The concept of “normality” in medical and psychological sciences: Differences and interconnections

The “normal-abnormal” continuum is one way to organize models of operational interventions, and to define various professional roles, especially in medicine, psychiatry, and psychology. In these fields the diagnostic process draws on the concept of normality to distinguish between healthy and pathological states and draws conclusions about prognosis, treatment, and cure. In psychiatry and psychology, unlike in medicine, diagnosis is often a problematic and controversial process because of the lack of clear boundaries between normal and psychopathological states. This has practical consequences for the work of professionals and the way patients are treated. In this work we make some epistemological observations about the relationship between diagnostic processes and normality. In particular, we consider some specific terms relating to the diagnostic process and the concept of “normality” in order to distinguish between the medical and clinical-psychological implications of intervention.