Challenging the Biologistic Model: A Reassessment of Psychiatry in Light of the Psychology of the Pathological

Abstract

True healing lies not only in fixing what is broken but in understanding what hurts. This article aims to reassess the biologistic model of psychiatry through a qualitative literature review, highlighting its limitations and proposing a more phenomenological and humanistic approach, the Psychology of the Pathological. Drawing from the contributions of authors like Eugène Minkowski, Ludwig Binswanger, Viktor von Gebsattel, and Eugen Bleuler, the study explores the importance of integrating the patient's subjective experience in the understanding and treatment of mental disorders. By contrasting traditional psychiatry with these phenomenological approaches, the dominance of a view that neglects the uniqueness of human experiences is questioned, and a more inclusive paradigm that integrates both biological and phenomenological aspects is proposed. This article prompts reflection on the need for a psychiatry that considers the patient as a being with a lived history, not just a body to be corrected. Furthermore, it discusses the impact of the medicalization of life and the relevance of new diagnostic classifications, such as RDoC and HiTOP, which offer a more personalized and continuous view of mental disorders. The relevance of this topic lies in the urgency of overcoming biological reductionism and promoting more comprehensive and humanized treatments.