Psychological Disorders Flashcards

Flashcards for reviewing key vocabulary related to psychological disorders.

Psychopathology

The study of psychological disorders, including their symptoms, etiology (i.e., their causes), and treatment.

Psychological Disorder

A condition characterized by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Dysfunction

A breakdown in cognition, emotion, and/or behavior.

Distress

Suffering which can take the form of psychological or physical pain, or both at the same time.

Deviance

Behavior that violates social norms or cultural expectations.

Dangerousness

A threat to self or others.

Impairment

The extent to which the disabling condition is limiting the ability to engage in activities of daily living.

Psychiatry and clinical psychology

Specializations within professional medicine and psychology, respectively, that address psychological disorders.

Etiology

initial cause and/or maintaining conditions.

Prognosis

Course of the disorder in the absence of treatment.

Syndrome

Collection of symptoms occurring together.

DSM Purposes

Designed to determine nature of the client’s problems.

DSM-5

Classification of mental disorders and criteria for diagnosis.

Categorical Approach

Identifies each disorder based on the presence of a fixed set of symptoms.

Dimensional Approach

Perceiving the disorder along a subjective continuum ranging from little/no impairment to extreme/severe impairment.

Racialized

Term used to call out that race is socially constructed.

Ethnoracial

Term used to refer to categories like Hispanic, White, and African American.

Latinx

Term used instead of Latino/Latina for gender inclusivity.

Substance Use Disorders (DSM-5)

The DSM-5 has eleven criteria, or symptoms, for substance use disorders representing the combination of the former DSM-IV diagnoses of substance dependence and substance abuse.

Addiction

In the DSM-5, the term is synonymous with the classification of severe substance-use disorder.

Major Depressive Disorder

Five (or more) symptoms that have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning.

Persistent Depressive Disorder (aka, Dysthymic Disorder)

Depressed mood for most of the day, for more days than not, with the presence, while depressed, of two (or more) of the following, for at least 2 years

Biological Perspective

Genetics, neuro-function, biochemistry, evolution.

Behavioral Perspective

Learned consequences from the environment.

Sociocultural Perspective

Social situations and cultures & influences on thinking and behavior.

Cognitive Perspective

Mental processes, perceptions, thinking, memory, & judgments.

Humanistic Perspective

Free-will, self-concept, & motives for self-actualization.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Unconscious thoughts & conflicts from early childhood.

Psychotropic Medications

Medications used to treat psychological disorders that treat the symptoms of psychological disorders but do not cure the disorder.

Antipsychotics

Treat positive psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia by blocking dopamine.

Atypical Antipsychotics

Treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia such as withdrawal and apathy, by targeting both dopamine and serotonin receptors.

Antidepressants

Alter levels of serotonin and norepinephrine to treat depression and anxiety.

Anti-anxiety agents

Depress central nervous system activation to treat Anxiety, OCD, PTSD, panic disorder and social phobia.

Mood stabilizers

Treat episodes of mania as well as depression for Bipolar disorder.

Stimulants

Improves ability to focus on a task and maintain attention for ADHD.

Electroconvulsive therapy

Induces seizures to help alleviate severe depression.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Magnetic fields stimulate nerve cells to improve depression symptom.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy

Talk therapy based on belief that the unconscious and childhood conflicts impact behavior.

Play therapy

Psychodynamic therapy wherein interaction with toys is used instead of talk, used in child therapy.

Behavior therapy

Principles of learning applied to change undesirable behaviors.

Cognitive therapy

Awareness of cognitive process helps patients eliminate thought patterns that lead to distress.

Psychoanalysis

First form of psychotherapy, developed by Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century, that aimed to help uncover repressed feelings.

Free association

Patient relaxes and then says whatever comes to mind at the moment.

Dream analysis

Therapist interprets the underlying meaning of dreams.

Transference

Patient transfers all the positive or negative emotions associated with their other relationships to the psychoanalyst.

Rogerian/Client-centered Therapy

Non-directive therapy – therapist does not give advice or provide interpretations but helps client identify conflicts and understand feelings.

Active listening

Therapist acknowledges, restates, and clarifies what the client expresses.

Unconditional positive regard

Therapist does not judge clients and simply accepts them for who they are.

Counterconditioning

Client learns a new response to a stimulus that has previously elicited an undesirable behavior.

Aversive conditioning

Uses an unpleasant stimulus to stop an undesirable behavior.

Exposure Therapy

Seeks to change the response to a conditioned stimulus.

Systematic desensitization

Type of exposure therapy wherein a calm and pleasant state is gradually associated with increasing levels of anxiety-inducing stimuli.

Virtual reality exposure therapy

Uses a stimulation to help conquer fears when it’s too impractical, expensive or embarrassing to recreate anxiety-inducing situations.

Applied behavior analysis

Operant conditioning technique designed to reinforce positive behaviors and punish unwanted behaviors.

Token economy

Individuals are reinforced for desired behaviors with tokens (e.g., a poker chip), that can be exchanged for items or privileges.

Cognitive therapy

Based on the idea that how you think determines how you feel and act - cognitive therapy focuses on how thoughts lead to feelings of distress.

Overgeneralizing

Taking a small situation and making it huge.

Polarized (“black & white”) thinking

Seeing things in absolutes, ”I am either perfect, or a failure”.

Jumping to conclusions

Assuming that people are thinking negatively about you or reacting negatively to you, without evidence.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors reinforce each other and that changing our thoughts or behavior can make us feel better.

ABC Model

The Action – activating event, Belief about the event, Consequences of the belief, and Dispute – Counter-thought model.

Cultural competence

Mental health professionals must understand and address issues of race, culture, and ethnicity and use strategies to effectively address needs of various populations.

Multicultural counseling and therapy

Integrates the impact of cultural and social norms.

Confidentiality

The therapist cannot disclose confidential communications to any third party unless mandated or permitted to do so by law.

Psycho-educational groups

Groups with a strong educational component.

Couples Therapy

Relationship therapy that aims to help resolve problems and implement strategies that will lead to a healthier and happier relationship.

Family Therapy

Aims to enhance growth of each family member as well as that of the family as a whole.

Systems approach

Family is viewed as an organized system, and each individual is a contributing member who creates and maintains processes within the system that shape behavior.

Structural family therapy

Examines and discusses the boundaries and structure of the family.

Strategic family therapy

Aims to address specific problems within the family that can be dealt with in a short amount of time.