1
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Psychological Disorders
Katie R. Stratford
PSY 1010 – Salt Lake Community College
2
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Psychological Disorders
In the early days of medicine, psychological and mental problems were not widely
researched or treated. Most people who showed any signs or symptoms of mental disorders were
thrown into asylums and left to live out the rest of their days as psychiatric patients of the ward.
Luckily, modern medicine has evolved and so has the diagnosis and treatment of psychological
disorders. By studying the history of mental disorders, the stigmatism behind them, and figuring
out new ways to diagnose, psychologists can form better strategies on how to assist psychiatric
patients in living more normal lives.
Over the years, many different definitions have been used to define psychological and
mental disorders. Today, the widely agreed upon definition is: a syndrome characterized by
clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior
that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes
underlying mental functioning (Maisel, 2013). There are many reasons why the exact definition
is hard to define, one being that psychological disorders are constantly evolving. In order to keep
up with all of these changes the psychology community has developed the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). This text helps define all the
mental and psychological disorders, their signs and symptoms, and indicates how each
differentiates from the other (Schacter/Gilbert/Wegner, 2013). The fifth edition of this text was
released in 2013. Before the DSM-IV-TR was written, each psychologist had his or her own set
of rules and ideas on how to deal with different patients and disorders. Some people feel that the
DSM-IV-TR is the single best thing to happen to the psychological abnormalities medical model.
During the early to mid 1900’s the public did not have a very good idea of why and how
psychiatric patients were being treated. It wasn’t until psychologist David Rosenhan conducted
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
3
an interesting experiment that people started realizing the severity of the diagnostic treatment of
mental patients. Rosenhan had eight pseudopatients (test subjects) enter asylums, telling the
doctors that they were hearing voices. After being admitted, the subjects were to continue living
their lives as they were before. The idea behind the experiment was to see just how long it would
take the medical personnel to notice that these so called “patients” were not actually patients at
all. On average, it took hospitals 19 days (the longest being 52 days) to release the
pseudopatients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia in remission. “How many people, one wonders,
are sane but not recognized as such in our psychiatric institutions? (Rosenhan, 1973)”
Another significant research experiment was performed by Elizabeth Jane Cochran, a journalist in
the late 1800’s. For her article, Cochran underwent treatment for a fabricated mental illness, under the
alias Nellie Bly, in order to show the horrendous conditions at the psychiatric hospitals. What she
discovered shocked the public. Patients were often times restrained to beds, given rotten food to eat,
disgusting living quarters, cold showers, and abused by the orderlies and other hospital staff (DeMain,
2014). Thanks to these two research studies, and countless others, people finally started to care about the
treatment of psychological disorder patients.
The road of diagnosis and treatment of these disorders has not been smooth. After the long
upward climb towards bettering conditions for psychiatric patients, one thing remained hard to change –
once a person was diagnosed with a mental disorder, that label most likely stuck with them. This is a
problem that has continued even into the 21st century, and one that psychologists are trying to change.
One thing that Rosenhan and his pseudopatients experienced was that even when they were released from
the hospital and deemed sane, the public still perceived these people as having schizophrenia. Modern day
mental illnesses are often times easily managed by drugs or other therapeutic methods which help patients
live relatively normal lives.
According to a recent study, one in every ten U.S. citizens suffers from some sort of depression.
Knowing this, it is hard to see how people can still judge those who have mental illnesses based on a
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
4
diagnosis. It is safe to say every person in America knows someone who has a psychological disorder,
whether it is mild, severe, or anything in between. For example, depression runs in my family; especially
seasonal affective disorder. This information should not change the way I view my aunts, uncles, cousins,
or even parents – having a mental disorder is just like having any chronic disease; with proper treatment
and help, there isn’t any reason people should be treated differently because of their psychiatric illness.
I have had the opportunity to work with patients suffering from all sorts of psychological
abnormalities, although I have the most experience with those who have Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Both
of these diseases of the mind affect the person’s ability to function on a normal scale, and require constant
supervision and care in order to carry out activities of daily living. For those who have never dealt with
mental disorders before, it may seem more difficult than it actually is. It is important for people to
remember that people are still people, no matter what is wrong with them mentally or physically.
Unfortunately, psychological disorders are still a medical mystery with many unanswered
questions. Although we have made leaps and bounds from the 1800s, we still have quite a ways to go
before we are done researching these disorders. There is always more we can do to improve the lives of
psychiatric patients. With new technological advancements and studies, I hope we can continue to learn
more about these problems and help patients with mental disorders better integrate in society.
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Citations/References:
1. Daniel L. Schacter, Daniel T. Gilbert, Daniel M. Wegner. (2013). Introducing
Psychology, Second Edition. New York, New York: Worth Publishers.
2. Eric Maisel, Ph.D. (July 23, 2013). The New Definition of a Mental Disorder. Retrieved
from:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rethinking-psychology/201307/the-newdefinition-mental-disorder
3. David L. Rosenhan. (January 19, 1973). The Rosenhan Study: On Being Sane in Insane
Places. Retrieved from: http://www.bonkersinstitute.org/rosenhan.html
4. Bill DeMain, (May 2, 2014). Ten Days in a Madhouse: The Woman Who Got Herself
Committed. Retrieved from: http://mentalfloss.com/article/29734/ten-days-madhousewoman-who-got-herself-committed
5. Office of the Associate Director for Communication, Digital Media Branch, Division of
Public Affairs. (March 31, 2011). An Estimated 1 in 10 U.S. Adults Report Depression.
Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsdepression/
5