How treatment is possible in the absence of a concept of mental disorder.
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Date
2015
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Abstract
Commonly it is accepted that one of the advantages of the concept of mental disorder is its
necessity when it comes to practical treatment issues. It is for this and other practical reasons
that the concept of mental disorder is so ubiquitous. However since the adoption of mental
disorder by psychiatry there have been sceptics. In recent years there has been a push to
abandon the concept of mental disorder citing problems with validity and reliability of any
concept that proposes a clear boundary between the normal and the abnormal. There are
many potential arguments that a proponent of mental disorder could raise in objection to such
a position. One of these arguments is that the concept of mental disorder is necessary for
practitioners to provide the most effective treatment, thereby emphasising the necessity of the
concept. One response available to these arguments is to argue that treatment issues are not
necessarily a matter resolved by diagnosis. The aim in this dissertation is to set out an
argument to that effect.
Description
Master of Social Science in Clinical Psychology. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2015.
Keywords
Mental illness--Diagnosis., Mental illness--Treatment., Psychology, Pathological., Theses--Clinical Psychology., Mental disorder.