From Suffering to Disorders Conceptual Analysis of Reification in Psychiatry

Reification means treating an abstract construct as a concrete entity. It is theorized to have negative effects in psychiatry, particularly by critiques of the biomedical model. Yet, the process of such reification receives little attention, and lack of agreement on conceptual questions prevents its quantification. The current study aims to provide a conceptual analysis of reification in psychiatry that would allow its operationalization and measurement. Problem-centered expert interviews with 10 academic and clinical experts provided insights into the nature of the reification that results in the notion of mental disorders. Thematic analysis was used to identify its core features. Reification was described as a cognitive process converting fluid human experiences into a single disorder-like entity, while suppressing their complexity and variation. The entity is then provided with its own existence independent of the subject and of the observer, with simplistic etiology and with the capacityto have causal consequences. The study identified six core features of such reification, including sub-features that may provide grounds for operationalization of the construct. The six features included structuring experiences, reducing their complexity, treating the model as reality, postulating existence of a disorder-like entity, de-subjectivization of experiences, and labeling. Reification of experiences into disorders is a series of cognitive processes affecting how individuals structure and explain mental suffering. Quantitative research is needed to further examine the effects of reification on the lived experience and prevalence of mental disorders.