Is Psychology Science?

First, Freud hasn't been in the mainstream of Psychology for >50years. Psychoanalysis has survived even until this day within its own cadre of supporters, but is for all intents and purposes extinct within scientific (including clinical) psychology.Your main point is isn't about whether psychology is a science - it's about clinical diagnosis. Of course, clinical diagnosis of any sort is really a practical art, not a science.But there are valid issues about 1) the reliability of clinical diagnoses, and 2) whether there is a sound theoretical basis for diagnosed syndromes.As for 2, the theoretical basis doesn't necessarily matter: it's a practical art, not a science. If it helps people, it helps people. Theory is useful, but not the point of clinical practice.I think 1 is the main point (which admittedly, is probably related to #2).So is your intended point: "Does the lack of a theoretical basis for clinical mental disorders leads to unreliability of diagnosis and treatment?"'Cuz if you're really sticking to the more general "Is Psychology Science?", I'm switching to Cognitive pscyh and cognitive neuroscience for my answers.Edited by Zhimbo, : No reason given.

For Alzheimer's you state: If this is your standard, then yes, there are mental diseases. Suicidal depression, for example. Paranoid schizophrenia. Heck, severe untreated obsessive-compulsive disorder is going to impede all sorts of things, and these can often (or even preferentially) strike during prime reproductive years.While getting one "necessary and sufficient" definition of disease is going to be difficult, I think, any definition that excludes suicidal depression, paranoid schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder is severely lacking.Now, I am utterly sympathetic with the narrower point that many named "disorders" are probably undeserving of the status, especially many "personality disorders". There's a couple of reasons. One is that the field is still developing. There's great progress in understanding certain subsets of mental problems, but a murky mess at best in many more.Another is the realities of health care in this country. In the U.S., unless you have a diagnosis, it can be hard to get reimbursed for treatment. So, the whole DSM system for diagnosing mental disorders is in part driven by the need to have some sort, any sort, of diagnosis available for someone who is receiving treatment.Many people probably do need psychological help, and will benefit from it, even though they don't have a specific "disorder" or "disease". But try to get a health insurance company to keep paying for therapy for general coping skills, or whatever. Not gonna happen in most cases.