Understanding Psychological Disorders

A psychological disorder is defined by meeting ANY ONE of three criteria: distress, maladaptive functioning, or cultural deviance — not all three at once.
Biomedical approach: treats disorders as rooted in a biomedical disturbance, focuses on symptom reduction; ignores lifestyle/socioeconomic status — best used alongside a broader approach, not alone.
Biopsychosocial approach (George Engel, 1977): biological (something in the body, e.g. genetics), psychological (the individual's own thoughts/emotions/behaviors), and social (surroundings — discrimination, stigma) components all contribute together.
Biopsychosocial approach offers direct therapy (medication, psychologist meetings, aimed at the patient) and indirect therapy (educating/empowering family and friends to boost social support).
DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), published by the American Psychiatric Association, currently DSM-5-TR (2022): a symptom-description classification tool used for diagnosis, not a treatment manual.

Psychological disorder: A pattern of thoughts, feelings, or actions meeting any one of: distress, maladaptive functioning, or cultural deviance.
Biomedical approach: Treats disorders as rooted purely in a biomedical disturbance; symptom-reduction focused, ignores lifestyle/socioeconomic status.
Biopsychosocial approach: Engel's model: biological + psychological + social components all contribute to a disorder.
Direct therapy: Medication or psychologist meetings aimed directly at the patient.
Indirect therapy: Educating and empowering the patient's family/friends to increase social support.
DSM-5-TR: Current (2022) edition of the APA's symptom-based diagnostic classification manual.

Component	What it looks like in a vignette
Biological	Something in the body — e.g. a genetic syndrome
Psychological	The individual's own thoughts, emotions, or behaviors
Social	The individual's surroundings — e.g. class discrimination, stigmatization

A vignette only needs to show distress, maladaptive functioning, OR cultural deviance to describe a disorder — not all three at once.
The MCAT tests the biomedical approach's limitation (ignoring lifestyle/socioeconomic status), not its validity — it's incomplete, not wrong.
Direct therapy targets the patient directly; indirect therapy targets the patient's support network — don't swap these.
The DSM classifies/diagnoses by symptom description — it does not prescribe treatment.

A patient's genetics predispose them to a disorder. Which biopsychosocial component?

A patient is diagnosed based on which of the three criteria (distress, maladaptive functioning, cultural deviance)?

A family is educated on how to better support a relative's recovery. Direct or indirect therapy?

What is the main limitation of the biomedical approach?

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