La place de l’histoire dans l’enseignement de la clinique mentale

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AimsThe present article sets out to determine how knowledge concerning clinical practice and semiology relating to acquired mental disorders have been circulated and taught in France and in other countries, in particular German and English-speaking countries, through the different periods in the history of psychiatry since the start of the 19th century. MethodThe method entailed the perusal of articles published on these themes, and of commentaries on these articles, for instance in teaching manuals and psychiatric treatises. There was a particular focus on texts intended to provide students and young clinicians with the knowledge and skills needed to establish a positive, differential diagnosis of mental disorders or illnesses and to recommend a therapeutic approach for the individuals concerned. ResultsIt was noted that in general most of the pedagogical writings start by providing a historical overview of the nosological entities considered. DiscussionHowever, certain manuals mainly targeting statistical aspects do away with the historical references in their definitions of the diagnostic categories to be considered. The most striking example is the DSM-III, which in its definition of certain categories abandoned historical terms such as “neurosis” and “psychosis”, or the use of eponymous terms used for more than two centuries by psychiatrists to refer to these various conditions. ConclusionWhen authors of contemporary psychiatric manuals, in particular those intended for students in clinical psychiatry, consider it necessary to alter the terminology for certain diagnostic categories, it seems important that they should explain their reasons for these changes, in particular when they result from evolutions in ideas on the particular issues.