Chapter 2 Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders

Model

describes or attempts to explain a phenomenon or process that we cannot directly observe

Biopsychosocial model

interactions between biological, psychological, and social factors cause mental disorders

Sociocultural influences

factors such as gender, sexual orientation, spirituality, religion, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and culture can have on mental health

Multipath model

an integration of biological, social, psychological, and sociocultural influences

Impulsivity

a tendency to act quickly without careful thought

Heterogeneous

different or diverse

Protective factors

conditions or attributes that lessen or eliminate the risk of a negative psychological or social outcome

Resilience

our ability to recover from stressful or challenging circumstances

Parts of the brain

Forebrain

higher level mental processes

Cerebrum

largest part of the brain, the right and left hemisphere

Cerebral cortex

outermost layers of brain tissue, cover the cerebrum

Prefrontal cortex

responsible for executive functioning

executive functioning

mental processes that involve planning, organizing, and attention required to meet short term and long term goals

Neurons

nerve cells that transmit messages throughout the body

Limbic system

group of deep brain structures associated with emotions, decision making, and memory formation

Amygdala

physiological reactivity and memory formation

Hippocampus

helps us form, organize, and store memories

Autonomic nervous system

coordinates basic physiological functions and regulates physical responses associated with emotional reactions

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

a system activated under conditions of stress or emotional arousal

Hypothalamus

regulates our bodily drives and conditions

Pituitary gland

releases hormones that produce a sequence of events (including stimulation to the adrenal gland) to prepare the body to respond to a potentially dangerous situation

Midbrain

basic functions, motor movement, alertness, sleep-wake cycles, temperature regulation

Hindbrain

instinctive behavior and basic bodily functions

Glia

cells that perform a variety of supportive roles, like shaping the brain’s neural circuits/signal relaying systems

Dendrites

short rootlike structures that receive chemical and electrical signals from other neurons

Axon

long extension that sends signals to other neurons and muscles and glands far away

Myelin

fatty insulating substance that forms a myelin sheath

Myelination

increases the efficiency of signal transmission and allows damaged nerve pathways to regenerate

White matter primarily consists of nerve pathways, myelinated axons, and the supportive glia cells

Gray matter consists of the cell bodies of neurons and glia

Neurotransmitters help relay messages by transmitting nerve impulses across the synapse

Synapse

a tiny gap between nerve cells

Endorphins

natural painkillers (runners high)

Melatonin

sleep wake cycles

Reuptake

reabsorption of a neurotransmitter after an impulse has been transmitted across the synapse

Enteric nervous system

an independent neural system involved with digestion; capable of signaling the brain regarding stress and other emotions

Homeostasis

ability to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting physiological processes

Neuropeptides

small molecules that can directly and indirectly influence a variety of hormones and neurotransmitters

Neuroplasticity

enables the brain to adjust to environmental conditions or to compensate for injury

Neurogenesis

the birth of new neurons

Neural stem cells

uncommitted brain cells that can by stimulated to form new neurons and glia

Heredity

the genetic transmission of traits

Genes

contain specific info pertaining to the development of our cells, tissues, organs, and body systems

Genome

complete set of dna in a cell

Genotype

a person’s genetic makeup

Phenotype

observable physical and behavioral characteristics resulting from the interaction between the genotype and environment

Genetic mutations

an alteration in a gene that changes the instructions within the gene

Polymorphisms

a common dna mutation or variation of a gene

Alleles

each of 2 or more alternative forms of a gene responsible for a specific trait

Critical periods

specific time in early development when there is heightened sensitivity to environmental influences/experiences

Epigenetics

a field of research to understand how environmental factors influence gene expression

gene expression

process by which heritable info in a gene is translated into a specialized function w in the cell

Psychopharmacology

study of how psychotropic medications affect psychiatric symptoms

Psychotic symptoms

loss of contact with reality that may involve disorganized thinking, false beliefs, or seeing or hearing things that aren’t there

Extrapyramidal symptoms

side effects produced by antipsychotic medications

Vagus nerve

a nerve that creates a mind body pathway from the brain through the digestive tract to the abdomen

Drug-drug interactions

when the effect of a medication is changed, enhanced, or diminished when taken with another drug, including herbal substances

Psychodynamic models view mental disorders as the result of childhood experiences and unconscious conflicts

Pleasure principle

impulsive, pleasure seeking aspect of out being

Reality principle

awareness of the demands of the environment and of the need to adjust behavior to meet these demands

Psychosexual stages

sequence of stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital) through which human personality develops

Defense mechanisms

an ego protection strategy that shelters the individual from anxiety, operates unconsciously, and distorts reality

Psychoanalysis

aims to overcome a client’s defense so that material blocked from consciousness can be uncovered

Free association

say whatever comes to mind

Dream analysis

finding the hidden meanings in dreams

Resistance

unconscious attempts to impede therapy and prevent exposure of conflicts

Transference

reenacts early conflicts by applying to the analyst feelings and attitudes that the person has towards others

Behavioral models

concerned with the role of learning in the development of behavior

Classical conditioning

responses to new stimuli are learned through association

Unconditioned stimulus

stimulus that elicits and unconditioned response

Unconditioned response

unlearned response made to an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus

previously neutral stimulus tht has another stimulus with which it has been paired

Conditioned response

learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has acquired some of the properties of another stimulus with which it has been paired

Extinction

the decrease or cessation of a behavior due to the gradual weakening of a classically or operantly conditioned response

Operant conditioning

theory of learning that holds that behaviors are controlled by the consequences that follow them

Operant behavior

voluntary and controllable behavior, that operates on an individual’s environment

Reinforcers

anything that increases the frequency or magnitude of a behavior

Positive reinforcement

desirable actions or rewards that increase the likelihood that a particular behavior will occur

Negative reinforcement

increasing the frequency or magnitude of a behavior by removing something aversive

Observational learning theory

an individual can acquire new behaviors by watching others perform them

Modeling

process of learning by observing models and later imitating them

Exposure therapy

gradual or rapid exposure to feared objects or situations

Systematic desensitization

repeated exposure to a feared stimulus while a client is in a competing emotional or physiological state such as relaxation

Schema

framework from which we automatically organize and give meaning to information

Mindfulness

nonjudgemental awareness of thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and the environment

Psychological flexibility

the ability to mentally and emotionally adapt to situational demands

Cognitive models

explanations based on the assumption that thoughts mediate an individual’s emotional state or behavior in response to a stimulus

Universal shamanic tradition

the set of beliefs and practices from non western indigenous traditions that assume that special healers are blessed with powers to act as messengers between the human and spirit worlds

Humanistic perspective

the optimistic viewpoint that people are born with the ability to fulfill their potential and that mental distress results from disharmony between a person’s potential and self concept, Focuses on the idea that clients deserve

Self actualization

an inherent tendency to strive toward the realization of one’s full potential

Existential approach

a set of philosophical attitudes that focus on human alienation, the individual in the context of the human condition, and the personal responsibility to others as well as oneself

Family systems model

an explanation that assumes that the family is an interdependent system and that mental disorders reflect processes occurring within the family system

Couples therapy

a treatment aimed at helping couples relationships

Group therapy

simultaneous treatment of 2+ clients

Acculturative stress

the psychological, physical, and social pressures experienced by individuals who are adapting to a new culture

Inferiority model

early attempt to explain differences in minority groups that contended racial and ethnic minorities are somehow inferior to the majority population

Deficit model

differences are the result of cultural deprivation

Multicultural model

a contemporary view that emphasizes the importance of considering a person’s cultural background and related experiences

Hallucinations

sensory experiences that seem real but do not exist outside of the mind