Psychopathology is the scientific study of abnormal behaviour and mental illness, and thus forms part of the theoretical foundation for a great range of professions from special education, medicine and nursing, psychology and psychiatry to law enforcement and social work, all of which deal with people whose experiences or behaviour are in some way abnormal. Originally published in 1982 Clinical Psychopathology provided a broad introduction to the topics and problems of psychopathology, by taking the four major areas – classification and diagnosis, symptomatology, aetiology, therapy – summarizing their most important concepts and looking at the relationships between them. Professor Coles integrates the history of psychopathology with the main facts and theories that were current at the time, and an important feature of the book was that it maintained a balance between the approaches of the different disciplines that are involved in the subject.
The bias of the book, writes Professor Coles, ‘is towards conceptualization and understanding of basic principles, particularly definitions, rather than a detailed recounting of specific disorders and treatments. It subscribes to the basic belief that psychology is the scientific study of common sense.’ His clear and lucid expositions would make the book particularly helpful to undergraduates and a source of useful information for all other readers. Today it can be read in its historical context.