ABSTRACT
It would be possible to write an entire book on what is meant by mental disorder. Indeed, an excellent one has already been written on just that topic (Bolton, 2008). Its treatment here will necessarily be partial. Mental disorder has been defi ned clinically, perhaps tautologically, perhaps simplistically, as ‘a disorder that presents with mental signs and symptoms’. As will emerge more fully in the latter sections of this book, the current legal defi nitions are hardly more helpful. And there is a further fundamental problem, namely whether mental disorders are indeed distinct from physical disorders. Reputable opinion would argue not (see Kendell, 2001, Matthews, 1999). Indeed Kendell, a former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, has argued that
. . . if we do continue to refer to ‘mental’ and ‘physical’ illnesses we should preface both with ‘so-called’, to remind ourselves and our audience that these are archaic and deeply misleading terms.
