The British psychiatrist Sir Martin Roth once described psychiatry as “the most humane of the sciences and the most scientific of the humanities” [see 1, p.159]. This aphorism expresses the hybrid character of psychiatry, but also its unique bridging position. Located between the natural sciences and the humanities, being theoretical and applied science in equal measure, focusing on human beings in their physical, psychological, and social existence – psychiatry thus probably has the widest range of the scientific disciplines. This range is both a burden and a task. It can lead to the formation of camps and to an increasing heterogeneity of the field, but also to an integration of aspects that can do justice to the complexity of the human being in a unique way.

Against this background, in 2022 we celebrate the 125th anniversary of Psychopathology, a journal with a long, rich and interdisciplinary tradition. Starting in 1897 as Monatsschrift für Psychiatrie und Neurologie, the German-language journal then covered the entire breadth of psychiatry and neurology. Due to the growing proportion of English and French contributions, it was renamed Psychiatria et Neurologia in 1957. Progressive specialisation eventually led to the division into two journals in the late 1960s, with the titles Psychiatria Clinica and European Neurology. In 1984, under the new title Psychopathology: International Journal of Descriptive Psychopathology, Phenomenology and Clinical Diagnostics, the journal focused on its psychopathological core, which is still valid today.

At the same time, the traditional oppositions and dichotomies between the different approaches mentioned above have increasingly receded into the background in the last 2–3 decades. The convergence of complementary concepts from phenomenology, psychodynamics, experimental psychopathology, neuroscience, and developmental psychopathology corresponds to a reorientation of Psychopathology as an integrative platform for scientific exchange. We have realised this reorientation in 2019 by structuring the journal into four thematic fields, each with responsible editors:

Phenomenological Psychopathology, led by Prof. Thomas Fuchs (Heidelberg).

Experimental Psychopathology, led by Prof. Mark F. Lenzenweger (Binghamton, NY).

Neuropsychology and Neuroscience, led by Prof. Sabine C. Herpertz (Heidelberg).

Developmental Psychopathology and Youth Mental Health, led by Prof. Michael Kaess (Bern/Heidelberg).

This complementary orientation of Psychopathology is based on our assumption that psychiatry, for principal reasons, cannot be transformed into a mere “natural science of mental disorders.” The main reason lies in the irreducible character of subjectivity itself. The experiential or 1st-person perspective cannot be translated into the observing or 3rd-person perspective without a significant loss of meaning. On the contrary, the progress of neurobiological research crucially depends on a highly differentiated psychopathology. If it were reduced to lists of simplified operational features solely derived from commonsensical considerations, progress of pathogenetic research would be seriously impeded. What is needed more than ever is a complex psychopathology capable of mediating between experienced or observable symptoms, neuropsychological dysfunctions and neurophysiological correlates, and of developing concise models of the inherent structure and possible disturbances of subjective experience. For such a truly integrative psychopathology, the findings of the humanities are just as important as the contributions of experimental and neurobiological research.

Based on our experience of the last years, we have the impression that the reorientation has already promoted the journal, increased its visibility, and strengthened its interdisciplinary influence. Last but not least, rich special issues on “Personality Disorders, Functioning, and Health,” “Phenomenology and Psychotherapy,” “The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders,” or “Space, Social Perception, and Mental Disorders” have deepened important foci of psychopathology. Further special issues like the upcoming “The Significance of Relationships in Developmental Psychopathology and Youth Mental Health” will continue to contribute significantly to the profile of the journal in the future. We are pleased about the positive development and would like to take the opportunity of the anniversary to thank the Karger publishing house, on the one hand, and all the authors and reviewers of the journal, on the other hand, for their continuous fruitful cooperation. Here’s to the next 125 years of Psychopathology!

Thomas Fuchs

Sabine C. Herpertz

Michael Kaess

Mark F. Lenzenweger

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