Across human civilizations, beliefs about the nature and origins of mental disorders have shifted and transformed in dramatic ways.

According to Lebowitz and Applebaum (2019), mental disorders are increasingly conceptualized as biomedical diseases, explained as manifestations of genetic and neurobiological abnormalities. Mental illnesses can have many causes; however, some individuals are predisposed to develop certain behavioral health issues more than others. Biological, psychological, social, cultural, and interpersonal factors may influence the development of psychopathology.

Psychopathology Defined

According to VeryWell Mind, “Psychopathology is all about exploring problems related to mental health: how to understand them, how to classify them, and how to fix them. Because of this, the topic of psychopathology extends from research to treatment and covers every step in between. The better we can understand why a mental disorder develops, the easier it will be to find effective treatments.”

Developmental Factors

Fundamental to our understanding of the development of mental disorders is identifying mechanisms that link our genetic background and early experience to later behavior (Hyde, 2015). Most of the illnesses that we deal with in psychiatry and mental health have neurodevelopmental origins, which underscores the importance of focusing on early life as an age to understand how non-heritable factors interact with the genome to confer vulnerability.

During early life, environmental factors have the ability to effect brain development that is occurring and that underlies the acquisition of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive abilities (Kalin, 2020). When considering non-heritable factors, research shows that early life stress, adversity, and especially trauma present prominent risks for the later development of psychopathology (Kalin, 2020). It’s critical to understand the type and severity of the adversity that an individual is exposed to; however, it’s also important to understand how these significant environmental exposures interact with different neurodevelopmental stages.

Prenatal Factors

During the prenatal period, the developing fetus interacts with the outside world through the pregnant mother. Depending on the circumstances, the fetus might be exposed to the consequences of prenatal depression or other stressful maternal experiences, as well as infections or drug exposure. According to Kalin (2020), there is a continuity across the prenatal and postnatal periods in relation to stressors and environmental exposures, whereas, with some environmental exposures, this may not be the case. Sadly, early-life physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect are all too common and may lead to devastating consequences and profound effects on mental and general medical health that result from childhood maltreatment (Kalin, 2020).

Kalin (2020) also notes that the first 5 years of life may be particularly important as a period of vulnerability for mental health. A study examining the developmental time course of DNA methylation has demonstrated that the first five years of life are the period during which neurons exhibit the greatest epigenetic plasticity, suggesting that this could be a mechanism by which environmental events are especially influential when occurring early in life (Tierney and Nelson III, 2016).

Treatment Considerations

In light of the developmental and environmental factors contributing to mental health and illness, a provider must consider every aspect of the client’s life when doing an assessment. Providers must perform a thorough assessment and ask pertinent questions regarding the client’s past.

Sometimes, traumatic early life events are difficult to share and process; however, that traumatic event may be a determinant of the mental disorder that the client may be suffering from. These factors are important to disclose when working with a mental health provider. Ultimately, the provider must create a safe environment and build a trusting relationship with the client.

At Atlanta Wellness Collective, we want to help. To talk with a licensed provider, contact our office or request an appointment today.

This blog post was written by Gaelle Gounteni, MSN, PMHNP-BC.

Disclaimer: This blog is not intended to substitute professional therapeutic advice. Talk with your healthcare provider about your health concerns and before starting or stopping therapies. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct professional advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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