AP REVIEW: Clinical Psychology

Agoraphobia

A morbid fear of open spaces (as fear of being caught alone in some public place)

Antisocial personality disorder

A mental health condition characterized by a pattern of disregard for the rights of others, lack of empathy, deceitfulness, impulsivity, and a history of conduct problems.

Anxiety disorders

Excessive worry, fear, or uneasiness causing distress or impairment in daily life. Includes panic disorder, phobias, and generalized anxiety disorder.

ADHD

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, often diagnosed in childhood and can persist into adulthood.

Bipolar disorder

A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. Was once known as Manic Depression.

Conversion disorder

A rare somatoform disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found.

compulsions

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rigid rules.

Delusions

False beliefs held despite evidence to the contrary, often seen in psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia. May involve paranoia or grandiosity.

Dissociative amnesia

A memory disorder characterized by the inability to recall important personal information, typically due to a traumatic or stressful event.

Dissociative disorders

Disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories.

Dissociative fugue

• Sudden memory loss

• Travel away from home

• Confusion about identity

• Often triggered by trauma

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities; formerly called multiple personality disorder

dopamine

Neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure, reward, and motivation. Involved in addiction, movement, and mood regulation. Imbalances linked to Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

DSM-V

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Generalized anxiety disorder

Excessive worry and anxiety about various aspects of life, persisting for at least 6 months. Symptoms include restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances.

Hallucinations

Perceptions of things that aren't present; sensory experiences without external stimuli, common in psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.

Illness anxiety disorder

Excessive preoccupation with having a serious illness despite medical reassurance. Manifests as frequent doctor visits and anxiety about health.

Major depressive disorder

A mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest in activities, impacting daily life and functioning.

Mood disorders

Mental health conditions characterized by persistent disturbances in a person's emotional state, such as depression or bipolar disorder

Negative symptoms

Refer to deficits in normal emotional responses or other functions, such as lack of motivation, social withdrawal, and reduced speech.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Condition characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) aimed at reducing anxiety or preventing harm.

obsessions

Persistent and intrusive thoughts, urges, or images that cause distress or anxiety. Often accompanied by compulsions to alleviate the discomfort.

Panic disorder

A type of anxiety disorder characterized by sudden and repeated episodes of intense fear that trigger severe physical reactions when there is no real danger present. May be triggered by the amygdala.

Personality disorders

Enduring patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience that deviate from cultural norms and cause distress or impairment.

phobia

An extreme or irrational fear of a specific object or situation, leading to avoidance behaviors and significant distress or impairment in daily life.

Positive symptoms

Behaviors or thoughts that are added to a person's mental state, such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking.

PTSD

A mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event causing flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety.

Nightmares

Vivid and disturbing dreams that can cause fear, anxiety, or distress during sleep, often leading to waking up feeling scared or unsettled.

Psychological disorder/Psychopathology

A pattern of thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that cause distress or impair daily functioning, often diagnosed based on specific criteria outlined in the DSM-5.

Schizophrenia

A chronic mental disorder characterized by distorted thinking, hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized behavior.

Somatoform disorders

Involve physical symptoms with no identifiable medical cause, leading to distress or impairment in daily life.

Seasonal affective disorder

Controversial disorder in which a person experiences depression during winter months and improved mood during spring. Can be treated using phototherapy.

Mania

Excessive excitement, energy, and irritability characterize this mood disorder. It often involves risky behaviors and reduced need for sleep.

Flat affect

• Lack of emotional expression

• Facial expressions and tone are minimal

• Common in schizophrenia

• Affects communication and social interactions

Paranoia

Excessive fear or worry about being harmed or deceived by others, leading to irrational thoughts and behavior.

Irrationality

Not based on reason or logic; lacking coherence or sound judgment.

Unpredictability

Abnormal indicator involving erratic and inconsistent behaviors.

Unconventional Behavior

Actions or conduct that deviate from social norms or expectations, often considered unusual or eccentric.

Psychological disorders

Are deviant, distressful, dysfunctional, peravise, and persistent.

Bipsychosocial Approach

An integrative model in psychology that considers biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding behavior and health.

Deviant

Behavior that significantly differs from societal norms or expectations. It may be considered abnormal or unacceptable in a particular culture.

Dysfunctional

Interfere with day-to-day life.

Distressful

Causes anxiety and mental pain

Peravise

Spreads to all parts of life—social, work, family.

Persistent

Constantly repeats or continues.

Neurotic disorders

• A group of mental health conditions

• Characterized by distress but intact reality testing

• Include anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder

Psychotic disorders

Mental illnesses characterized by a disconnection from reality, including hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking.

Psychogenic Amnesia

• A person cannot remember things with no physiological basis for the disruption in memory.

• Retrograde Amnesia

• NOT organic amnesia.

• Organic amnesia can be retrograde or antrograde.

Dependent personality disorder

Characterized by an excessive need to be taken care of, leading to submissive and clingy behavior. Individuals may have difficulty making decisions without reassurance from others.

Histronic personality disorder

A personality disorder characterized by attention-seeking behavior, excessive emotionality, and the need for constant reassurance and approval from others.

Disorganized Schizophrenia

Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion.

Paranoid Schizophrenia

Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations. 

Catatonic Schizophrenia

A subtype of schizophrenia characterized by motor disturbances, such as stupor, rigidity, and repetitive movements or postures. Parrot like repeating of another’s speech and movements 

Psychanalytic therapy

Viewing disorders as the consequences of unconscious conflicts. It’s not enough to address symptoms - a new symptom will simply take its place (symptom substitution). The only cure is through analysis of the unconscious mind.  

• Transference

• Eclectic approach

• Manifest & Latent content

Humanistic therapy

Focus on helping people to understand and accept themselves and strive to self-actualize by reaching their highest potential.

• Client-centered therapy

• Active listening

• Unconditional positive regard

• Non-directed (therapists don’t talk a lot)

Behavioral therapy

Use learning principles (classical conditioning, operant conditioning, modeling) to modify behavior.

• Counterconditioning

• Aversive Conditioning

• Systematic desensitization

• Flooding

• Modeling

• Exposure therapy

Cognitive therapy

A type of psychotherapy that helps individuals identify and change negative thought patterns and behaviors contributing to their emotional distress or mental health issues.

• Distorted thinking

• Catch, check, change

Cognitive-Behavioral therapy

Albert Ellis’s approach in which the therapist exposes and confronts client’s dysfunctional thoughts with the goal of showing the client that their fears/anxieties are unlikely and/or not a big deal. Also focuses on behaviors, such as having client do activities they are uncomfortable with in order to demonstrate that terrible outcomes do not actually occur.

• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

Biomedical (Biological) therapy

Views the cause of psychological disorders as issues within the body. This could include imbalances of neurotransmitters or hormones; structural abnormalities in parts of the brain; or genetic predispositions.

• Somatic therapies

Somatic therapies

Involve integrating the mind and body to address psychological issues through physical techniques like movement, touch, and breathwork.

• Electroconvolsive therapy ( ECT) - “Shock therapy”