Treatment of Psychological Disorders

Evidence-based interventions

Therapies proven to work through scientific research

Cultural humility

Being open and respectful to people from different cultures

Therapeutic alliance

Trust and bond between therapist and client

Psychotropic medication

Drugs that affect a person’s mind or behavior

Nonmaleficence

Do no harm

Fidelity

Being loyal and keeping promises in therapy

Integrity

Being honest and ethical

Respect for people’s rights and dignity

Treat everyone with fairness and care

Psychodynamic therapies

Less expensive, face-to-face therapy that focuses on childhood conflicts, not deep unconscious ones

• Free association

• Dream interpretation

• Resistance

• Transferance

Free association

The patient says whatever comes to mind, and the therapist looks for hidden thoughts or feelings

Dream interpretation

Dreams are seen as symbols of hidden thoughts, with focus on the hidden meaning (latent) rather than the dream’s story (manifest)

Resistance

When a patient blocks painful thoughts, either consciously or unconsciously; therapists may use tests like inkblots to break through

Transference

The patient projects past feelings onto the therapist, helping reveal unresolved issues from earlier relationships

Cognitive therapies

Focus on changing negative thought patterns to improve emotions and behaviors

• Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (RET/REBT)

• Cognitive Triad Therapy

Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (RET/REBT)

Developed by Albert Ellis. It says that irrational beliefs lead to negative feelings and behaviors. The ABCs of RET:

• Activating event: The event that triggered your thoughts or behavior.

• Belief systems: Identify the irrational beliefs or negative self-talk.

• Consequence: Irrational beliefs lead to anxiety, depression, and self-defeating behaviors.

Cognitive Triad Therapy

Developed by Aaron Beck. Helps clients challenge negative beliefs about:

• Themselves

• The world

• The future

Modeling

Showing someone how to think or act in certain situations

Role playing

Acting out situations to practice new behaviors or explore feelings

Humanistic therapy

Believes people are good and motivated to reach their full potential. It focuses on creating an accepting atmosphere so people develop healthy self-concepts and find meaning in life

• Insight therapy

• Existential analysis

• Gestalt therapy: Focuses on being aware of current feelings

• Client-centered (person-centered) therapy: Focuses on creating a comfortable, non-judgmental environment where clients control their growth. It’s built on empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard.

  • Non-directive approach: Clients find their own solutions, not the therapist telling them what to do.

  • Active listening: Therapist echoes, restates, and clarifies what the client expresses.

Insight therapy

Helps people understand themselves better

Existential analysis

Explores big life questions and personal purpose

Gestalt therapy

Focuses on being aware of current feelings

Client-centered (person-centered) therapy

Focuses on creating a comfortable, non-judgmental environment where clients control their growth. It’s built on empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard

Non-directive approach

Clients find their own solutions, not the therapist telling them what to do

Active listening

Therapist echoes, restates, and clarifies what the client expresses

Behavior therapy

Focuses on changing behavior itself, not the underlying cause

• Conditioning

• Counter-conditioning

  • Exposure therapy

  • Flooding

  • Systematic desensitization

  • Aversion therapy

  • Token economy

Conditioning

Learning to associate a behavior with a desired outcome

Counterconditioning

Undoing a learned behavior

Exposure therapy

Gradually exposes people to their fears so anxiety fades over time

Flooding

Immediate, intense exposure to a fear to reduce anxiety quickly

Systematic desensitization

Gradually exposing a client to stronger versions of their fear until they no longer feel anxious.

• Virtual reality exposure therapy uses virtual environments for this.

Aversion therapy

Pairs an unpleasant stimulus with a bad behavior to make the behavior less likely

Token economy

Rewarding good behavior with tokens that can be exchanged for something valuable

Group, family, and marital therapies

Work with small groups to address issues

Group therapy

People meet to work on goals, often using humanistic therapy. Self-help groups (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous) are a variation

Family and marital therapies

Focus on changing unhealthy family dynamics

Person-centered therapy

Aims to understand an individual’s experience with psychosis

Biomedical therapy

Uses drugs or brain stimulation to treat psychological disorders by addressing biological factors like chemical imbalances or brain functions.

• Psychopharmacology

  1. Antianxiety drugs

  2. Antipsychotic drugs

  3. Mood-stabilizing drugs

  4. Antidepressant drugs

• Brain stimulation

  1. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

  2. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)

• Psychosurgery

  • Lesioning

Psychopharmacology

Study of how drugs affect mental processes and behavior

Antianxiety drugs

Reduce anxiety and promote relaxation (e.g., Valium, Xanax)

Antipsychotic drugs

Reduce symptoms of schizophrenia, like hallucinations (e.g., Haldol, Thorazine)

Mood-stabilizing drugs

Treat bipolar disorder, controlling mood swings (e.g., Lithium)

Antidepressant drugs

Treat depression by increasing serotonin (e.g., Prozac)

Brain stimulation

Stimulates the brain with electrical currents

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Treats severe depression with electrical shocks

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)

Treats depression with a magnetic coil on the brain

Psychosurgery

Involves removing or damaging brain tissue to change behaviors (rarely used)

• Lesioning: Removing or damaging brain tissue.

Touch therapy

Uses energy fields to heal and reduce pain by placing hands on or near the body

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Uses rapid eye movements to process and reduce trauma

Light Exposure Therapy

Treats seasonal affective disorder using a bright light box

Cognitive restructuring

Changing negative thought patterns to improve emotions

Fear hierarchies

A list of fears from least to most frightening, used to gradually reduce fear

Combating maladaptive thinking

Changing unhealthy or unhelpful thinking patterns

Applied behavior analysis

Uses reinforcement to encourage positive behaviors, often used for autism

Biofeedback

Using sensors to help people control physical responses (e.g., heart rate, muscle tension)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Helps change negative thoughts and behaviors contributing to mood issues

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

A type of CBT focusing on managing intense emotions and improving relationships

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

A type of CBT that challenges irrational beliefs

Unconditional positive regard

Accepting and supporting someone no matter what

Hypnosis

Inducing a trance-like state to change behavior or treat problems

Psychoactive medication

Drugs that affect the brain and mood

Mood stabilizers

Regulate mood swings (e.g., Lithium)

Lithium

A drug used to treat bipolar disorder

Tardive dyskinesia

A movement disorder caused by long-term use of antipsychotic drugs

Lobotom

A now-rare procedure that cuts or removes parts of the brain to treat psychological disorders