unit 8 - clinical psychology

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Experience excessive anxiety under most circumstances and worry about practically anything (anxiety has no definite trigger)

Phobias

Intense, irrational fear responses to specific stimuli (people with phobia go to great lengths to avoid it)

Agoraphobia

fear of places or situations where a quick escape would be difficult

Social Anxiety Disorder

an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

person is overwhelmed with both obsessions and compulsion

Compulsions

ritualistic behaviors performed repeatedly

Obsessions

persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts that an individual cannot get out of his or her mind

Panic Disorder

Anxiety disorder marked by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks (attacks of anxiety, severe chest pain, choking, sweating, can last for a few minutes)

PTSD

Result of some trauma experienced by the victim. Victims re-experience the traumatic event in nightmares about the event, or flashbacks in which they relieve the event

Major Depression Disorder

Involves intense depressed mood, reduced interest or pleasure in activities, loss of energy, and problems in making decisions for a minimum of 2 weeks

Bipolar Disorder

Mood swings alternating between periods of major depression and mania (rapid cycling of short mania followed by deep pression)

Somatic Disorders

an extreme focus on physical symptoms — such as pain or fatigue — that causes major emotional distress and problems functioning

Somatization Disorder

Characterized by physical symptoms including pain, and high anxiety in these individuals about having a disease

Conversion Disorder

a condition in which a person experiences physical and sensory problems, such as paralysis, numbness, blindness, deafness or seizures, with no underlying neurologic pathology

Schizophrenia

Psychotic disorder in which personal, social, and occupational functioning deteriorate as a result of unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, and motor abnormalities

Positive Symptoms

Characteristics of schizophrenia that are added to a person’s personality - hallucinations, inappropriate emotions, delusions

Negative Symptoms

Characteristics taken away from a person’s personality; things that the individual does not do ( flattened effect, reduced speech, lack of initiative

Delusions of Reference

Believing that hidden messages are being sent to you via newspaper, TV, radio, or magazines

Delusions of Grandeur

Believing you are someone very powerful or important, have special abilities, possessions, or powers

Catatonia

A pattern of extreme psychomotor symptoms which may include catatonic stupor, rigidity, or posturing (stupor - motionless and silent and not responding to environment, rigidity - upright posture and resist efforts to be moved, posturing - awkward bizarre positions)

Hallucinations

Perceiving a sensory stimuli that no one else is able to perceive, vividly real to the person experiencing it, content is usually negative (hearing voices, seeing, tasting, smelling etc things that are not there)

Flat Affect

Withholding of emotions and exhibiting diminished emotional expression (eye contact is poor and voice is monotonous)

Dissociative Disorders

sudden loss or memory (amnesia) or change in identity (if stressed, can experience separation of conscious awareness)

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Rare mental disorder characterized by at least two distinct and relatively enduring identities or dissociated personality states that recurrently control a person’s behavior (common in people who were sexually abused)

Dissociative Amnesia /Fugue

Loss of memory for a traumatic event or period of time that is too painful for an individual to remember (Extreme version is dissociative fugue (forget about personal identities and details of past lives, flee to new location))

Anorexia Nervosa

eating disorder that involves intense fear of weight gain or becoming overweight, distorted perception of one’s weight/body shape, persistent restriction of caloric intake

Bulimia

Recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors for the intake of food, such as purging (eating a bunch, and throiwng up or not eating at all after and it cycles)

Autism

Disorder marked by extreme unresponsiveness to others, severe communication deficits, and highly repetitive and rigid behaviors, interests, and activities

ADHD

Disorder marked by the inability to focus attention, or overactive and impulsive behavior, or both (can’t control impulsive behavior)

Personality Disorders

Longstanding, maladaptive thought and behavior patterns that are troublesome to others, harmful, or illegal

Cluster A- Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypal

Accusatory: Pattern of distrust and suspiciousness about other people’s motives, individual thinks that others are out to threaten, betray, exploit, or harm

Aloof: Characterized by persistent avoidance of social relationships and little expression of emotion

Awkward: Characterized by extreme discomfort in close relationships, very odd patterns of thinking and perceiving, and behavioral eccentricities 

Cluster B- Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic

Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD): Characterized by a general pattern of disregard for and violation of other people’s rights (closely linked to criminal behavior)

Borderline Personality Disorder: Characterized by repeated instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and mood and by impulsive behavior

Histrionic Personality Disorder: Characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality (dramatic) and attention-seeking

Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Characterized by a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy 

Cluster C- Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive

Avoidant Personality Disorder: Characterized by consistent discomfort and restraint in social situations, overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, and extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation/potential rejection, humiliation

Dependent Personality Disorder: Characterized by a pattern of clinging and obedience, fear of separation, and an ongoing need to be taken care of 

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder: Characterized by an intense focus on orderliness, perfectionism, and control that the person loses flexibility, openness, and efficiency 

Psychodynamic Therapy

focuses on exploring unconscious conflicts and past experiences to gain insight into current behavior

Free Association

The client spontaneously reports thoughts, feelings, and mental images that come to mind (no censorship)

Dream interpretation

According to psychodynamic theory, dreams can reveal elements of the unconscious mind (the latent content)

Projective Tests

the Rorschach inkblot test or TAT can help reveal unconscious thoughts

Hypnosis

Can sometimes reveal repressed memories from past experiences

Behavioral Therapy

focuses on modifying behavior through techniques

Systematic Desensitization

A client makes a list of fears and then learns to relax while concentrating on these fears (step 1: think about the spider, step 2: look at a photo of a spider, step 3: bring spider into the room)

Flooding

Exposing people to fear-invoking objects or situations intensely and rapidly (bring spider straight in)

Aversion Therapy

Pairing an undesirable behavior with an aversive stimulus in the hope that the unwanted behavior will eventually be reduced (Antabuse is used to discourage the use of alcohol when paired with alcohol can cause extreme nausea)

Token Economy

Behavioral strategy relies on reinforcement to modify behavior. Clients are allowed to earn tokens that can be exchanged for special privileges or desired items (good behavior equals stickers to get a prize)

Cognitive Therapy

Focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and cognitive distortions to improve mood and behavior.

REBT (Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy)

Restructuring, bringing the client's attention to the unrealistic thoughts (telling them what a rational belief is in their situation)

Humanistic Therapy

Focuses on promoting self-awareness, self-acceptance, and personal growth

Person-Centered Psychotherapy (Carl Rogers)

Unconditional Positive Regard, empathy, genuineness

Unconditional Positive Regard

acceptance and positivity no matter what

Biomedical Therapy

medication and/or medical procedures to treat psychological disorders

Anti-Anxiety Medication for Anxiety

lowering sympathetic nervous activity in the brain

Examples: Xanax, Valium

Antidepressants for Depression

Elevate mood by affecting neurotransmitters such as serotonin & norepinephrine that are linked to depression

SSRI - blocks the reuptake of serotonin

Examples: Prozac, Zoloft

Mood Stabilizing Drugs for Bipolar/Mania

treat the combination of manic episodes and depression characteristic of bipolar disorder because they reduce dramatic mood swings

Example: Lithium

Stimulants for ADHD

increasing levels of certain chemicals (neurotransmitters) in your brain called dopamine and norepinephrine

Examples: Adderall, Ritalin

Antipsychotics for Schizophrenia

diminish or eliminate positive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations, delusions, and other symptoms of schizophrenia

Examples: Thorazine

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A biological treatment in which a brain seizure is triggered as an electric current passes through electrodes attached to the patient’s forehead (used to treat bipolar disorder and catatonia)