From symptoms of psychopathology to the explanation of clinical phenomena

Publication date: August 2019Source: New Ideas in Psychology, Volume 54Author(s): Tony Ward, Samuel ClackAbstractOur understanding of mental disorders has focused on syndromes and symptom clusters rather than on the nature of the symptom and signs themselves. This paper argues that understanding the composition of symptoms is a valuable way of identifying, describing, classifying, and explaining what disorders are. We begin by discussing the different phases of scientific inquiry and the role that phenomena detection plays in advancing the goals of science. Second, we explore the nature of symptoms, arguing for the epistemic value of viewing symptoms not only as reported concerns, but as clinical phenomena to be explained. By adopting model pluralism, we can build multifaceted explanations of the processes and factors that constitute symptoms. Next, we outline the Phenomena Detection Method, which “bootstraps” the explanation of the symptoms of disorders, moving from thin descriptions of symptoms and signs to rich representations of clinical phenomena. Its purpose is to aid our understanding of the structures and processes constituting disorders through an analysis of their central symptoms, thereby avoiding the problems associated with traditional syndromes.

Source: New Ideas in Psychology - February 5, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research