AP Psych Unit 8 Clinical Psychology

Introduction to psych disorders and anxiety disorders

questions about psychological disorders

how do we define, classify, understand them? How many people have or will have them?

psychological disorder

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

psychological disorder are

dysfunctional and maladaptive interfering with everyday life

in psychological disorder dysfunction is accompanied

by distress

Philippe Pinel (during middle ages) disagree with traditional treatments such as mutilations or beatings and says

madness is from severe stress not demonic possessions and advocated for humane cures

medical model

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

the mental health movement say

mental illness can diagnoses based on the symptoms and can be treated by therapy in a hospital

biopsychosocial approach say as individuals we differ in

amount of stress, coping method

Culture also causes differences in

stress sources and coping methods

2 disorders have the same symptoms worldwide

major depressive disorder and schizophrenia

Other disorders differ in symptoms or are unique to a culture for example

susto - found in Latin america and symptoms are anxiety, restlessness, and fear of black magic

taijin-kyofusho - found in japan and symptoms are social anxiety about looks, blush quickly, and dislike eye contact

biopsychosocial approach emphasizes

mind and body are inseparable

stress vulnerability model

individual characteristics combine with environmental stressors to increase or decrease likelihood of developing psychological disorders

epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change sometimes gene is expressed or dormant

benefit of classifying disorders

can predict future course, suggest treatment, prompt research into cures, and ordering/describing symptoms

DSM-5

the american psychiatric association’s diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder fifth edition a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders

DSM-5 labels change or new ones are created

for example autism spectrum disorder, hoarding, binge-eating, and mental retardation changed to intellectual disability

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD

s psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and or hyperactivity, impulsivity

the long-term effects of ADHD treatment with stimulant drugs

is unknown

overdiagnosing of

depression and ADHD

ADHD controversy is increasing number due to

overdiagnosing or because awareness is increasing

most violent criminal are not mentally ill and

most mentally ill are not violent

ethical question about

should mentally ill who are violent/criminal be held accountable for actions

psychological disorders number vary around the world

lowest 6% in nigeria and highest 27% in USA

immigrant paradox

immigrants/people not born in the country have a lower risk for mental illness

poverty is a risk factor for mental illness and

mental illness can cause someone to be poor

psychological disorder biological influences

evolution, individual genes, brain structure and chemistry

psychological disorder psychological influences

stress, trauma, learned helplessness, mood-related perceptions and memories

psychological disorder social cultural influences

roles, expectations, definitions of normality and disorder

anxiety disorders

psychological disorder characterized by distressing persistent anxiety or maladaptive/dysfunctioning anxiety reducing behavior

social anxiety disorder

intense fear and avoidance of social situations

social anxiety being maladaptive

fear of being judged anxiety so in order to reduce anxiety you never go out in public

generalized anxiety disorder

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

2/3 are women and usually mellows out by age 50

generalized anxiety disorder symptoms

feeling jittery, agitated sleep deprived, reduced concentration, depressed moods, high blood pressure

generalized anxiety disorder sources are

unidentified and anxiety is free floating so can not relieve stress

panic disorder

an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minute long episodes of intense dread where a person may feel terror chest pain choking and other scary sensations and followed with worry about having another attack

agoraphobia

fear or avoidance of situations like crowds/open areas where one has felt loss of control and panic

phobias

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 and actions/compulsions or both

the compulsions are responses to the obsessive thoughts

OCD is common in

teens/young adults

OCD related disorders

hoarding, body dysmorphia, hair pulling or skin picking

posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD

a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling and or insomnia after traumatic event

survivor resiliency

recovering after traumatic event or severe stress

factors to PTSD development

amount of traumatic emotional distress, level of sensitivity in emotion processing limbic system, genes, and gender

Anxiety is a feeling and a cognition

it is doubt laden appraisal of safety and social skill

feud psychoanalytic theory say people

repress intolerable impulse, idea, feelings, and this submerged mental energy can leak out into odd symptoms

classical conditioning interpretation of anxiety

fear responses link to neutral objects (ex: little albert and furry objects)

so anxiety/traumatized people learn to associate anxiety with cues

classical conditions stimulus generalization and operant conditioning reinforcement cause 1 event to trigger phobia

stimulus generalization

occurs when people have a scary event and fear similar events

reinforcement

maintain learned fears and anxiety by repeating maladaptive behavior that avoid and escape feared situations

cognition interpretations of anxiety

say thoughts, memories, and expectations influence anxiety

observing others fears → develop fear

past experiences shape expectations and influence our interpretations and reactions

people with anxiety disorders are hypervigilant meaning

they attend more to threatening more to threatening stimuli and interpret unknown stimuli as threatening

anxiety is more common in people who

can not stop intrusive thoughts, have no control, and have a sense of helplessness

biology interpretation of anxiety

fear/anxiety is genetic and 17 genes found to be linked with anxiety

genetic predispositions/epigenetic marks for high levels of emotional reactivity and neurotransmitter productions make us vulnerable to disorder

fear learning experience create fear circuits in amygdala creating inroad for disorder

natural selection and evolution prepare us to fear threats are ancestors faced

anxiety disorders express as overarousal of brain areas in impulse control that

reflect a brain danger detection as hyperactive and producing anxiety without danger

ex: OCD when feeling amiss brain generated obsessions and compulsions

pur compulsive acts typically exaggerate

behaviors contributed to our ancestors survival