Wikipedia:WikiProject Psychopathology

A place for people interested in creating Wikipedia entries on the science, history, philosophy and politics of mental illness (or indeed any relevant and interesting information on this topic).

Of course this is quite a broad scope, so giving a standard template for all of these would probably be a little counter productive. However, perhaps there are some guidlines which may help Wikipedians who want to get involved.

I think it's worth including this handy intro from the Wikipedia:WikiProject Medical Conditions page:

These are only suggestions, things to give you focus and to get you going, and you shouldn't feel obligated in the least to follow them. But if you don't know what to write or where to begin, following the below guidelines may be helpful. Mainly, we just want you to write articles!

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Table of contents 1 Title 2 Scope 3 Parentage 4 Descendant Wikiprojects 5 Similar Wikiprojects 6 Participants 7 Structure 8 Hierarchy Definition 9 General Strategy and Discussion forum

Title WikiProject Psychopathology

Scope This WikiProject aims to provide information on the science, history, philosophy and politics of mental illness (or indeed any relevant and interesting information on this topic).

This may include:

• entries on specific diagnoses, syndromes, signs or symptoms of mental illness (for example schizophrenia, psychosis, delusion).
• entries on specific concepts or movements (for example mental illness, psychiatry or anti-psychiatry)
• biographies of influential people in the field of psychopathology, including those who have been mentally ill and those who have been involved in treating or studying mental illness (for example James Tilly Matthews, Jules Cotard).
• historical information on significant places or institutions (for example Bedlam)
• information on current treatments for mental illness (for example, see Antipsychotic)
• adding relevant information to related entries, but which are probably managed better by other Wikiprojects (for example McNaghten rules).

Parentage The parents of this WikiProject are Wikipedia:WikiProject Medical Conditions and WikiProject Health Science[?].

Descendant Wikiprojects No descendant WikiProjects have been defined.

Similar Wikiprojects see parent projects

Participants

• Vaughan

Structure The first line should be a single sentence explanation of the entry if possible.

In general, entries should strive for clear and flowing prose. Scientific or technical terms are fine, but please try to briefly outline their meaning in plain english, in brackets if necessary. For example "neurobiological explanations (those describing chemical interactions in the nervous system) are common".

Entries should strive for accuravy and be based on referenced academic work where possible. These do not need to be included in the text of the entry as in academic writing, however references to key papers or books should be included at the bottom of the page for the interested reader to follow up in an External links and references section. These should be chosen to give a balanced overview of the subject if possible.

References for specific points, or requests for references to back up specific points should be made in the relevant talk pages of the articles.

It is likely that entries will be created by a mixture of people with academic experience in the area, and those with a keen personal interest or personal experience. Please don't get offended if your changes get modified for accuracy, but feel free to ask for justification if you wish (again in the talk page) and discuss the changes.

If you are not comfortable finding academic sources, but feel you have heard or wish to include some useful information you are unsure of, ask in the talk page and someone with access to academic sources will try and find specific sources for your point.

Many of the issues surrounding mental illness are contentious, please try and follow the Wikipedia guidelines for Wikipedia:Neutral point of view.

Entries describing specific diagnoses should give the accepted diagnostic criteria (such as from the DSM or ICD) if it is available and then go on to discuss the validity of such a diagnoses if necessary.

Entries describing specific diagnoses should consider the guidelines in Wikipedia:WikiProject Medical Conditions.

Have fun and if in doubt, ask !

Hierarchy Definition None as yet. See this example on dividing a topic into a hierarchy.

General Strategy and Discussion forum

• /General[?]
• /Strategy[?]