abnormal psych lecture 1

psychological dysfunction

• a breakdown in cognitive, emotional or behavioral functioning

• spectrum or continuum of dysfunction

abnormal behavior/atypical responses

• responses that are not typically given or culturally expected for a given situation

• deviations froms the ‘average’

distress or impairment

• the individual is generally but not always concerned and upset

• struggle to perform daily activities

psychopathology

• the study of psychological dysfunction or disorders

Ph. D

psychologist trained specifically in research

Psy. D

psychologist trained specifically in treatment and assessment

M.D.

psychiatrist trained in medical school to prescribe medication

social workers

trained in providing resources and treating patients in the context of their personal system

therapist and counselors

trained in providing direct client treatment under supervision

DSM 5

• diagnostic and statistical manual

• outline all criteria for mental health diagnoses and disorders

• includes prototypes and typical profiles for each

• most recent edition (5th) introduced a dimensional element of the severity of disorders

• consistently updated and revised to reflect research in the field

presenting problem

• used to describe client before discovering diagnosis

• symptoms

• description to distinguish clinically significant dysfunction from common human experience

prevalance

• percentage of people in a population with a disorder

incidence

• onset or occurence of a disorder over a specific period of time

course

• episodic, time-limited, or chronic

prognosis

• the anticipated course of a disorder

etiology

• the study of origins

• biological

• psychological

• social

pharmacological treatment

medication and management

psychological treatment

counseling, support groups, etc.

historical conceptions of psychopathology

• major psychological disorders have existed across time and cultures

• perceived causes and treatment of abnormal behavior has varied widely, usually dependent on the dominant theory at the time

• most theories have fallen into one of these three categories or models

• 1.) supernatural

• 2.) biological

• 3.) psychological

the supernatural model

• for much of history, abnormal or “deviant” behavior has been seen as the result of the battle between good and evil

• believed to be caused by demonic possession, witchcraft, or sorcery

• treatment included exorcisms, torture, and religious rituals in hopes of relieving the individual of evil spirits or powers

• collective behavior - abnormal or bizarre behavior on a large scale

• described as an emotional contagion or mob psychology

• mass hysteria not easily explained

influence of spce

• suggestion of mental health problems being affected by moon and or starts

the biological model

• hippocrates suggested that mental disorders were physical disease

• linked abnormality with brain chemical imbalances

• foreshadowed modern views

humoral theory

• human function is related to four key bodily fluids

• blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile

• treated by attempted to balance the humors (temperature control, blood - letting, vomiting, etc.)

late-stage syphilis discovery (1800’s)

• psychological symptoms linked to a specific bacterial infection

• bolstered the view that mental illness can equate to physical illnesse

John P. Grey

• suggested causes of insanity were aways physical

• championed biological theory in the United States

• led to reforms in psychiatric treatment hospitals

developments of biological treatments

• insulin shock therapy / electric shock therapy

• effects of new drugs sometimes discovered by accident

• medication advances

• - neuroleptics as antipsychotics

• - benzodiazepines as minor tranquilizers

• - bromides as sedating drugs

consequences of the biological model

• increased hospitalization

• increased need for mental health professionals

• improved diagnoses and classification

the psychological theory

• considers interpersonal and cultural factors

• focus on brain pathology before neuroscience

• plato and Aristotle theorized about the importance of dreams and rational discussion as a precursor to modern psychosocial treatment

• significant influx of patients led to poor treatment conditions over the years following moral therapy and mental hygiene movement

• deinstitutionalization movement led by kennedy

moral therapy

• treated institutionalized patients as normally as possible

• humane and reformed, greatly improved care given at asylums

• Benjamin Rush introduced this concept to the US in PA

Mental Hygiene Movement

• Dorothea Dix pioneered treatment for all mentally ill clients

• some of her influence is still felt today in the field

deinstitutionalization consequences

• major social shift to close hospitals in favor of community-based mental health programs in recent years

• inadequate funding

• increased homelessness rates

• mass incarceration

• currently still working to improve mental health treatment to the general public even today

major psychological theorist

• psychoanalytic theory - freud

• humanistic theory - rogers

• cognitive behavioral theories - Pavlov, Watson, Skinner

psychoanalytic theory

• structure of the mind - ID, EGO, SUPEREGO

• defense mechanisms

• psychosexual stages of development - conflicts arise at each stage and must be resolved

• free association

• dream analysis

• transference

• led to psychodynamic therapy

ego psychology - Anna Freud

• how ego determines behavior

self-psychology - Kohut

• formation of self concept and crucial aspects of self that determine progress towards health and or neurosis

collective unconscious

jung

inferiority complex

Adler

humanistic theory

• hierarchy of needs - Maslow

• most basic physical needs must be met before being able to progress towards healing

• self actualization

• emphasis on unconditional positive regard, empathy, and an innate ability to grow

• led to current day person centered therapy

classical conditioning (Pavlov)

• learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with a response

• conditioned to have that response with subsequent exposure

behaviorism (Watson and Wolpe)

• belief that behavior can be studied and controlled to alter mental health

• systematic desensitization as exposure therapy

operant conditioning (skinner)

• learning in which behavior changes as a function of what follows the behavior

• positive and negative reinforcement