Is mental illness best understood as a physical disease, or do psychological and social models explain it better?
The medical model of mental health and its alternatives: biological, behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic and humanistic explanations and treatments, and their evaluation.
An OCR A-Level Psychology answer to the medical model of mental health and its alternatives, covering the biological/medical model and drug treatment, behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic and humanistic explanations and therapies, the diathesis-stress model, and their evaluation for the compulsory Component 3 mental health topic.
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What this dot point is asking
Within the compulsory issues in mental health topic, OCR expects you to understand the medical model and its alternatives, the explanations and treatments each offers, and how to evaluate them. This is examined with description, application and extended-essay questions comparing models.
The answer
The medical (biological) model
Alternative models
- Behavioural model. Disorders are learned through classical conditioning (for example, a phobia learned by association), operant conditioning (reinforced behaviour) and social learning. Treatment uses systematic desensitisation and other behavioural therapies.
- Cognitive model. Disorders arise from faulty, irrational or negative thinking (Beck's negative triad; Ellis's ABC model). Treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), challenging distorted thoughts.
- Psychodynamic model. Disorders stem from unconscious conflicts rooted in childhood; treatment is psychoanalysis.
- Humanistic model. Disorders result from a gap between the actual and ideal self and a lack of unconditional positive regard; treatment is client-centred therapy.
Integrating the models
Examples in context
Example 1. Why drug treatment is praised and criticised. Antidepressants raising serotonin help many people with depression and are quick and accessible, supporting the medical model. But they treat the symptom, not any underlying cause such as ongoing stress or trauma, can have side effects, and may relapse on stopping. This is why CBT, which targets the thinking that maintains depression, is often recommended alongside or instead of medication, illustrating the medical model's limits.
Example 2. How the behavioural model explains and treats a phobia. A phobia of dogs might be learned by classical conditioning after a frightening encounter (an alternative to a biological account). The behavioural treatment, systematic desensitisation, gradually exposes the person to dogs while relaxed, replacing the fear response with calm. This shows how an alternative model offers both a different explanation and a different, well-matched therapy, which is exactly the comparison OCR asks for.
Try this
Q1. State the main treatment offered by the medical model. [1 mark]
- Cue. Drug therapy (for example, antipsychotics or antidepressants).
Q2. Explain the cognitive model's explanation of a disorder, using an example. [3 marks]
- Cue. Disorders arise from faulty or negative thinking; for example, Beck's negative triad explains depression through negative views of the self, the world and the future, treated by CBT.
Q3. Explain one weakness of the medical model. [2 marks]
- Cue. It can be reductionist, reducing complex distress to brain chemistry and ignoring psychological and social causes such as trauma, stress and relationships.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR 202010 marksDescribe the medical model of mental illness and one alternative model. [10 marks]Show worked answer →
A description item comparing two models (AO1).
Medical model: treats mental illness as a physical illness with biological causes, such as imbalances in neurotransmitters (for example dopamine in schizophrenia or serotonin in depression), genetic factors and brain abnormalities. Diagnosis uses symptom checklists (DSM, ICD) and treatment is biological, mainly drugs (such as antipsychotics or antidepressants), with ECT in some cases.
An alternative, the cognitive model: attributes disorder to faulty, irrational or negative thinking. For example, Beck's negative triad explains depression through negative views of the self, the world and the future, and Ellis's ABC model explains it through irrational beliefs about activating events. Treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which identifies and challenges distorted thoughts and replaces them with realistic ones.
Markers reward an accurate medical model (biological causes, drug treatment, diagnostic systems) and a clear alternative (such as the cognitive model with negative thinking and CBT), with the contrast made explicit.
OCR 202215 marksDiscuss the strengths and weaknesses of the medical model of mental health. [15 marks]Show worked answer →
An extended evaluation (AO3) using description to support points.
Strengths: the medical model is supported by evidence (drug treatments such as antipsychotics and antidepressants help many patients, and twin studies show genetic contributions); it is objective and scientific, using standardised diagnosis; it reduces blame by treating illness as a medical condition rather than a personal failing; and drug treatment is relatively quick and accessible.
Weaknesses: it can be reductionist, reducing complex distress to brain chemistry and ignoring psychological and social causes (trauma, stress, relationships); drugs treat symptoms rather than underlying causes and can have side effects and dependency; diagnosis can lack reliability and validity and may medicalise normal distress; and it can disempower patients and enable social control.
A strong answer reaches a judgement, for example that the medical model is effective and evidence-based for some disorders but is most useful combined with psychological approaches in a diathesis-stress, biopsychosocial framework. Markers reward developed strengths and weaknesses with a supported conclusion.
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Sources & how we know this
- OCR Level 3 Advanced GCE in Psychology (H567) specification — OCR (2015)