PSYC 2300H Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Streptococcal Pharyngitis, Major Depressive Disorder, Psych

• School: Trent University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2300H
• Professor: James Parker

Document Summary

Increasing levels of understanding about pathology and causes. Symptom - observable behaviour or state: e. g. sore throat, e. g. depressed mood, etc, no implied pathology. Syndrome cluster of co-occurring symptoms: e. g. sore throat + running nose + fever, e. g. Depressed mood + hopelessness + disturbed sleep: no implied pathology. Danger in looking at symptoms/ syndromes in isolation: Overestimate amount of mental illness ( pathologizing normal behaviour) Disorder (illness) syndrome that causes, distress, harm, or impairment. Disease disorder with known etiology (cause: e. g. cold, e. g. major depressive disorder, implied pathology (but no implication of the underlying causes, e. g. strep throat, e. g. ?, disorder with known causes (e. g. , strep throat) Most mental-health diagnoses are disorders: no biomarkers, lab tests, single cause. Yet diagnostic system is based on medical model: medicalization + overmedication of life experiences and social problems. Diagnostics system is a work in progress: diagnoses are revised, removed, added. Diagnostic system is a human construction: subject to socio-cultural and political influences.