week 19 - Psychopathology I

agoraphobia

A sort of anxiety disorder distinguished by feelings that a place is uncomfortable or may be unsafe because it is significantly open or crowded.

anxiety

A mood state characterized by negative affect, muscle tension, and physical arousal in which a person apprehensively anticipates future danger or misfortune.

biological vulnerability

A specific genetic and neurobiological factor that might predispose someone to develop anxiety disorders.

external cues

Stimuli in the outside world that serve as triggers for anxiety or as reminders of past traumatic events.

generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Excessive worry about everyday things that is at a level that is out of proportion to the specific causes of worry.

internal bodily or somatic cues

Physical sensations that serve as triggers for anxiety or as reminders of past traumatic events.

interoceptive avoidance

Avoidance of situations or activities that produce sensations of physical arousal similar to those occurring during a panic attack or intense fear response.

obsessive-compulsive disorder

A disorder characterized by the desire to engage in certain behaviors excessively or compulsively in hopes of reducing anxiety. Behaviors include things such as cleaning, repeatedly opening and closing doors, hoarding, and obsessing over certain thoughts.

panic disorder

A condition marked by regular strong panic attacks, and which may include significant levels of worry about future attacks.

posstraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A sense of intense fear, triggered by memories of a past traumatic event, that another traumatic event might occur. PTSD may include feelings of isolation and emotional numbing.

SAD performance only

Social anxiety disorder which is limited to certain situations that the sufferer perceives as requiring some type of performance.

SAD

A condition marked by acute fear of social situations which lead to worry and diminished day to day functioning.

thought-action fusion

The tendency to overestimate the relationship between a thought and an action, such that one mistakenly believes a “bad” thought is the equivalent of a “bad” action.

specific vulnerabilities

How our experiences lead us to focus and channel our anxiety.

Filomena has been seeing a therapist for two weeks. Based on the symptoms, Dr. Sharma believes that Filomena is suffering from generalized anxiety disorder. For how long will the symptoms need to have been present for this diagnosis to be appropriate?

• 2 weeks

  .

• 2 years

  .

• 6 months

  .

• 1 month

  .

• 1 year

6 months

Many children incorrectly believe that if they have angry wishes about a friend or relative, such wishes could amount to actual harm befalling that person. This overestimation of the relationship between one’s thoughts and actual actions is called thought-action ______.

• complexing

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• fusion

• correlation

  .

• linearity

  .

• reinforcement

fusion

animism

The belief that everyone and everything had a “soul” and that mental illness was due to animistic causes, for example, evil spirits controlling an individual and their behavior.

biopsychosocial model

A model in which the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors is seen as influencing the development of the individual.

cathartic method

A therapeutic procedure introduced by Breuer and developed further by Freud in the late 19th century whereby a patient gains insight and emotional relief from recalling and reliving traumatic events.

cultural relativism

The idea that cultural norms and values of a society can only be understood on their own terms or in their own context.

etiology

The causal description of all of the factors that contribute to the development of a disorder or illness.

humorism or humoralism

A belief held by ancient Greek and Roman physicians (and until the 19th century) that an excess or deficiency in any of the four bodily fluids, or humors—blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm—directly affected their health and temperament.

hysteria

Term used by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians to describe a disorder believed to be caused by a woman’s uterus wandering throughout the body and interfering with other organs (today referred to as conversion disorder, in which psychological problems are expressed in physical form).

maladaptive

Term referring to behaviors that cause people who have them physical or emotional harm, prevent them from functioning in daily life, and/or indicate that they have lost touch with reality and/or cannot control their thoughts and behavior (also called dysfunctional).

mesmerism

Derived from Franz Anton Mesmer in the late 18th century, an early version of hypnotism in which Mesmer claimed that hysterical symptoms could be treated through animal magnetism emanating from Mesmer’s body and permeating the universe (and later through magnets); later explained in terms of high suggestibility in individuals.

psychogenesis vs. somatogenesis

Psychogenesis

Developing from psychological origins.

Somatogenesis

Developing from physical/bodily origins.

traitement moral

A therapeutic regimen of improved nutrition, living conditions, and rewards for productive behavior that has been attributed to Philippe Pinel during the French Revolution, when he released mentally ill patients from their restraints and treated them with compassion and dignity rather than with contempt and denigration.

trephination

The drilling of a hole in the skull, presumably as a way of treating psychological disorders.

The Greek physician Galen was one of the first people to believe that mental illness could have a ______ cause such as stress, in addition to other bodily causes.

• epidemiological

  .

• psychogenic

  .

• social

  .

• somatogenic

  .

•  supernatural

psychogenic

what is the supernatural theory of mental illness?

– developing origins beyond the visible observable universe. used trephination as a cure. animism (– belief that everyone and everything has a “soul” and that mental illness was due to spirits controlling) is involved in this theoretical category.

what is the somatogenic theory of mental illness?

devdeloping from physical bodily origins. hysteria (“wandering” or a woman’s uterus) is an example of this. humorism is another (excess or deficiency in any four bodily fluids (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm) example. mesmerism was a common technique to treat it.

what is the psychogenic theory of mental illness origins?

– developing from psychological origins. Focus on traumatic/stressful experiences, maladaptive learned associations and cognitions, or distorted perceptions. Cathartic Method – therapeutic procedure whereby a patient gains insight and emotional relief from recalling and reliving traumatic events - was used to treat it.

what are the main criticisms of the current system for diagnosing mental illness?

• Current statistical manual based on clinical and research findings from Western culture

• Assumes that disordered behaviours do not differ in degree but in kind as opposed to representing them on a continuum

• Concern of increase in diagnosable disorders contributing to labeling and stigmatizing of mental health issues

triple vulnerabilities

a combination of biological, psychological, and specific factors that increase our risk for developing a disorder which interact and change the way we deal with the other vulnerabilities

what’s the criteria to diagnose GAD?

anxiety must occur for at least six months, must be ongoing, happening more days than not and good proportion of the day

what’s the criteria to diagnose panic disorder?

Must experience continued intense anxiety and avoidance related to the attack for at least one month, causing significant distress or interference

what are the four major subtypes of specific phobias?

blood-injury-infection, situational, natural environmental, animal

what’s the criteria to diagnose SAD?

Fear and anxiety associated with social situations must be so strong the person avoids them entirely or enduring them with great deal of duress

what’s the criteria to diagnose OCD?

person must experience obsessive thoughts and/or compulsions that seem irrational or nonsensical, but that keep coming into their mind which take up a significant amount of the person’s time and cause significant distress or impairment in functioning

what is the first line of effective treatment for anxiety and related disorders?

CBT - based on learning skills to aid in identification and change of problematic thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours that tend to worsen symptoms