[music playing]

Alayna: The categorical model of psychopathology is more kind of like a test for a virus. You might go for the doctor, like, if you think you have strep throat. We just go to the doctor. And you either have the strep virus in you or you don't.

Madison: So you either have this disease or you don't have it. So, like, if you are looking at a light switch, it's either on or off. A dimensional model of psychopathology is like a dimmer on a light switch. So it can be on, but not all the way on.

Alayna: So the dimensional model of psychopathology is basically acknowledging that in at least most of the major mental illnesses, kind of all of humanity has a little bit of all of them. So it's at what point on this 1 to 10 scale does it become unhealthy and at what point does it become a disorder? Because obviously everyone experiences things like depression.

At what point does that really become a problem to recite, actually, no, this is a depressive episode. And at what point does that depressive episode need treatment? So it's just a spectrum, really, because sometimes describing these things, it's hard to say at what point is that person diagnosable.

Madison: Some pros of the categorical model would be just so that you know for sure that if you have this disease or this condition. So if you're going to treat it, that you can treat it full force. So you either have it or you don't.

Richard: The pros for the categorical model is definitiveness. And you're able to give a yes or no response, which is very helpful to give a diagnosis. The cons for this is a less accurate representation for certain problems, for example, psychological problems, like depression or for general sadness, or for general happiness. So this could be harder to pinpoint using the categorical model.

Madison: The pros of the dimensional model would be that you can treat it to, like, your specific range of And what you're in. So if you have a lower, like, anxiety or depression level, they can give you a different kind of medications and maybe just skills.

Richard: A con to the dimensional model is that there is no 100% definitiveness with your answer with the diagnosis. So this could be an issue when implementing different treatment plans.

[music playing]