Why is it important to understand the history of abnormal psychology - Essay Example

Why is it important to understand the history of abnormal psychology? Discuss what you find interesting, puzzling,outlandish, etc. in regard to a mental health issue/abnormal psychology.The term ‘abnormal’ alone manifests delving into issues that are not within the normal facets of a person’s behavior. The study of behavior and mental processes become more interesting and challenging when one seeks to determine the root causes for mal-adaptive or mal-adjusted behavior. Interest of scholars and practitioners in the field of mind and behavior could have been as old as when man begun to establish records.

Personally, I find it interesting to differentiate notions of normal or abnormal behavior that takes into account the social setting, culture and other external factors (aside from genetics) that influence behavior. When mal-adaptive behavior sets in, the ability of experts to determine the root cause for the abnormal behavior is so intriguing that this specific field in psychology is mostly brain crashing. The magnanimity of the factors involved and the diversity of search options contribute to the complexity of the situation.

Furthermore, the number of varied perspectives used in abnormal psychology, ranging from using behavioral, medical or cognitive approaches intensifies the challenge.To enable one to fully understand the theoretical framework and concepts of abnormal psychology, it is always helpful to determine the historical background of the study; including instrumental persons who were attributed to make psychological breakthroughs in this field. Many of contemporary findings about the brain and behavior have been products of famous people who worked to understand human behavior through rationalizing what the mental faculties can and cannot do.

The more sophisticated structure of classifying psychological disorders ranging from adjustment disorders, mood disorders, developmental, cognitive and anxiety disorders make the subject more profound and highly analytical. I realized that interested students who wish to specialize in abnormal psychology must have the immense patience and determination to persistently dig deeper into what one sees from the outside. Most interesting is the aspect of trying to determine the best treatment possible for psychological disorders, aside from what has traditionally worked.

There are vast technological developments where applications could be evaluated in terms of improving current interventions for treatment.Overall, abnormal psychology is personally viewed as highly challenging, genuinely interesting and intricately complex in terms of the need to apply different kinds of skills: analytical, critical, investigative, problem-solving, sensitivity, in conjunction with using vast amounts of theories and concepts to assist in determining the root causes of mal-adaptive and mal-adjusted behavior.

Students and practitioners should discern the line between differentiating between manifesting normal and abnormal behavior and appropriately recommending the best intervention for treatment. Aside from appreciating the challenges in the career, one is looking forward to the rewards of contributing to the well-being of a previously diagnosed person exemplifying abnormal behavior.