Comments on: What is the DSM supposed to do? http://mindhacks.com/2012/05/22/what-is-the-dsm-supposed-to-do/ Neuroscience and psychology news and views. Sun, 19 May 2013 05:26:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: anonymousskimmer http://mindhacks.com/2012/05/22/what-is-the-dsm-supposed-to-do/#comment-27469 Thu, 24 May 2012 11:34:17 +0000 http://mindhacks.com/?p=22692#comment-27469 One of the things I think needs to be done is a sanitation between psychological disorders and sociological disorders. You pretty much never hear about sociological disorders, even though it’s know that some psychological “disorders” actually only exist due to sociological context (e.g. situational ADD from bad school placement).

Psychology is willing to recognize “norms” of differences (e.g. “such and such should not be diagnosed if the ideas are typical of the culture the person comes from”), but is there any movement within psychology to recognize when the society itself has screwed someone over? IEP (individualized educational plans) go somewhat to addressing this issue in the larger culture (but only within the schooling movement). But I haven’t heard of any larger addressing of the issue. And I sure haven’t heard of IEPs being labeled as treatments for a disorder of the society.

Societies and cultures are made up of, and by, people. People with their own set of quirks and screw ups, which become quirks and screw ups of the larger culture. Why isn’t the effect society has on individuals acknowledged?

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