Psychopathology is the scientific study of mental disorders, including efforts to understand their genetic, biological, psychological, and social causes; effective classification schemes (nosology); course across all stages of development; manifestations; and treatment. The study of mental illness and its corresponding abnormal behavior is commonly referred to as psychopathology or abnormal psychology.
This type of study and treatment focuses on clinical therapy as a way of not only determining precipitating factors that indicate the presence or onset of a disorder, but the types and amount of treatment needed to alleviate or possibly cure the condition (Alloy, Riskind, & Manos, 2004). HISTORY: Throughout history abnormal behavior and the presence of mental illness has commonly been looked down on and prejudiced by society. Many deeply religious cultures believed that people became mentally ill when they were possessed by demons and often took drastic measures to exercise these demons from an individual.
Other historical societies would cast out the mentally ill and ban them from living among the rest of the community. This later evolved into the creation of mental asylums, but many of these early structures were feared or stereotyped and sometimes took crude measures in an attempt to understand and treat patients (Karotana, 2006). With all this in mind, it is no wonder that even with our current technological and medical advances that society and the individuals within it are hesitant to seek help for mental disorders.
Some of the earliest theorists such as Hippocrates suggested alternate causes for disorders such as neurological disease. He was also one of the first to observe what are now clinically proven disorders such as alcoholism and addiction, epilepsy, and stroke Butcher, Mineka, Fooley, 2010).
EARLY DEMONOLOGY:- Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. It is the branch of theology relating to supernatural beings who are not gods. As the name sufficiently indicates, demonology is the science or doctrine concerning demons.
Both in its form and in its meaning it has an obvious analogy with theology, which is the science or doctrine about God. And with reference to the many false and dangerous forms of this demonic science we may fitly adapt the well-known words of Albert us Magnus on the subject of theology and say of demonology, A daemon bus Decatur, de daemon bus docent, et ad daemons ducat (“It is taught by the demons, it teaches about the demons, and it leads to the demons”).
For very much of the literature that comes under this head of demonology is tainted with errors that may well owe their origin to the father of falsehood, and much of it again, especially those portions which have a practical purpose (what may be called the ascetical and mystical demonology) is designed to lead men to give themselves to the service of Satan.