MCAT Basics (from MedSchoolCoach) Psychological Disorders
Jun 10, 2025
Explore the intriguing world of psychological disorders from definitions to classifications with DSM-5 insights. Discover the differences between anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders, as well as trauma and stressor-related conditions. Delve into the biopsychosocial model versus the biomedical approach for understanding mental health. Understand the complexities of disorders like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and dissociative disorders, plus the neurobiological aspects behind them. Gain a comprehensive view that prepares you for related exam questions!
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Defining Psychological Disorder
- A psychological disorder is an ongoing dysfunctional pattern of thought, emotion, and behavior causing significant distress or deviance in culture.
- The two key criteria are deviance from societal norms and significant subjective stress for the individual.
Two Competing Models Of Mental Illness
- The biopsychosocial model explains mental illness via biology, psychology, and social context for a holistic view.
- The biomedical model focuses narrowly on brain pathophysiology and drug treatments.
DSM-5 Categories Are Extremely Broad
- The DSM-5 is the comprehensive classification manual for psychiatric diagnoses and contains many disorder categories.
- Categories range from neurodevelopmental to paraphilic disorders and include surprising entries like caffeine-related disorders.
