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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–3Cite as

Mental Illness

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Synonyms

Psychiatric illness

Definition

Mental illnesses are particular ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving that are typically associated with distress or impairment and that are not accepted as normal by the dominant local culture. The concept is controversial, and there is ongoing debate about how best to describe and understand the experiences often subsumed under this term.

Description

Classification of Mental Illnesses

Mental illnesses are made up of clusters of symptoms (abnormal or statistically infrequent behavior, emotion, or thoughts) and are typically classified according to different categories, or diagnoses, so that a particular mental illness is considered as either present or not. There are many different forms of mental illnesses, and people may be classed as displaying several at any one time (known as comorbidity). The key manuals used to diagnose mental illnesses are the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (currently on...

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References and Further Readings

  • Bentall, R. P. (2003). Madness explained: Psychosis and human nature. London: Allen Lane.

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  • Johnstone, L. & Boyle, M. with Cromby, J., Dillon, J., Harper, D., Kinderman, P., Longden, E., Pilgrim, D. & Read, J. (2018). The Power Threat Meaning Framework: Towards the identification of patterns in emotional distress, unusual experiences and troubled or troubling behaviour, as an alternative to functional psychiatric diagnosis. Leicester: British Psychological Society.

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  • Johnstone, L., & Dallos, R. (2014). Introduction to formulation. In L. Johnstone & R. Dallos (Eds.), Formulation in psychology and psychotherapy: Making sense of people’s problems (pp. 1–17). Hove: Routledge.

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  • Moncrieff, J., & Middleton, H. (2015). Schizophrenia: A critical psychiatry perspective. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 28(3), 264–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szasz, T. S. (1961). The myth of mental illness: Foundations of a theory of personal conduct. New York: Hoeber-Harper.

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  • Van Os, J. (2009). A salience dysregulation syndrome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 194, 101–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organisation. (2016). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision, version for 2016. Retrieved 2 Jan 2015, from http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2016/en

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Recovery and Wellbeing Inpatient Services, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK

    Andrew Fox

Authors
  1. Andrew Fox
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew Fox .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Anna C Whittaker

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Cite this entry

Fox, A. (2018). Mental Illness. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1435-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1435-3

  • Received:

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Mental Illness
    Published:
    21 September 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1435-3

  2. Original

    Mental Illness
    Published:
    23 September 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1435-2

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