The scope of this book is to provide a clear account of clinical psychology and in doing so to critically analyse how our mind is being subjected to external forces by illuminating examples from fieldwork in Sweden, China, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and the Philippines. The book also provides a vibrant insight into humanistic psychology and this disposition is more in tune with postmodern philosophical disposition that is calling for deconstructing some of the existing knowledge to bring forth a new awareness that is conducive to present day realities.
It also suggests alternative ways in which clinical psychology can improve when treating people with psychological setbacks. The writing can work as a handbook for: students, researchers and teachers as well as doctors who treat mental illnesses. Not the least this book also gives school psychologists, and educators who work in a plural and multicultural milieu a valuable insight. Not only can this book also serve special teachers who work with children with different needs with valuable psychological hints to develop a better cognitive-social-emotional teacher-pupil relationship.
To expand psychology by bringing knowledge from various disciplines such as pedagogy, sociology, culture, political economy, human geography and the field of neuroscience will certainly be a valuable project worth pursuing and that explains the rationale of writing a scholarship of this kind. This interdisciplinary academic background that I gained throughout my academic years was the stepping-stone towards that direction; that is to analyse the present day clinical practices using a multidisciplinary approach.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Introduction: An Opening Up of Major Arguments
Challenges to the Current System
The Scope of the Book
Chapter 2 – Challenges to the Current System of Categorising the Human Mind
State of Psychology Practice Today
Chapter 3 – Postmodern Humanistic Philosophical Disposition and Deconstruction of Clinical Psychology
Realism after Modernism
Plural Epistemology in Psychology
Chapter 4 – Psychological Paradigms Good and Evil
Deconstruction of One-Fits All Models
Chapter 5 – Medicalization of the Mind
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-Psychiatrists Bible
DSM and Absence of Root-cause Analysis
Development Psychological Models Pros and Cons
Chapter 6 – Western Domination in Clinical Psychology Pros and Cons
Observation Made in Four Developing Nations
Pathology of borderline—between market and citizens
Chapter 7 – Psychotherapist, Psychiatrics and Psychologists
Passivity Attached to the Mental Ailing
Seeing a Therapist and Self Efficacy
Therapeutic Process and Here and Now Experience
Rigid Frameworks, Theory and Practice
The Mind Cannot be treated as One Piece
Helping Our Clients
Chapter 8 – Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Therapeutical Approach With Freud
Understanding the Mystical Mind
Deconstructing Freud
Neuroscience and Freud
Critically Analysing Psychodynamic Perspective
Chapter 9 – Environment vs Genes and Challenges in Therapy
Cognitive-Behaviourism
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?
How CBT Therapists Function
Internet Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Chapter 10 – Humanistic and Gestalt Psychological Perspectives
Gestalt Therapeutic Situation
Therapy and Client Alliance
Chapter 11 – Mental Disorders and Overt and Covert Research in Mental Hospitals
Perception of Mental Illness
Rights of Mentally Impaired
What Are We Calling Madness?
Insight into ‘Madness’
Neurotic and Psychotic
Genetic Causes and Environmental Causes of Mental Pathology
Emotions and Emotional Disorders
Chapter 12 – Closer Look at the Psychiatry Through Ethnographic
ECT and My Covert Research as Mentally Sick
Suicide and Other Affects Related Challenges
Violent Brain and Deconstruction of Pathology
Chapter 13 – Social Psychiatry and Social Neurology
School Psychologists
Behaviours Do Not Take Place in a Social Vacuum
Changing Social Fabrics in the West and Mental Health: Swedish Context
Chapter 14 – Why Higher Rates of Mental Illness Among Swedes With Immigrant Background?
Fundamentalism is a Mental Sickness
Culture in Psychopathological Term?
Inclusive Clinical Practice and Ethics
Lack of Place Given to Individual Intra-psychic Strengths in the Treatment Process
Culture Sensitive Mental Health Care
Chapter 15 – The Health Folklore
The Concept of the Body is Duo of Nature and Culture
Chapter 16 – Women and Men and Mental Wellbeing
Psychomythologies of Men and Women from Mars and Jupiter
Social and Political Deconstruction of Men and Women’s Role
Intersectional Challenges and Mental Health
Goal and Research Focus
The primary goal of this book is to provide a critical account of clinical psychology by analyzing how human minds are shaped by external forces. The author explores the medicalization of the mind and advocates for a reconstructive, humanistic approach that accounts for social, cultural, and environmental contexts instead of relying solely on standard psychiatric labels.
- The impact of medicalization and pharmaceutical reliance on mental health.
- Deconstruction of existing diagnostic systems like the DSM.
- Integration of social psychiatry, ethnography, and humanistic perspectives.
- Challenges within Western-centric clinical models when applied globally.
- The role of socioeconomic and cultural factors in mental wellbeing.
Book Excerpt
Chapter 1 – Introduction: An Opening Up of Major Arguments
A recent meta-analytic study estimated that about 27 percent, which is equal to 82.7 million of the adult EU population, 18-65 years of age, is or has been affected by at least one mental disorder in the past 12 months and about one third of them had more than one mental disorder. Similar statistics bear a resemblance to many countries in the West. None western countries are following in the same trajectory. Our society is suffering from all kinds of neurotic behaviour and today's average society in most developed world, spending on mental health care much more than any other sicknesses. How come we have not analysed this upsurge in order to find answers to reduce such?
Answers to emotional setbacks and most minor mental illness are sought through—psychopharmaceuticals, rather Medicalisation the mind. Drugs are chemicals to alter brain environment, and they give quick answers, but least care that rightly deserves and meanwhile pharmaceutical companies are making huge profits. The sad scenario is, it does not look like we will climb to a new state of consensus or an elevated state of treatment in the near future, although changes towards that direction can keep the escalating psychological problems in human societies and human personalities at bay.
Humans are indeed different from all other species; while animals are satisfied with a modicum of necessity and mostly live in the present, we, humans, seem to have never been satisfied until we reached some higher good. We are also the only creature that drags along the past, and struggle through the present hoping for a better future. In doing so, we mostly live in the past or in the future and/or juggling in between and the feelings of pressure of limitations that are wearing us down. Conversely, societies’ go through far-reaching changes and at times it is hard to keep it up with constant vicissitudes that are taking place around us. The above background briefly explains some of the reasons, perhaps, why we are prone to a more discontented, disoriented and dissatisfied. We are more susceptible to cognitive dissonance today than never before.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1 – Introduction: An Opening Up of Major Arguments: This chapter highlights the rising prevalence of mental disorders in the West and challenges the over-reliance on medicalization as a primary solution.
Chapter 2 – Challenges to the Current System of Categorising the Human Mind: The author discusses the negative consequences of labeling patients through standardized diagnostic systems and advocates for treating individuals as a whole.
Chapter 3 – Postmodern Humanistic Philosophical Disposition and Deconstruction of Clinical Psychology: This chapter introduces deconstruction as a tool for critically analyzing everyday psychological practice and shifting towards humanistic approaches.
Chapter 4 – Psychological Paradigms Good and Evil: Explores the historical division between mind and body and emphasizes the need to consider contextual and situational factors in psychological development.
Chapter 5 – Medicalization of the Mind: Critically analyzes how non-medical emotional issues are increasingly treated with medication, turning them into pathologies.
Chapter 6 – Western Domination in Clinical Psychology Pros and Cons: Investigates the ethnocentrism in clinical psychology and how Western models often fail to account for the social realities of other nations.
Chapter 7 – Psychotherapist, Psychiatrics and Psychologists: Discusses the varying roles and often confusing boundaries between different mental health professionals and the lack of patient awareness.
Chapter 8 – Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Therapeutical Approach With Freud: Examines the contributions and limitations of Freudian psychoanalysis in modern clinical practice.
Chapter 9 – Environment vs Genes and Challenges in Therapy: Analyzes the interplay between environmental factors, genetic predispositions, and the role of behavioral conditioning in therapy.
Chapter 10 – Humanistic and Gestalt Psychological Perspectives: Focuses on Gestalt psychology’s holistic approach and the importance of self-awareness and client-therapist alliance.
Chapter 11 – Mental Disorders and Overt and Covert Research in Mental Hospitals: Uses personal ethnographic research to investigate conditions in mental hospitals and the perception of mental illness.
Chapter 12 – Closer Look at the Psychiatry Through Ethnographic: A personal, ethnographic account of experiences in psychiatric units, highlighting concerns regarding Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT).
Chapter 13 – Social Psychiatry and Social Neurology: Argues for the integration of social psychiatry and neuroscience to better understand the impact of social reality on the mental process.
Chapter 14 – Why Higher Rates of Mental Illness Among Swedes With Immigrant Background?: Examines the socioeconomic and social factors contributing to mental health challenges within immigrant populations in Sweden.
Chapter 15 – The Health Folklore: Explores traditional beliefs and ethno-medicine as meaningful ways to cope with trauma, often overlooked by Western medical models.
Chapter 16 – Women and Men and Mental Wellbeing: Discusses the societal and gender-based pressures affecting the mental health of men and women, challenging popular psychomythologies.
Key Concepts
Deconstruction, medicalization of the human mind, clinical psychology, humanistic psychology, social psychiatry, ethnographic research, psychopharmacology, DSM, social neurology, cultural sensitivity, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral therapy, identity, mental wellbeing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core argument of this work?
The book argues that modern clinical psychology is overly reliant on medicalization and rigid, Western-centric diagnostic frameworks. It advocates for a reconstructive approach that prioritizes individual agency, social context, and humanistic values.
What are the primary fields of study integrated here?
The work interdisciplinary, integrating insights from clinical psychology, sociology, pedagogy, cultural studies, political economy, neuroscience, and ethnographic research.
What is the main objective of the author?
The primary goal is to provide a clear, critical account of current clinical practices and to offer alternative, non-patronizing ways for professionals to treat patients with emotional setbacks.
What methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a qualitative, ethnographic approach, incorporating participatory observations from mental health facilities in various countries (Sweden, China, Philippines, Cambodia, Sri Lanka) to support the critical arguments.
What is the focus of the main body of the text?
The main body deconstructs common psychiatric practices, discusses the limitations of current diagnostic manuals like the DSM, and highlights the necessity of incorporating social and cultural dimensions into therapy.
Which keywords characterize this book?
The key concepts include Deconstruction, Medicalization, Postmodern approach, Humanistic Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Ethnography, and Social Psychiatry.
What is the author's critique of psychiatric diagnostic manuals?
The author argues that manuals like the DSM are socially constructed, serve as "bibles" for pharmaceutical profit, and frequently result in labeling rather than treating the actual root causes of emotional distress.
What is the significance of the author's personal research in psychiatric wards?
The author's covert and overt research provides firsthand evidence of systemic issues, such as the lack of patient-centered communication and the over-prescription of drugs, in diverse clinical settings.
- Quote paper
- Nilani Ljunggren De Silva (Author), 2015, Medicalisation of the Human Mind. Challenges to the Current System and Suggestions for Future Direction, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/306274
