Abnormal Psych

List the indicators of Abnormality

Subjective distress

maladaptiveness

(statistical) deviancy

violation of standards of society

social discomfort

irrationality and unpredictability

dangerousness

DSM definition for mental illness

a syndrome that is present in an individual and involves clinically significant disturbance In behavior, emotional regulation or cognitive functioning

Name some infamous asylums

St Mary of Bethlehem (London); bedlam comes from this (chaos)

Lunatics tower (Vienna)

first hospital is US: Williamsburg public

“failed treatments”

water treatments: hot or cold baths

bleeding: giving blood so that the body will regenerate blood and “be better”

blisters: get the blood flow somewhere else

purgatives: get stuff out of the body

strong punishments and restraints

the idea was to force rationality and moral behavior

what was the Williamsburg cycle

1600’s

The homeless would go to jail but don't belong there due to not being criminals and it overcrowds

they get sent to hospital, but the hospital fills up, so they get put back on streets

and then the cycle keeps going

William Tuke and York retreat

Quakers (religious group) they created a retreat system, where they can be treated the way the should be treated. They created this retreat that still exists. You can be in a natural and quiet environment. It offers a humane treatment for the mentally ill

deinstitutionalization

the process of releasing individuals from mental hospitals or other institutions into the community

mental health act

1963

congress said to build mental health clinics in town and then send them home

gave states money to build federal mental health clinics

50% of people in jails…

are there because of mental health and not because they are criminals

Dorothea Dix

advocated for improved conditions for asylums. led to establishment of “mental hospitals”. movement focused on more physical health

mental hygiene movement

raised awareness to mental health

Clifford Beers

Founded 1908 mental hygiene mvmt

Yale graduate who went on to help improve mental health

wrote A mind that Found Itself

hospitalized and recovered on his own, he described his horrible treatment in the asylums and advocated for better conditions

raised awareness to mental health

Prozac nation

“there’s a pill for that”

biology is the answer for mental health

medicine is effective but it doesn't always cure, there needs to be a combination of treatments

Bethlehem museum of the mind

patients made artwork and statues that are shown in the hospital

“royal hospital” of mental illness

to show historically the stigma of mental illness

four further critiques

1. DSM categories are descriptive and not explanatory

2. Focus is on individual pathology— family dysfunction and societal injustice are not considered

3. DSM labels can be destructive in life

4. Created by committee, has problems—which are political in nature

justifications for studying mental illness

book mentions nomenclature

classification help “structure information”

facilitates research

defining the domain—what warrants reimbursement and maybe…Clinical decisions for cause and treatment

Inherent Problems

Labeling

stereotyping

stigma—is this decreasing?

co-morbidity

a disease or medical condition that is simultaneously present with another or others in a patient

examples of mental illness and culture

Christianity in Stalinist Russia- was considered abnormal

Homosexuality in the past was considered abnormal—now its normal

3 main models of classification

categorical: behavior is diagnostically seen like medical condition

dimensional: total behavior is made of many different dimensions

prototypical: an idealized image of what makes up a concept is, ex: what is schizophrenic

signs vs symptoms

signs are objective and are observable by a healthcare professional

symptoms: reported by the patient, and his subjective

What is the purpose of the MMPI-2 and the NOS diagnosis

NOS: “not otherwise specific” category that is designed for disorders of clinical severity that are not specified within the diagnostic classes

MMPI-2: a self reported inventory with 567 true or false questions about yourself. It helps mental health professionals determine whether or whether not you have symptoms of a mental illness or personality disorder.

what was the point of Hippocrates and Galen

Hippocrates believed in the existence of four bodily fluids as determinant of behavior

yellow bile: choleric; black bile: melancholic; blood: sanguine; Phlegm: phlegmatic

Galen believed in both physical and mental causes