Empirical Phenomenological Psychopathology: Aims, Methods, and Explanatory Relevance.
Pavan S Brar, Elizabeth Pienkos, Gil Grunfeld, Jasper Feyaerts
Psychopathology May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1159/000552634 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Phenomenological psychopathology Philosophy of science Schizophrenia Self-disorder |
| Key points | Argues that phenomenological explanation in psychopathology is best understood as an integrative process that draws on clinical case studies, quantitative methods, and qualitative methods, each with distinct strengths and limitations for advancing diagnostic classification and pathogenetic insight. |
Abstract
An important feature of contemporary phenomenological psychopathology is the development of explanatory accounts, constructed at the level of first-person experience, for why certain phenomena appear in a psychiatric condition. Termed phenomenological explanation, this approach to explanation is intended to uniquely contribute to diagnostic classification and etiology. Despite its promise for psychiatry, there has yet to be sustained dialogue on the question of how phenomenological explanations can be developed, evaluated, and refined. This paper begins this project. We first explicitly articulate the philosophical commitments of phenomenological psychopathology. Focusing on the self-disorder model, we show how phenomenological psychopathology operates according to these commitments in proposing explanatory accounts that are in service of two disciplinary aims: typification (i.e., diagnostic classification) and pathogenetic insight (explaining how core symptoms of a condition emerge). We then turn our attention to the three research paradigms typically employed in phenomenological psychopathology: the clinical case study, quantitative methods, and qualitative methods. Here, we demonstrate how each paradigm has strengths and limitations in adhering to the commitments and aims of phenomenological psychopathology. The practice of phenomenological explanation is best understood as an integrative process in which awareness of the strengths and limitations of distinct research paradigms shapes study design, the interpretation of results, and decisions about future empirical projects.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 12
- Anomalous self-experience in depersonalization and schizophrenia: a comparative investigation. Consciousness and Cognition June 1, 2013
- Investigating modes of being in the world: an introduction to Phenomenologically grounded qualitative research Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences February 16, 2021
- Thought insertion and disturbed for-me-ness (minimal selfhood) in schizophrenia. Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2019
- The Phenomenology of Anomalous World Experience in Schizophrenia: A Qualitative Study Journal of Phenomenological Psychology October 20, 2017
- Anomalies of Imagination, Self-Disorders, and Schizophrenia Spectrum Psychopathology: A Network Analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2021
and 7 more in the library