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The Concept of Mental Illness

The concept of mental illness is defined by the two varying approaches adopted by contemporary psychology: the biomedical model versus the psychodynamic model. According to the biomedical model, mental illness should be treated as a physical illness such as diabetes. On the other hand, the psychodynamic model treats mental illness as a complex and subjective concept involving individual thoughts, emotions and behavior. According to the psychologists who support this perspective, the patients' intense feelings of love and hatred and their memories of the past play a significant role in influencing their behavior. In short, while the first model conceives of mental illness as an external entity, the latter model view mental illness as an internal problem within the mind (Luhrmann, 2000, p. 6).

Therefore, in its attempt to define mental illness, psychology is characterized by an inherent contradiction that has plagued its capacity to assert itself as a valid and objective science. The training of psychologists and psychiatrists has also integrated the two approaches without acknowledging the conflicting concepts of mental illness. While psychiatrists are trained in the skills of diagnosis and psychopharmacology, they also acquire skills for psychotherapy (Luhrmann, 2000, p. 7).

The Biomedical Concept of Mental Illness

Psychiatrists and psychologists have tried to build the biomedical model of mental illness for over a century. During the formation and development of psychology, psychologists knew that they would have to give their work scientific validity before it would be recognized. Sciences had authority to exert an impact on political and social policies in the U.S. (Leahey, 2000, p. 38). Even today, in spite of the absence of concrete research theories that validate the biomedical concept of mental illness, many psychiatrists and psychologists have clung onto this model. Keith Russell Ablow (1992), chief resident in p...

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The Concept of Mental Illness. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:18, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1687160.html