Unit 8: Clinical Psychology

Modules 65-73

psychological disorder

a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior

medical model

the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital

epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA chance

DSM-5

the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

a psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity

anxiety disorders

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

social anxiety disorder

intense fear and avoidance of social situations (formerly called social phobia)

generalized anxiety disorder

an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

panic disorder

an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next attack

agoraphobia

fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic

phobia

an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience

major depressive disorder

a disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or another medical condition, two ore more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure

bipolar disorder

a disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania (formerly called manic-depressive disorder)

mania

a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgment is common

rumination

compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes

schizophrenia

a disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished, inappropriate emotional expression

psychotic disorders

a group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality

hallucinations

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

delusion

a false belief, often of persecution of grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders

chronic schizophrenia (process schizophrenia)

a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten

acute schizophrenia (reactive schizophrenia)

a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age; frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event

somatic symptom disorder

a psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause (formerly called somatoform disorder)

conversion disorder

a disorder related to somatic symptom disorder in which a person experiences very specific, physical symptoms that are not compatible with recognized medical or neurological conditions (also called functional neurological symptom disorder)

illness anxiety disorder

a disorder related to somatic symptom disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease (formerly call hypochondriasis)

dissociative disorders

controversial, rare disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from pervious memories, thoughts, and feelings

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

a rare, dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities (formerly called multiple personalities disorder)

personality disorders

inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning

antisocial personality disorder

a personality disorder in which a person (usually a male) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist

anorexia nervosa

an eating disorder in which a person maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight; sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise

bulimia nervosa

an eating disorder in which a person’s binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) is followed by inappropriate weight-loss promoting behavior, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

bing-eating disorder

significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory behavior that marks bulimia nervosa

psychotherapy

treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth

biomedical therapy

prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the person’s physiology

eclectic approach

an approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy

psychoanalysis

Freud’s therapeutic technique. Freud believed the patient’s free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences--and the therapist’s interpretations of them--released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight

resistance

in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material

interpretation

in psychoanalysis, the analyst’s noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight

transference

in psychoanalysis, the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships (such as love or hatred for a parent)

psychodynamic therapy

therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition; views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and seeks to enhance self-insight

insight therapies

therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person’s awareness of underlying motives and defenses

client-centered therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within an accepting, genuine, empathic environment to facilitate clients’ growth (also called person-centered therapy)

active listening

empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers’ client-centered therapy

behavior therapy

therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors

counterconditioning

behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; include exposure therapies and aversive conditioning

exposure therapies

behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization and virtual reality exposure therapy, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imaginary or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid

systematic desensitization

a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias.

virtual reality exposure therapy

a counterconditioning technique that treats anxiety through creative electronic simulations in which people can safely face their greatest fears such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking

aversive conditioning

a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol)

token economy

an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange tokens for privileges or treats

cognitive therapy

therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and out emotional reactions

rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)

a confrontational cognitive therapy, developed by Albert Ellis, that vigorously challenges people’s illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions

cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)

group therapy

therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, providing benefits from group interaction

family therapy

therapy that treats people in the context of their family system. Views an individual’s unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members

meta-analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

evidence-based practice

clinical decision making that integrates the best avialable research with clinical expertise and patient charactersitics and preferences

therapeutic alliance

a bond of trust and mutual understanding between a therapist and client, who work together constructively to overcome the client’s problem

pyschopharmacology

the study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior

antipsychotic drugs

drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder

antianxiety drugs

drugs used to control anxiety and agitation

antidepressant drugs

drugs used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (several widely used antidepressant drugs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors--SSRIs)

electroconvultive therapy (ECT)

a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient

repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)

the application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity

psychosurgery

surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior

lobotomy

a psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients. The procedure cut the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain

resilience

the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma

posttraumatic growth

positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises