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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Implementation of a Real-Time Psychosis Risk Detection and Alerting System Based on Electronic Health Records using CogStack
Published on: May 15, 2020
[The concept of psychosis]
1Center for Subjektivitetsforskning, Njalsgade 142-144, DK-2300 København S. jpa@hum.ku.dk
Psychosis is a fundamental concept in psychopathology with significant implications. While diagnostic manuals define it by symptoms, psychosis is a primitive term resisting operationalization but allowing for reliable clinical assessment.
Area of Science:
- Psychopathology
- Clinical Psychology
- Philosophy of Medicine
Context:
- Psychosis is a central concept in understanding mental health conditions.
- Current diagnostic systems (DSM-IV, ICD-10) define psychosis by symptoms.
- Existing definitions lack a deeper conceptual analysis of psychosis.
Purpose:
- To analyze the conceptual meaning of psychosis.
- To explore the limitations of operationalizing psychosis.
- To reconcile the concept's primitive nature with clinical reliability.
Summary:
- Psychosis is identified as a primitive term, representing a complex state of being-in-context.
- This inherent nature makes psychosis difficult to reduce to simpler, operationalizable elements.
- Despite definitional challenges, adequate clinical (inter-rater) reliability for psychosis is achievable.
Impact:
- Highlights the philosophical underpinnings of psychiatric diagnosis.
- Informs clinical practice regarding the assessment of psychosis.
- Suggests a nuanced approach to understanding and diagnosing psychosis beyond symptom checklists.
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