The importance of an idiographic approach for the severe chronic disorders—the case of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient

F Pagnini,Gianluca Castelnuovo,C J Gibbons

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00509

F Pagnini, Gianluca Castelnuovo + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00509

Copy DOI

Abstract

EDITORIAL article Front. Psychol., 19 November 2012Sec. Psychology for Clinical Settings Volume 3 - 2012 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00509

Highlights

The debate deals about the classification of personality and other taxonomies, as well as the use of diagnosis
The discussion is about the use of individualistic treatment techniques or treatment derived from research where the focus is a group of people with a similar condition, where efficacy is tested with aggregated statistics
The practice of clinical psychology use to be guided by an idiographic approach, with an attention to research results derived from a nomothetic point of view

Summary

Introduction

The debate deals about the classification of personality and other taxonomies, as well as the use of diagnosis. When dealing with severe and chronic illnesses, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), this debate is very important and sometimes is at risk of being underestimated.

Results

Conclusion