clinical psychology and mental health

behavioural characteristics of phobias

• panic

• avoidance

• endurance

behavioural characteristics of depression

• activity levels

  • become lethargic or agitated

• disrupted sleep and eating behaviour

  • insomnia, hypersomnia, premature waking

• aggression and self-harm

behavioural characteristics of OCD

• repetitive compulsions

• compulsions reduce anxiety

• avoidance

  • avoiding situations that trigger anxiety

emotional characteristics of phobias

• disproportionate fear

• anxiety

  • anxiety disorder that prevents the person from relaxing

• unreasonable emotional response

emotional characteristics of depression

• lowered mood

• anger

• lowered self-esteem

emotional characteristics of OCD

• anxiety and distress

• accompanying depression

• guilt and disgust

cognitive characteristics of phobias

• hyper-vigilance

• irrational beliefs

• cognitive distortion

  • perceptions of the person to the phobic stimulus are irrational and unreasonable

cognitive characteristics of depression

• poor concentration

• attending to/dwelling on the negative

• absolutist thinking

  • perspective that an unfortunate situation is disastrous

specific phobia definition

phobia of an object/situation

social anxiety definition

phobia of social situations

agoraphobia definition

phobia of being outside/in public places

major depressive disorder definition

severe but often short-term depression

persistent depressive disorder definition

long-term/recurring depression

disruptive mood dysregulation disorder definition

childhood temper tantrums

premenstrual dysphoric disorder definition

disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation

OCD definition

disorder characterised by obsessions and/or compulsions

trichotillomania definition

compulsive hair-pulling

hoarding disorder definition

compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability to part with anything, regardless of value

excoriation disorder

compulsive skin-picking

outline deviation from social/cultural norms

• social/cultural norms are a set of written and unwritten rules that guide how individuals are expected to behave, think and act in a particular context

  • these are dependent on time and culture

• if a behaviour goes against social/cultural norms, it may be viewed as abnormal or undesirable

• someone who performs undesirable behaviours is labelled as socially deviant

strengths of deviation from social/cultural norms definition

• it’s a useful tool for assessing behaviours

  • e.g. someone who behaves in an anti-social manner could be termed socially-deviant

• it has real world application (e.g. diagnosing schizotypal personality disorders)

• social/cultural norms are in place to ensure society is harmonious and cohesive

weaknesses of deviation from social/cultural norms

• some behaviours appear as ‘socially deviant’ which can simply be an example of eccentricity

  • this means that this definition of mental health doesn’t account for individual differences

• deviation from social/cultural norms is not generalisable across cultures due to cultural variation

outline of failure to function adequately

• definition of mental health which refers to the point at which someone is unable to continue their daily routine, or cope with everyday life

• coping with everyday life (which is a characteristic of good mental health) means being able to manage daily tasks, e.g:

  • good personal hygiene

  • regular eating habits

  • attending work or school

  • socialising with others

• FFA can have damaging effects on a person’s relationships as it can cause increased conflict with loved ones and erratic, disturbing behaviour

• Rosenham and Selingham (1989) identified the distinct signs that indicate FFA, including:

  • severe personal distress

  • behaviour which ‘stands out’ or seems to go against social/cultural norms

  • behaving irrationally

  • harm that is self-inflicted or directed at others

strengths of failure to function adequately definition

• definition provides clear guidelines for classification and diagnosis of a mental health disorder as it is focused on observable signs that an individual is not coping

  • these can lead to an individual receiving help from a clinical professional

• checklists such as Rosenham and Selingham (1989) or the GAF scale can be used to assess the degree of FFA, which increases the reliability and objectivity of the measure

weaknesses of failure to function adequately definition

• FFA is an overly subjective measure so the FFA measure may lack validity

  • e.g. one person’s refusal of deodorant may be due to eco-friendly motivations

• some behaviours may appear to have the characteristics of FFA but in fact are simply expressions of personal choice

  • e.g. a person swimming with sharks might put their life in danger but is not arguably ‘failing to function’ on this criterion alone

outline of deviation from ideal mental health definition

• deviation from ideal mental health is based on the idea that there are distinct markers that signal ‘wellness’ or ideal mental health

• this measure assumes that if someone is mentally well, then they will possess all the markers of ideal mental health

  • to diagnose a mental health disorder, it is only necessary to look for the lack of ideal mental health characteristics/behaviours

• Marie Jahoda (1985) suggested a model of mental health that includes six characteristics:

  • positive attitudes towards the self

  • self-actulisation

  • autonomy

  • resistance to stress

  • accurate perception of reality

  • environmental mastery

positive attitudes towards the self (Marie Jahoda 1985) definition

• high levels of self-esteem

• strong sense of identity

• knowing where you fit in the world

self-actualisation (Marie Jahoda 1985) definition

• personal growth and development

• developing yourself and achieving the goals you set yourself in life

autonomy (Marie Jahoda 1985) definition

• autonomy and the ability to act independently from others

• self-regulation

• being able to work on your own and solve problems that may arise

resistance to stress (Marie Jahoda 1985) definition

• resisting stress and being able to cope in stressful situations

accurate perception of reality (Marie Jahoda 1985) definition

• having a realistic view of the world and your place in it

• understanding how the world works

environmental mastery (Marie Jahoda 1985) definition

• adapting and meeting the demands of the environment and situation you are in

• the ability to adapt to your different environments and feel at ease in them

strengths of deviation from ideal mental health definition

• this definition is a holistic measure of mental health that takes into account all facets and behaviours of a person

  • the person is not viewed simply in terms of their innate, biological traits or their internal cognitions

• this definition is a positive measure of mental health and has real world applications

  • e.g. used as a basis for therapy and treatments

weaknesses of deviation from ideal mental health definition

• Jahoda’s (1985) criteria is almost impossible to live up to

• this measure is also prone to culture bias as it emphasises the importance of the individual, which is not aligned with the attitudes and beliefs of collectivist cultures

  • e.g Far East Asian countries generally operate according to modesty bias, where self-actualisation would be seen as socially deviant or disrespectful

outline of statistical infrequency

• statistical infrequency is a definition of mental health using statistical measures

• a behaviour is regarded as abnormal if it is statistically uncommon or rare

• rare behaviours/condition are considered statistically abnormal

• behaviour can be measured as normal or abnormal according to where it is placed within a normal distribution

  • this can be represented using a normal distribution curve

strengths of statistical infrequency definition

• statistical infrequency as a measure provides clear points of comparison between people, making it easy to test and to use as an analytical tool

• applying statistical infrequency as a measure includes the use of a standardised tool, which means the measure has built in reliability

  • standardised measures are replicable

  • replicability means that large data sets can be included in the calculation

  • the larger the data sets, the less likely it is to be affected by anomalous results meaning consistent patterns are highlighted

weaknesses of statistical infrequency definition

• statistical infrequency wouldn’t recognise depression as a mental health disorder as its high prevalence rate would mean that depression is not statistically deviant

  • if depression isn’t statistically deviant, then statistical infrequency is not a fully valid definition of mental health

• one statistically infrequent behaviour which is not necessarily undesirable is having a higher than typical IQ

  • the mismatch of a high IQ being statistically infrequent but not categorised as undesirable limits the usefulness of statistical infrequency