Treatments (week 15)

What are the two main types of psychological treatment?

Biological therapy (e.g., drugs, surgery) and psychotherapy (“talk” therapy).

What is biological therapy?

A treatment approach targeting the physical or neurological basis of disorders, often involving medication, surgery, or brain stimulation.

What is psychotherapy?

Talk-based treatment focused on addressing psychogenic causes, such as maladaptive thoughts, emotions, or behaviors.

What are antipsychotic drugs and what do they treat?

Drugs like Thorazine that reduce symptoms of schizophrenia by affecting dopamine pathways.

What are antianxiety drugs?

Tranquilizers like Valium that promote relaxation and reduce nervous system activity.

What are antidepressant drugs and how do they work?

SSRIs (e.g., Prozac) block serotonin reuptake, increasing its availability in the brain. Also includes SNRIs which affect serotonin and noradrenaline.

What is psychosurgery?

Invasive surgical procedures like lobotomy (now mostly abandoned) used to alter brain structure in severe mental illness.

What is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)?

A treatment using electrical stimulation of the brain to relieve severe depression, typically when other treatments fail.

What are other biological treatments for depression?

Vagus nerve stimulation, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), used for resistant cases.

What is psychoanalysis?

A form of psychodynamic therapy focusing on unconscious processes, often rooted in early childhood conflict.

What is behavioral therapy?

A therapy based on the idea that behaviors are learned and can be unlearned. Techniques include exposure and systematic desensitization.

What is the humanistic approach to therapy?

Focuses on personal growth and self-actualization. Emphasizes the here and now rather than the past.

What is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)?

A therapy focused on identifying and replacing maladaptive thinking patterns and behaviors to improve emotional regulation.

What is an example of CBT in action?

Replacing automatic negative thoughts like “I’m a failure” with more balanced alternatives like “I made a mistake, but I can learn from it.”

How are personality disorders treated?

Focus is on managing and coping with symptoms rather than curing. Includes dialectical behavior therapy and cognitive therapy.

What is dialectical behavior therapy?

A treatment for personality disorders focused on understanding and accepting difficult emotions while building coping skills.

What is cognitive therapy in the context of personality disorders?

Aims to change dysfunctional core beliefs and thinking patterns that contribute to personality dysfunction.

What are the DSM-5 criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)?

Depressed mood and/or loss of interest plus at least five symptoms (e.g., insomnia, fatigue, worthlessness) for two weeks or more, causing significant impairment.

What are effective treatments for depression?

Drug therapy (e.g., SSRIs), talk therapy (e.g., CBT), or a combination, depending on the cause and severity.

What is the biological perspective on depression?

Attributes depression to imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin and noradrenaline, often treated with SSRIs or SNRIs.

What are some criticisms of antidepressants?

Their effects may be modest and not clinically significant for all; some argue the chemical imbalance theory lacks strong evidence (Munkholm et al., 2019).

What is the treatment-causation fallacy?

The mistaken belief that because a treatment works, it proves the cause — e.g., alcohol relieves anxiety, but anxiety isn’t caused by lack of alcohol.

What is the difference between statistical and clinical significance in antidepressant studies?

Drug effects are often statistically significant but small in real-world impact (e.g., <2 points on a 0–53 depression scale).

What is the cognitive perspective on depression?

Focuses on maladaptive thought patterns like rumination and pessimistic explanatory styles that sustain depressive symptoms.

What is an explanatory style?

The way someone explains life events, along dimensions of Internal/External, Stable/Unstable, and Global/Specific.

What is a pessimistic explanatory style?

Good events: external, unstable, specific. Bad events: internal, stable, global — increasing vulnerability to depression.

What is an optimistic explanatory style?

Good events: internal, stable, global. Bad events: external, unstable, specific — protective against depression.

How do explanatory styles affect depression?

Pessimistic styles increase risk by reinforcing hopelessness and self-blame, while optimistic styles promote resilience.

What are the main varieties of psychotherapy?

Psychoanalysis, behavioral therapy, humanistic approach, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).