Psychopathology is the scientific study of abnormal behaviour and mental illness, and thus forms part of the theoretical foundation for a great range of professions from special education, medicine and nursing, psychology and psychiatry to law enforcement and social work, all of which deal with people whose experiences or behaviour are in some way abnormal. Originally published in 1982 Clinical Psychopathology provided a broad introduction to the topics and problems of psychopathology, by taking the four major areas – classification and diagnosis, symptomatology, aetiology, therapy – summarizing their most important concepts and looking at the relationships between them. Professor Coles integrates the history of psychopathology with the main facts and theories that were current at the time, and an important feature of the book was that it maintained a balance between the approaches of the different disciplines that are involved in the subject.
The bias of the book, writes Professor Coles, ‘is towards conceptualization and understanding of basic principles, particularly definitions, rather than a detailed recounting of specific disorders and treatments. It subscribes to the basic belief that psychology is the scientific study of common sense.’ His clear and lucid expositions would make the book particularly helpful to undergraduates and a source of useful information for all other readers. Today it can be read in its historical context.
Preface. A cknowledgments. Part I: Classification and Diagnosis Introduction 1. Concepts of Abnormality and Mental Illness 2. Diagnostic Classification 3. Diagnostic Procedures in Psychiatry Part II: Symptomatology Introduction 4. Disorders of Cognitive Processes 5. Affective Disorders 6. Disorders of Conation, Personality and Character Part III: Determinants of Abnormal Behaviour Introduction 7. Biological Determinants of Mental Illness 8. Environmental Determinants of Abnormal Behaviour: I. At Maturity 9. Environmental Determinants of Abnormal Behaviour: II. During Development 10. Psychological Theories of Aetiology Part IV: Therapy Introduction 11. Biological Methods of Therapy 12. Psychological Methods of Therapy 13. Environmental and Sociocultural Therapies 14. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Psychiatric Therapies. References. Name Index. S ubject Index.
Biography
E. M. Coles was born and educated in England and emigrated to Canada in 1961. He had five years; clinical experience in England and Canada, working with both children and adults, before joining the staff of Simon Fraser University where, at the time of publication, was Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology. He was also a Consulting Psychologist at Riverview Hospital, British Columbia.
