Case Studies in Psychopathology

     This book provides brief biographical descriptions of historical and contemporary public figures, with a focus on the behaviors and personality traits that relate to the person's psychological functioning. Diagnostic impressions are provided based on the criteria in the diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health counselors, the DSM-5.

     Most of the people described in this book have never been analyzed in terms of current diagnostic criteria. Those whose conditions are diagnosed include politicians, scientists, writers, artists, business leaders, entertainers, and murderers, as well as seven of the most well-known psychological theorists, and four prominent founders of religious movements. The biographical profiles provide enough information for the reader who has some knowledge of psychopathology to be able to form an opinion of whether the person had a mental disorder, and if so which specific disorder it might be.

     Professional clinicians can use the case studies to compare their diagnostic impressions with those of the author. Students in mental health counseling, clinical psychology, and psychiatry can use the case studies to practice their diagnostic skills.

     This book may also be of interest to general readers who are interested in the lives of historical and public figures and are curious about how mental health clinicians make diagnoses. There is a great deal of information available about the behavior and personality of many historical figures which supports tentative retrospective diagnosis. Some of the public figures described in this book spoke or wrote openly about their struggles with mental illness, and many of them received diagnoses of their conditions by mental health specialists they consulted.

     The biographical descriptions in this book are based on published resources, including autobiographies, biographies, articles, medical reports, personal diaries and letters, and video recordings.  

     Timothy Thomason, Ed.D., is a licensed psychologist and professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where he has worked for 30 years. In his career he has taught 185 courses and about 3,000 graduate students in psychology. He has also worked as a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, director of clinical training, and consultant. His areas of expertise include psychopathology and the diagnosis of mental disorders, evidence-based psychotherapy, personality, and Native American psychology. He has written over 150 articles, papers, and book chapters, which have been downloaded over 205,000 times from his website (http://works.bepress.com/timothy_thomason).

     Timothy Thomason has made over 100 presentations at professional meetings, edited a counseling journal, received several professional awards, and written $5 million worth of grants for programs for people with disabilities. He has traveled to 50 foreign countries and all seven continents; he has rafted the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon; crossed the Sahara in a truck; camped in the Congo and the Serengeti; paddled a canoe on the Amazon River; and explored Nepal, Peru, Egypt, and the Antarctic peninsula. He has written and published short stories and exhibited 126 art works in 24 exhibitions.