PSYC-100: Chapter 15 - Psychological Disorders I: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

Psychological disorders

Prolonged experiences of psychological distress or poor psychological functioning that interfere with a person's everyday life

Medical model of psychological disorders

A framework for thinking about causes of, and treatments for, disorders

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

Reference book that comprehensively lists and classifies mental disorders, specifying diagnostic criteria

Comorbidity

The presence of symptoms of two or more disorders in any one individual

Psychological therapies (psychotherapies)

Interactions between a therapist and one or more clients in which therapists speak with, and may create novel behavioral experiences for, the clients

Biological therapies

Interventions that directly alter the biochemistry or anatomy of the nervous system

Drug therapies

In the treatment of psychological disorders, treatment with pharmaceuticals that alter the biochemistry of the brain to improve emotional state and thinking abilities

Psychotherapists

Professionals who provide psychological therapy

Psychoanalysis

The psychotherapy strategy originally developed by Sigmund Freud; a type of insight therapy

Insight therapy

A type of psychotherapy in which therapists help clients identify and understand the root causes of their psychological symptoms

Free association method

A method of both personality assessment and therapy devised by Freud in which psychologists encourage people to let their thoughts flow freely and say whatever comes to mind

Transference

A psychoanalytic process in which a patient unintentionally responds emotionally to a therapist as if the therapist were a significant figure from the patient's past, such as a parent

Behavior therapy

A therapy strategy grounded in research on learning, in which therapists aim to directly alter clients' patterns of behavior by teaching more adaptive ways of behaving

Token economy

A behavior therapy technique in which therapists reward desirable behavior with tokens that serve as reinforcers, making the behavior more likely to reoccur

Exposure therapy

A behavior therapy technique in which therapists combat the emotions of fear and anxiety by bringing clients into direct contact with an object or situation that arouses fear, while ensuring no harm occurs

Extinguishing (of emotion)

The reduction in emotional response that occurs when an anticipated emotionally arousing consequence does not occur

Systematic desensitization

An exposure therapy that reduces fear by exposing clients to feared objects in a slow, gradual manner

Cognitive therapy

A psychological therapy in which therapists try to improve the mental health by changing the way in which clients think, reducing negative, self-defeating thoughts

Irrational beliefs

Demanding, dogmatic thoughts that distort reality illogically and cause people to experience negative emotions

Beck's cognitive therapy

A therapy method for changing negative, irrational thoughts by increasing clients' awareness of automatic thoughts, challenging those thoughts, and suggesting positive alternative ones

Automatic thoughts

Thoughts that spring to mind rapidly and unintentionally

Humanistic therapy

A psychological therapy in which therapists provide clients with supportive interpersonal relationships; the quality of the relationship between therapist and client is key to the client's growth and change

Unconditional positive regard

A display of respect and acceptance toward others that is consistent and not dependent on their meeting behavioral requirements

Empathic understanding

In humanistic therapy, the therapist's understanding of the client's psychological life from the perspective of the client

Reflection

In psychotherapy, an active-listening technique in which the therapist recurringly summarizes statements made by the clients, 'reflecting' the content back to the client

Group therapy

Any type of psychological therapy in which a therapist meets with two or more clients together

Eclectic therapy (integrative psychotherapy)

Therapy that draws upon any therapeutic method available, with the therapist combining the methods of different therapy schools in designing an optimal approach for therapy in general or an individual client

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

Pharmaceuticals designed to alleviate depression by increasing serotonin activity through interference with the biochemical process known as reabsorption or reuptake

Blood-brain barrier

A set of biological mechanisms in the body's circulatory system that stops substances in the bloodstream from entering into the brain tissue

Psychoactive substances

Chemical substances that affect psychological processes of perception, thinking, or emotion

Placebo effect

In drug therapies, any medical benefit that is not caused by biologically active properties of the drug

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

A biological therapy for severe depression in which electric currents are delivered to the brain

Lobotomy

An outmoded surgical procedure for treating mental disorders in which a surgeon would damage brain tissue in the frontal cortex

Empirically supported therapies

Treatments whose effectiveness is established in carefully controlled experimental research

Double blind clinical outcome study

A research procedure to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy in which neither the research participants nor the researcher interacting with them knows the condition of the experiment to which the participants has been assigned

Depression

A family of psychological disorders that include feelings of sadness and hopelessness, fatigue, loss of interest in activities, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, and that continues for weeks

Major depressive disorder

A disorder in which individuals experience some of the following symptoms: depressed mood lasting at least two weeks, loss of interest in daily activities, changes in weight and sleep, fatigue, feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness, difficulty concentrating, and thoughts of suicide

Interpersonal therapy

A therapy approach in which therapists try to identify and change interpersonal problems contributing to clients' psychological distress, especially by reducing their social isolation

Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder)

A depressive disorder characterized by extreme variations in mood, from severe depression to mania

Mania

A period of abnormally high energy, arousal, and positive mood that can be accompanied by reckless behavior

Mood stabilizers

Drugs designed to influence neurotransmitters in the brain in a manner that calms and steadies the patient's swinging mood states, thus are a major form of treatment

Lithium

A mood-stabilizing drug that centrally includes the physical element lithium; the classic drug choice for treatment of bipolar disorder

Anticonvulsants

Drugs used to treat epileptic seizures, also reduce bipolar symptoms

Postpartum depression

A depressive disorder in which some women experience symptoms akin to major depression beginning within weeks of childbirth

Seasonal affective disorders

A depressive disorder in which individuals experience depressed moods during late summer and winter, periods when there is less sunlight

Anxiety

An agitated emotional state that includes feelings of apprehension about impending danger or misfortune

Anxiety disorders

Long-lasting psychological states involving strong and persistent feelings of anxiety that interfere with everyday life

Generalized anxiety disorder

A psychological disorder in which people experience high and persistent levels of tension, agitation, apprehension, and worry, even in absence of a current event that provokes the feelings of anxiety

Anti-anxiety drugs

Pharmaceuticals designed to alter brain functioning in a manner that reduces feelings of anxiety

Panic disorder

A psychological disorder in which people experience sudden bouts of intense terror and extreme psychological arousal

Panic attack

An episode of extreme fear, including high levels of physical arousal, that occurs suddenly and without apparent cause

Social anxiety disorder

A disorder characterized by extreme levels of anxiety and self-consciousness, specifically in situations involving people

Phobias

Strong, persistent fears caused by situations that pose little to no actual threat

Specific phobias

Fears directed toward particular objects or situations

Agoraphobia

Fear of being diverse in social situations outside one's home