The Kraepelinian dichotomy: the twin pillars crumbling?

Full Abstract

Emil Kraepelin's view that psychotic disorders are naturally-occurring disease entities, and that dementia praecox and manic-depressive psychosis represent two different diseases, has been hugely influential on classificatory systems for psychosis. Corresponding to the Kraepelinian dichotomy, those systems generally differentiated schizophrenia from affective psychosis. This paper examines the debate that took place between 1980 and 2000 regarding this differentiation. During the 1980s, the scientific reliability of the diagnostic criteria was challenged. In the 1990s there were significant critiques of the validity of the Kraepelinian dichotomy. Yet the dichotomy has not been formally abandoned, and the discussion continues to the present day. This paper suggests that before psychiatry can abandon the Kraepelinian dichotomy, a new model for conceptualizing and describing psychotic symptoms may be required.

Author information

Author/s: Greene, Talya (T);

Affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, Department of Psychological Medicine, UK. talya10(-atsign-)hotmail.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: History of psychiatry (Hist Psychiatry), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Sep; vol 18 (issue 71 Pt 3) : pp 361-79

Dates: Created 2008/01/07; Completed 2008/02/05;

PMID: 18175637, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.