Issues in the classification of mental illnesses within changing social relations

The purpose of this article is to highlight critical issues in the onset and development of mental illnesses. Its contents critically examine the relevance of the standard psychiatric diagnostic measure (the biomedically based DSM III-R) in the classification of mental illnesses within changing social relations characteristic of the South African situation. Reference has been made to case studies whose clinical symptomatology reflects the multifaceted nature of psychological disturbance as it is manifested by people in a transitional state. Its major contribution is the proposition of a phenomenologically based dimensional approach in the conceptualization of the meaning of psychopathology as it is experienced by people in their total social context.