Psychiatry has 3 views on how a psychiatric disorder can be explained; the biological, psychological and social explanations.
The biological explanations
A somatic (psychiatric) condition can refer to an abnormality in the structure or functioning of the body. A biological explanation for mental disorders often involves heredity and neurotransmitters.
Psychological explanations
Explaining a disorder based on the patient’s psychological functioning. There are 3 different theories regarding psychological explanations; the psychodynamic theory, the learning theory and the cognitive theory.
The psychodynamic theory
Based on early childhood experiences. Something that someone experienced in the past can influence their current psychological state.
The learning theory
All behavior that people exhibit consists of various learned behavioral elements. You build this up as a baby, toddler and preschooler and you can therefore unlearn it.
The cognitive theory
People process information using their senses, in thoughts, images, memories, etc. This information can resurface and cause a psychological disorder.
Social statements
The influence of socio-economic class and cultural background is important here. We look at someone’s immediate environment and the social level in which they find themselves. These all influence a person’s psychological well-being.