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14.1: Introduction

  • Page ID
    350153
    • Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett, et al.
    • OpenStax

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    Chapter Outline

    14.1 What Are Psychological Disorders?

    14.2 Diagnosing and Classifying Psychological Disorders

    14.3 Perspectives on Psychological Disorders

    14.4 Anxiety Disorders

    14.5 Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

    14.6 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

    14.7 Mood and Related Disorders

    14.8 Schizophrenia

    14.9 Dissociative Disorders

    14.10 Disorders in Childhood

    14.11 Personality Disorders

    fig 15.0.1.png
    A photograph shows several key members of the United States military accompanied by a crowd as they stand facing toward a wreath. All hold their right arms in salute or placed across their chests.

    Figure 14.1 A wreath is laid in memoriam to victims of the Washington Navy Yard shooting. (credit: modification of work by D. Myles Cullen, US Department of Defense)

    On Monday, September 16, 2013, a gunman killed \(12\) people as the workday began at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, DC. Aaron Alexis, \(34\), had a troubled history: he thought that he was being controlled by radio waves. He called the police to complain about voices in his head and being under surveillance by “shadowy forces” (Thomas, Levine, Date, & Cloherty, 2013). While Alexis’s actions cannot be excused, it is clear that he had some form of mental illness. Mental illness is not necessarily a cause of violence; it is far more likely that the mentally ill will be victims rather than perpetrators of violence (Stuart, 2003). If, however, Alexis had received the help he needed, this tragedy might have been averted.


    This page titled 14.1: Introduction is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett, et al. (OpenStax) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.