The Psychology of Behaviour Disorders. A Biosocial Interpretation

a psychological basis to psychiatric practice. His aim is to provide, for the understanding of behaviour disorders, a foundation similar to that offered by physiology for general medicine. His approach is dynamic and holistic, refusing to accept any simple dichotomy of psyche and soma and insisting on the totality of the situation?psyche?soma?environment-culture. " We begin with ... a biological organism operating in and by means of a social environment Cameron calls this approach " biosocial since the organism's biology is made to operate socially " in terms of other needs, other interests as well as his ownThis outlook, whilst owing a great deal to Adolf Meyer, is also derived from the work of the Gestalt school, K. Lewin, H. A. Murjray and his associates. It follows that his definition of abnormal behaviour will be a social one: " an individual who was otherwise in good health (growing) seriously or progressively ineffectual as a social person Mental health is seen in terms of good and effective interpersonal relations. Yet the relativity of this concept of mental health is also stressed in the statement that abnormal behaviour is " behaviour