AP Psych - Treatment of Psychological Disorders & Health and Positive Psychology

last psych knowt :(

Meta-analysis of Psychotherapy

aggregates results from multiple individual studies to draw broader conclusions about the effectiveness of psychotherapy

Cultural Humility

An approach in therapy that emphasizes an ongoing process of self-reflection and learning about the cultural identities of clients.

It involves therapists recognizing their own biases and limitations and striving to understand the client's cultural background, values, and experiences.

Therapeutic Alliance

Refers to the collaborative and trusting relationship between a therapist and a client.

• Key components: mutual agreement on therapy goals, a strong emotional bond, and collaboration on therapy tasks.

• A therapist might focus on building a strong therapeutic alliance by actively listening, showing empathy, and involving the client in setting therapy goals.

History of Treatment

Due to the increased use and effectiveness of psychotropic medication therapy, hospitals and asylums deinstitutionalized massive numbers of people in the late 20th century.

Therapists now prefer to treat in decentralized ways, often with a combination of medication and psychological therapies.

Nonmaleficence

ethical principle that mandates avoiding harm to patients

Fidelity

Refers to the principle of maintaining trust and loyalty in professional relationships.

Integrity

involves adhering to moral and ethical principles, ensuring honesty, accuracy, and consistency in professional practice

Respect for People's Rights and Dignity

This principle emphasizes the importance of recognizing and respecting the inherent worth of all individuals.

Psychodynamic Therapies

explores unconscious processes and how they influence current behavior.

Free Association

Encourages patients to speak freely about whatever comes to mind, without censorship or filtering.

Dream Interpretation

Analyzes the content of dreams to uncover unconscious desires, fears, and conflicts.

Cognitive Therapies

Focus on identifying and changing distorted or unhelpful thinking patterns, beliefs, and attitudes that contribute to emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors.

Cognitive Therapies - Maladaptive Thinking

refers to patterns of thought that are counterproductive and interfere with daily functioning. These thoughts are often distorted, negative, and self-defeating, leading to emotional distress and unhealthy behaviors.

Cognitive Therapies - Cognitive Restructuring

involves techniques that help individuals identify, challenge, and modify distorted thoughts. The process includes recognizing cognitive distortions, evaluating the validity of these thoughts, and developing more realistic and adaptive ways of thinking.

Cognitive Therapies - Fear Hierarchies

Used in exposure therapy to treat anxiety disorders, including phobias and PTSD. A fear hierarchy is a graded list of anxiety-provoking situations or stimuli, arranged from least to most frightening.

Cognitive Therapies - Cognitive Triad

describes three types of negative thoughts that are common in depression: negative views about oneself, the world, and the future

Applied Behavioral Analysis

Focuses on improving specific behaviors, such as social skills, communication, reading, and adaptive learning skills, through the application of behavioral principles.

ABA is particularly effective in treating individuals with ASD. ABA is commonly used to teach children with autism functional communication skills

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Exposure Therapies

A set of techniques designed to help individuals confront and reduce their fear and anxiety by gradually exposing them to the feared object or situation in a controlled manner.

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Systematic Desensitization

exposing a person to a feared object while using relaxation techniques

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Aversion Therapies

pairs an unwanted behavior with an unpleasant stimulus to reduce the behavior. It is based on classical conditioning principles, where the goal is to create a negative association with the behavior

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Token Economy

are a type of operant conditioning used in therapeutic settings, particularly in institutions or schools, where individuals earn tokens for engaging in desired behaviors. These tokens can later be exchanged for rewards or privileges

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Biofeeback

a technique that teaches individuals to control physiological processes such as heart rate, muscle tension, and brain wave activity by providing real-time feedback

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

widely used, evidence-based therapeutic approach that aims to change maladaptive thinking patterns and behaviors.

CBT operates on the premise that cognitive distortions (inaccurate or irrational thoughts) contribute to emotional distress and behavioral problems. By addressing these cognitive distortions and teaching coping skills, CBT helps individuals develop healthier thought patterns and behaviors.

A person with social anxiety might use CBT techniques to challenge and change irrational beliefs about social interactions, gradually exposing themselves to social situations to reduce fear and build confidence

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Dialectical Behavior Therapy

A type of cognitive-behavioral therapy specifically designed for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and other conditions involving emotional dysregulation.

DBT combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness practices and principles of acceptance and change.

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy

focuses on identifying and changing irrational beliefs that lead to emotional and behavioral issues. REBT emphasizes the role of rational thinking in emotional well-being

Humanistic Therapies

emphasizes the inherent goodness of people and their natural drive toward self-actualization

Humanistic Therapies - Active Listening

A communication technique used in therapy to ensure that the therapist fully understands the client's message.

It involves the therapist paying close attention to the client's words, reflecting back what they hear, and providing feedback that shows understanding and empathy.

Humanistic Therapies - Person Centered Therapy

talk therapy in which the client does most of the talking. The therapist will not actively direct conversation in sessions, or judge or interpret what the client says, but they may restate their words in an effort to fully understand their thoughts and feelings

Humanistic Therapies - Group v.s. Individual Therapy

Group: Cheaper, there’s support from others

Individual: Tailored, more structured

Hypnosis

a psychological state characterized by heightened suggestibility, focused attention, and deep relaxation. During hypnosis, individuals are guided into a trance-like state by a trained practitioner, often through verbal suggestions and relaxation techniques

DOES NOT WORK TO REMEMBER MEMORIES OR REGRESSION

Psychoactive Medications

drugs that affect the central nervous system and alter mood, perception, and behavior

Psychoactive Medications - Antidepressants

A class of psychoactive medications used to treat depression and, in some cases, anxiety disorders.

They primarily work by altering the levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine in the brain.

Psychoactive Medications - Antianxiety Drugs

Used to manage symptoms of anxiety disorders.

They often work by enhancing the effects of neurotransmitters that have calming effects on the brain.

Psychoactive Medications - Lithium

Modulates neurotransmitter activity, particularly affecting serotonin and norepinephrine systems. It helps stabilize mood swings in bipolar disorder.

Psychoactive Medications - Antipsychotic Medications

Primarily target dopamine receptors to reduce symptoms of psychosis. Some antipsychotics also affect serotonin receptors.

Psychoactive Medications - Tardive Dyskinesia

A potential side effect of long-term use of antipsychotic medications, particularly first-generation antipsychotics.

It is characterized by repetitive, involuntary movements, such as grimacing, lip-smacking, and tongue movements.

Psychosurgery

involves surgical procedures aimed at altering brain function to treat severe mental disorders.

This approach is based on the understanding that certain mental health conditions may be associated with abnormal brain activity or structural abnormalities.

Psychosurgery is typically considered when other treatments have failed and the condition is debilitating.

Psychosurgery - Lesioning

severing or removing part of the brain

Psychosurgery - Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

A non-invasive technique that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain.

By applying magnetic pulses to specific brain regions, TMS modulates neuronal activity and is used primarily to treat depression, especially when traditional treatments are ineffective.

TMS is used to treat patients with major depression who have not responded to antidepressant medications.

Psychosurgery - Electroconvulsive Therapy

Involves the application of electrical currents to the brain to induce controlled seizures.

This intervention is typically used for severe cases of depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia when other treatments have been ineffective.

Psychosurgery - Lobotomy

Involves severing connections in the brain’s prefrontal cortex to alter behavior and reduce symptoms of severe mental disorders.

Historically used to treat conditions like schizophrenia and severe depression, lobotomy has largely been discontinued due to its significant side effects and ethical concerns.

Health Psychology

a subfield of psychology that explores the impact of psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors on health and wellness

Stress

a state of mental or physical tension, often arising from difficult situations or events

a factor in heightened susceptibility to disorders and disease. Stress has been linked to physiological issues such as hypertension (high blood pressure), headaches, and immune suppression.

Stressors

Eustress - positive and motivating stress

Distress - negative and debilitating stress

Reaction to Stress - General Adaptation Syndrome

The general adaptation syndrome (GAS) describes the process of experiencing stress. According to Selye, the body’s adaptive response to stress occurs in 3 phases: alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

GAS Stage 1 - Alarm

In Phase 1, you have an alarm reaction, as your sympathetic nervous system is suddenly activated. Your heart rate zooms. Blood is diverted to your skeletal muscles. With your resources mobilized, you are now ready to fight back.

GAS Stage 2 - Resistance

During Phase 2, resistance, your temperature, blood pressure, and respiration remain high. Your endocrine system pumps epinephrine and norepinephrine into your bloodstream. You are fully engaged, summoning all your resources to meet the challenge. As time passes, with no relief from stress, your body’s reserves dwindle.

GAS Stage 3 - Exhaustion

You have reached Phase 3, exhaustion. With exhaustion, you become more vulnerable to illness or even, in extreme cases, collapse and death.

The greatest susceptibility to illness occurs during the exhaustion phase!

Reaction to Stress - Tend-and-befriend theory

under stress, some people may nurture themselves and others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend).

This phenomenon occurs mostly in women

Reaction to Stress - Problem-focused coping

involves seeing stress as a problem to be solved and working solutions until a solution is found

Reaction to Stress - Emotion-focused coping

Involves managing emotional reactions to stress as a means of coping. Strategies that are emotion-focused may include deep breathing, meditation, or taking medication aimed at reducing stressful emotional responses.

Positive Psychology

the study of human flourishing, with the goals of promoting strengths and virtues that foster well-being, resilience, and positive emotions, and psychological health

Positive Psychology - Gratitude

an appreciative emotion people often experience when they benefit from other’s actions or recognize their own good fortune.

Expressing gratitude, a positive subjective experience, increases subjective well-being.

Positive Psychology - Signature strengths

People who exercise their signature strengths or virtues report higher levels of positive objective experiences such as happiness and subjective well-being

Positive Psychology - Character strengths

a classification system to identify positive traits; 24 character strengths are categorized into 6 broad virtues

• Wisdom: creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, and perspective 

• Courage: bravery, honesty, perseverance, and zest 

• Humanity: kindness, love, and social intelligence 

• Justice: fairness, leadership, and teamwork 

• Temperance: forgiveness, humility, prudence, and self-regulation 

• Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, and spirituality

Positive Psychology - Posttraumatic growth

a phenomenon where individuals, despite the distress of trauma, experience personal transformation and find ways to grow stronger and develop a more positive outlook.

Posttraumatic growth may result after the experience of trauma or stress