From Phenomenological Psychopathology to Phenomenological Psychiatry: The Cases of Schizophrenia and Substance Misuse

Abstract

Phenomenological psychopathology is a body of scientific knowledge on which the clinical practice of psychiatry is based since the first decades of the twentieth century. Traditionally, phenomenological psychopathology is understood as a basic science of psychiatry, whose role is to describe the core features of the psychopathological experiences. In recent times, the frontiers of phenomenological psychopathology have expanded to the development of therapeutic strategies that target the whole of existence in their actions. In this chapter, we will explore this new field of use of phenomenological psychopathology in psychiatry. We will present the rationale and the pragmatic use of a central concept of psychopathology, the notion of dialectic, highlighting the consequences of its use for clinical practice. The cases of schizophrenia and substance abuse will serve as models for this exposition. Regarding schizophrenia as a particular disturbance of aprioristic structures of consciousness, we suggest that the target for clinical care is to guarantee existential stability by giving prominence for corporeality. Concerning substance misuse, we propose that the aim of a clinical care is to help patients to avoid getting dominated by an excessive importance of the present dimension of the temporality. This conception of clinical care may effectively link modern psychiatry efforts to humanist approaches in psychopathology.