Mental Health Information
Mental vs. Medical Classifications:
There is always a question of whether a given disorder or issue would be better
classified as a "mental" or a "medical-biological" disorder.
To some degree or another, there is no really firm distinction between mental
and medical disorders. Many so called 'mental' disorders like schizophrenia and
bipolar disorder are now known to be primarily biologically based, while other
'medical' disorders have been shown to have a large 'psychological' component.
In making classification decisions, we have followed the lead set out by the authors
of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the standard
reference used by psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers in classifying
and describing mental disorders.
Mental Health Tips & Questions
Types
of mental health problems
Despite the controversy surrounding the definitions and usefulness of the term
'mental illness', mental health problems today still remain largely in the province
of psychiatry, and hence are usually discussed in medical terms.
Psychiatrists
sub-divide the different kinds of mental health disorders in several different
ways.
Organic
(identifiable brain malfunction) versus Functional (not due to simple structural
abnormalities of the brain).
Neurosis (severe forms of normal experiences) versus Psychosis (severe distortion
of a person's perception of reality).
ICD-10 Classification, which lists major groups of disorders in related families
e.g. mood disorders, which includes depression and manic depression.