at
the University of Pennsylvania by Lightner Witmer. n the first half of the 20th century, clinical psychology
was focused on psychological assessment, with little attention given to treatment. This changed after the
1940s when World War resulted in the need for a large increase in the number of trained clinicians.
Since that time, two main educational models have developedthe Ph.D. scientistpractitioner
model (requiring a doctoral dissertation and therefore research as well as clinical expertise); and
the Psy.D. practitionerscholar model (in which a doctoral level dissertation is not required). Clinical
psychologists are now considered experts in providing psychotherapy, psychological testing, and in
diagnosing mental illness. They generally train within four primary theoretical orientations
psychodynamic,humanistic, behavior therapy/cognitive behavioral, and systems or family therapy. Many
continue clinical training in post-doctoral programs in which they might specialize more intensively in
disciplines such as psychoanalytic approaches, or child and adolescent treatment modalities.


2 ueflne normal and abnormal
ln order Lo undersLand abnormal psychology lL ls essenLlal Lo flrsL undersLand whaL we mean
by Lhe Lerm abnormal? Cn Lhe surface Lhe meanlng seems obvlous someLhlng LhaL ls ouLslde
of Lhe norm 8uL are we Lalklng abouL Lhe norms of a parLlcular group gender or age? Many
human behavlors can follow whaL ls known as Lhe normal curve Looklng aL Lhls bellshaped
curve Lhe ma[orlLy of lndlvlduals are clusLered around Lhe hlghesL polnL of Lhe curve whlch ls
known as Lhe average eople who fall very far aL elLher end of Lhe normal curve mlghL be
consldered abnormal
lL ls lmporLanL Lo noLe LhaL Lhe dlsLlncLlons of normal and abnormal are noL synonymous wlLh
good or bad Conslder a characLerlsLlc such as lnLelllgence A person who falls aL Lhe very upper
end of Lhe curve would flL under our deflnlLlon of abnormal Lhls person would also be
consldered a genlus Cbvlously Lhls ls an lnsLance where falllng ouLslde of Lhe norms ls acLually
a good Lhlng
When you Lhlnk abouL abnormal psychology raLher Lhan focus on Lhe dlsLlncLlon beLween whaL
ls normal and whaL ls abnormal focus lnsLead on Lhe level of dlsLress or dlsrupLlon LhaL a
Lroubllng behavlor mlghL cause lf a behavlor ls causlng problems ln a persons llfe or ls
dlsrupLlve Lo oLher people Lhen Lhls would be an abnormal behavlor LhaL may requlre some
Lype of menLal healLh lnLervenLlon

3 PlsLory of abnormal psychology and lLs Lhree approaches

People have tried to explain and control abnormal behavior for thousands of years. Historically, there
have been three main approaches to abnormal behavior: the supernatural, biological,
andpsychological traditions.
[1]
(See Biopsychiatry controversy.)
n the supernatural tradition,also called the demonological method, abnormal behaviors are attributed to
agents outside human bodies. According to this model, abnormal behaviors are caused
bydemons, spirits, or the influences of moon, planets, and stars. During the Stone Age, trephining was
performed on those who had mental illness to literally cut the evil spirits out of the victim's head.
Conversely, Ancient Chinese, Ancient Egyptians, and Hebrews, believed that these were evil demons or
spirits and advocated exorcism. By the time of the Greeks and Romans, mental illnesses were thought to
be caused by an imbalance of the four humors, leading to draining of fluids from the brain. During
the Dark Ages, many Europeans believed that the power of witches, demons, and spirits caused
abnormal behaviors. People with psychological disorders were thought to be possessed by evil spirits that
had to be exorcised through religious rituals. f exorcism failed, some authorities advocated steps such as
confinement, beating, and other types of torture to make the body uninhabitable by witches, demons, and
spirits. The belief that witches, demons, and spirits are responsible for the abnormal behavior continued
into the 15th century.
[2]
Swiss alchemist, astrologer, and physician Paracelsus (14931541), on the other
hand, rejected the idea that abnormal behaviors were caused by witches, demons, and spirits and
suggested that people's mind and behaviors were influenced by the movements of the moon and stars.
[3]

This tradition is still alive today. Some people, especially in the developing countries and some followers
of religious sects in the developed countries, continue to believe that supernatural powers influence
human behaviors. n Western academia, the supernatural tradition has been largely replaced by the
biological and psychological traditions.
[4]

n the biological tradition, psychological disorders are attributed to biological causes and in the
psychological tradition, disorders are attributed to faulty psychological development and to social
context.
[4]

The Greek physician Hippocrates, who is considered to be the father of Western medicine, played a
major role in the biological tradition. Hippocrates and his associates wrote the Hippocratic
Corpusbetween 450 and 350 BC, in which they suggested that abnormal behaviors can be treated like
any other disease. Hippocrates viewed the brain as the seat of consciousness, emotion, intelligence,
andwisdom and believed that disorders involving these functions would logically be located in the brain.
[3]

These ideas of Hippocrates and his associates were later adopted by Galen, the Roman physician. Galen
extended these ideas and developed a powerful and influential school of thought within the biological
tradition that extended well into the 18th century.

Approaches
Somatogenic abnormality is seen as a result of biological disorders in the brain.
[9]
However, this
approach has led to the development of radical biological treatments, e.g. lobotomy.
!8chogenic abnormality is caused by psychological
problems. Psychoanalytic (Freud), cathartic, hypnotic and humanistic psychology (Carl
Rogers, Abraham Maslow)
[10]
treatments were all derived from this paradigm. This approach has, as
well, led to some esoteric treatments: Franz Mesmer used to place his patients in a darkened room
with music playing, then enter it wearing a flamboyant outfit and poke the "infected" body areas with a
stick.

4 WhaL ls uSM lv 18

$' TR
The standard abnormal psychology and psychiatry reference book in North America is the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The current version of the book is known as
DSM V-TR. t lists a set of disorders and provides detailed descriptions on what constitutes a disorder
such as Major Depressive Disorder or anxiety disorder. t also gives general descriptions of how frequent
the disorder occurs in the general population, whether it is more common in males or females and other
such facts. The diagnostic process uses five dimensions called "axes" to ascertain symptoms and overall
functioning of the individual. These axes are as follows
Axis Smptom Di8order8
Axis !er8onalit Di8order8
Axis eneral medical condition8
Axis ' !8cho8ocial/environmental problem8
Axis ' lobal a88e88ment of functioning (often referred to a8