History of Mental Illness

The most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used for classifying mental disorders.

A system used in earlier DSM versions (e.g., DSM-III) that considered multiple factors impacting a person's mental health, not just the presenting problem.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has undergone significant changes and revisions since its 1952 first edition, including the integration and removal of axes and modifications to classification systems.

A system that categorizes mental disorders based on distinct categories and assumes differences in kind rather than degree of mental health conditions; e.g., disorder or not (either/or).

The DSM is criticized for its cultural bias (primarily from US culture), medicalization of behavior (often framed as simply a disorder or not) and a significant increase in the number of diagnosable disorders and the concerns this leads with potential labeling and stigmatization.

Different approaches to treating mental illness, including talk therapies and medication, all rely on shared factors like therapist-patient alliance, therapist competence, and placebo effects, rather than specific techniques.

Treatments focusing on the body's role in mental illness, exemplified by the use of medication, restraints, electroconvulsive therapy, and lobotomies.

A model of mental illness that considers biological, psychological, and social factors in explaining and treating mental health conditions.

A standardized classification system used to name and describe psychological disorders allowing for consistent communication among mental health professionals and clinical research.

A German psychiatrist who developed a systematic way of classifying mental illnesses.

A pattern of symptoms suggestive of an underlying physiological cause, classified in the DSM-5.

The collaborative relationship between a therapist and patient, a key factor in the effectiveness of many treatments.

A system for classifying mental illnesses that uses standardized criteria and clear definitions of disorders so that clinicians can communicate effectively.

A movement in the early 20th century focused on somatic causes of mental illness, influenced by the germ theory and discoveries in medicine.

The belief that physical factors are the primary cause of mental illness.

The idea that mental illness stems from psychological factors rather than biological ones, like in hysteria.

A mental disorder, previously believed to be related to a wandering uterus, characterized by physical symptoms without a physiological cause.

An early theory attributing symptoms like hysteria to imbalances in a universal magnetic fluid.

A psychogenic treatment for hysteria, replacing mesmerism.

A psychogenic treatment method, a precursor for many psychotherapies.

A treatment for hysteria, rooted in psychoanalysis; it aims to release repressed emotions.