Psych 102 Final Exam Disorders and Treatments

Abnormal Psychology

the scientific study of psychological disorders

Early explanations of mental disorders

Include demonic possession and witchcraft

The four D’s of abnormal psychology

Deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger

What is ICD-11

International classification of diseases, commonly used in many countries published by WHO

What is DSM-5-TR

Current version of manual to diagnose disorders containing over 200 disorders

What is comorbidity

Condition in which individuals symptoms make them qualified to hav two or more diagnoses

Broad classification of disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders, neurocognitive disorders, substance related and addictive disorders, schizophrenia spectrum/ psychotic disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar and related disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive and related disorders, trauma and stressor related disorders, somatic symptoms and related disorders, dissociative disorders, feeding and eating disorders, sexual dysfunction, gender dysphoria, paraphilic disorders, sleep wake disorders, disruptive, impulse control, and conduct disorders, and personality disorders.

What is the neuroscience model say about disorders and the development of disorders

Caused by malfunction in the brain such as insufficient or excessive hormones/neurotransmitters

Problematic because it doesn’t take into account environmental factors and relies too much on a “not your fault” approach

What does a biopsychosocial model say about disorders

Believe that biological factors alone are not enough to explain disorders

Doesn’t take into account the individual, social, or cultural differences

What does the cognitive-behavioural model say about disorders

Learned problematic behaviours and dysfunctional cognitive processes

Maladaptive beliefs and illogical thinking also result in abnormal functioning

What is selective perception

Seeing only the negatives in any event (different to pessimists)

What is magnification

Exaggerating importance of undesirable events

What is overgeneralization

Creating negative conclusions because of single, past, insignificant event

What does the psychodynamic model say about disorders

Consequences of conflict between forces or unconscious attempts to resolve conflict

Freudian theory focusing again around fixation

What is the sociocultural model say about disorders

Family system, social networks, socioeconomic status, and widespread social change create stressors for some individuals leading to disorders

What does the developmental psychopathology model say about disorders

Genes and early experiences affect person later in life

What is risk factors

Biological and environmental factors that contribute to problematic outcomes

What is equifinality

Different children have different points but wind up in same outcome

What is multifinality

Different children start at same point and have different outcomes

What is resilience

Ability to recover from or avoid serious effects of negative circumstances

Phobias

Persistent, unreasonable fear of a specific object, activity, or situation

Treatment or therapy

Systematic procedures designed to change abnormal behaviours into normal behaviour

Three essential features of therapies

A sufferer whose seeking help, trained/ socially accepted healer, and a series of contacts between healer and sufferer to change attitudes, emotions, or behaviours

Two types of treatments

Psychotherapy (words and acts) and Biological therapy (physical and chemical)

Treatment approaches

Biological, psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive-behavioural, and humanistic/existential

Biological approach to therapy

DRUGS

types- psychotropic, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, ketamine, anxiolytics, placebos

Other types of therapy that aren’t drugs

ECT, Vagus nerve stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation

Bad biological treatments

Trephination and lobotomy

Pros and cons of biological treatments

Pros- often effective if other treatments failed and research offers promising options

Cons- Undesirable side effects, inconsiderate of interaction between biological and non biological factors and over medicalizing disorders reduce peoples urgency and control

Psychodynamic approach

Focuses on emotional trauma

Techniques for psychodynamic approach

Free association (resistance and transference), catharsis, and working through

Short term psychodynamic therapy

Focus on single problem and client and therapist only work on that problem and relating issues

Relational psychodynamic therapy

Therapists attempt to create equal relationships with client and not as distant therapist role

Pros and cons of psychodynamic approach

Pros- systematically apply theory and techniques, potential for psychological treatments not just biological, and its a starting points for other psychological treatments

Cons- not fully researched to show effectiveness and often lengthy and expensive

Behavioural approach

Goal is to identify problem causing behaviours and replace them with healthy normal behaviours

Techniques for behavioural approach

Classical and operant conditioning and modelling

Pros and cons of behavioural approach

Pros- widely studied and supported and effective for many problems

Cons- improvements not always maintained and not effective for broad or vague disorders

Cognitive- Behavioural approach

Disorders caused by maladaptive thinking

Types of CBT

Ellis’s rational emotive behavioural therapy, Beck’s cognitive therapy, and second wave cognitive- behavioural therapies

Pros and cons of cognitive- behavioural approach

Pros- well supported by research and good at treating depression, anxiety disorders, and sexual dysfunction

Cons- role of cognition still unclear for some disorders and unclear interaction between cognitive and behavioural features

Humanistic and existential approach

Look inwards and evaluate and except themselves

Rogers client centred therapy

Use unconditional positive regard, accurate empathy, and genuineness

Pros an cons of humanistic and existential approach

Pros- emphasize aspects other areas miss in therapy and emphasize positive human qualities

Cons- difficult to research, little research done in the past

Formats of therapy

Individual, group, self help, family, couples and community therapy/treatment