Studied by 7 people
Psychology student syndrome
Psychology students studying abnormal behavior can also become convinced that they have some mental disorder
Also you, as a psychology major, try to use what you have learned in class “diagnose someone of a psychological condition without full knowledge or proper certification
Abnormal psychology
The scientific study of abnormal behavior undertaken to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning
Defining what is normal and abnormal is a subject of much debate
Clinical psychology
The applied field of psychology that seeks to assess, understand and treat psychological conditions in clinical practice
Psychologist-can prescribe meds, identify disorders, generally works inside hospitals
Psychiatrist-can’t prescribe meds, supports people through psychotherapy
psychopathology
Scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences
Etiology- cause of disease
Deviant
Abnormal behavior, thoughts and emotions that differ markedly from a society’s ideas about proper functioning
Different,extreme, unusual, perhaps even bizarre.
Distress
The person reports feeling pain and discomfort associated with his or her emotions, thoughts or behaviors
Dysfunctional
Interfering with the ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way
People cannot care for themselves properly, participate in ordinary social interactions or work productively.
Dangerous
Abnormal behavior becomes dangerous to oneself or others
Individuals behavior is consistently careless, hostile or confused may be placing themselves or those around them at risk
This is the exception rather than the rule
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5)
Manual that lists 541 diagnoses most widely used classification system
DSM-Published by american psychiatric Association in 2013, continues to change and evolve
Production was a 12 year undertaking it cost the APA 25 million to produce
Diagnostic Labels
Help health care professionals when communicating about establishing and causes
Formal diagnosis
David Rosenhan
David Rosenhan (1973), once labeled, the label itself can determine not only how professionals perceive and react to a person but also how the labeled persons themselves will begin to act differently
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Different
Insanity
Legal term pertaining to a defendants ability to determine ability to determine right from wrong when a crime is committed
Concept discussed in court to help distinguish guilt from innocence
There’s not “insane” diagnosis listed in the DSM
Model
Set of assumptions and concepts that help scientists explain and interpret observations (synonym-paradigm)
Today several models are used to explain and treat abnormal functioning
Biological Model
Psychodynamic Model
Behavioral Model
Cognitive Model
Eclectic Model
Medical/Biological Models
View abnormal behavior as an illness brought about by the malfunctions parts of the organism, believe that the most effective treatments are biological ones
Genetics, evolution and viral infections can explain biological abnormalities
Psychodynamic Model
Believe that a person’s behavior, whether normal or abnormal, is determined largely by underlying psychological forces of which he or she is not consciously aware
The forces interact with one another, abnormal symptoms are result of conflict between the forces
Conscious vs unconscious awareness
Behavioral Model
Believe that our actions are determined largely by our experiences in life
Stimulus, response and rewards influence abnormal behavior
15% of today’s clinical psychologists report that their approach is mainly behavioral
Cognitive model
Cognitive processes are at the center of behaviors, thoughts, and emotions
Abnormal behavior is caused by faulty and irrational cognitions
Individuals can overcome mental disorders by learning to use more appropriate cognitions
Eclectic Model
Broad-based approach, trusting a combination of established approaches to diagnoses and treat individuals with psychological disorders
Most mental health professionals today do not rely exclusively on one approach
Stigma
The societal disapproval and judgement of a person with mental illness because they do not fit their community’s social norms
Effects of stigma
Refusal to receive treatment, stigma deters people from seeking help
Social isolation, fear of “bringing them down” or “being a burden.”
Distorted perception of the incidence of mental illness, leads to fewer diagnoses and fewer people getting help, mental illness seems far less common than it actually is
History of diagnoses
Throughout time, societies have proposed several explanations of abnormal behavior within human beings and treatment
Supernatural (Demons/Evil)
Biological (Medical Factors)
Psychological (Thoughts)
Multiple Causality/Factors
Trephining(ancient times)
Holes are drilled into a living person’s skull in order to release demonic spirits thought to be causing the persons disordered behaviors
Human skulls from as far back as five thousand years ago show treatment of trepanning
Most people treated in this manner died
Hippocrates, Ancient Greek Physician 500 B.C.
Believed that abnormal behavior was a disease.arising from internal physical problems(imbalance of four fluids or Humors)
First recorded attempt to explain abnormal behavior as due to some biological process
Asylums
A type of institution that first became popular in the sixteenth century to provide care for persons with mental disorders
ONce the asylums started to overflow, they became virtual prisons where patients were held in filthy conditions and treated with unspeakable cruelty
Philippe pinel
In the late 1700s, French physician, argued for more human treatment of the mentally ill, brought reform in the way mental institutions would be run
Patients should be treated with sympathy and kindness rather than chains and beatings, Pinel unchained patients
Death rates for patients went from 60% to 10%
Dorothea dix
School teacher who made humane care a public and political concern in the united states from 1841 to 1881
Dix’s campaign led to new laws and greater government funding to improve the treatment of people with mental disorders
Each state was responsible to develop mental hospitals or state hospitals
Psychopharmacologic revolution
Effective drugs for conditions like schizophrenia and depression were found in the 1950s by accident
The antipsychotic chlorpromazine was first investigated as a drug that reduces allergies (sedative effects). Henri Laborit use it for patients going into surgery and encouraged psychiatrists use it for psychosis
Deinstitutionalization
When better psychotropic drugs were created this movement began to remove patients who were not considered a threat to themselves or the community from metal hospitals
Patients improve rapidly in familiar community settings
In the 1960s Congress passed aid bills to establish community mental health facilities in neighborhoods in the U.S.
Unintended consequences distinutionalization
A large portion of the homeless population is considered to be mentally ill. Statistics show that 26% of homeless adults living in shelters experience mental illness (the % of those with mental illness that don’t live in a shelter or choose not to report is believed to be over 50%+)
Families and communities have failed to meet the needs of these people
Preventing disorders and promoting mental health
Rather than wait for psychological disorders to occur, many of today’s community programs try to deter mental disorders before they can develop
Programs have grown in number with limited funding
Mental Health Services
Medical doctors, pediatricians, nurse practitioners and neurologists
Psychiatrists
Licensed social workers/ social workers
Counselors and therapists
Peer support providers or specialists
ANXIETY & MOOD DISORDERS
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is the primary symptom or the primary cause of other symptoms for all anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder in the United States (19 million adults)
People with one anxiety disorder usually experience another as well
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Experience excessive anxiety under most circumstances and worry about practically anything
Feeling of “free-floating anxiety”
The anxiety has no definite trigger or starting point, they experience little relief
Panic Disorder
Anxiety disorder marked by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks
Attacks of intense anxiety along with severe chest pain, tightness of muscles, choking, sweating, other acute symptoms during
Symptoms can last a few minutes to a couple of hours (have no trigger)
Specific Phobia
Intense, irrational fear responses to specific stimuli
Some people with a specific phobia may go to great lengths to avoid the phobic stimulus
When confronted with the object of their phobia, a person will generally enter a state of panic
Agoraphobia
Afraid to be in public situations from which escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like or embarrassing symptoms were to occur
Panic attacks in public places
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Compound disorder of thought and behavior
Obsessions are persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts that an individual cannot get out of his or her mind
Compulsions are ritualistic behaviors performed repeatedly
Hoarding disorder
characterized by persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions due to a perceived need to save the items and distress parting with them
post traumatic stress disorder
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
Bipolar Disorder
Mood swings alternating between periods of. major depression and mania
Rapid cycling is usually short periods of mania followed almost immediately by deep pression, usually for longer duration
Major depressive disorders
Involves intense depressed mood, reduced interest or pleasure in activities, loss of energy, and problems in making decisions for a minimum of 2 weeks
Psychotherapy
General term that is used to describe the process of treating psychological disorders and mental distress by the us of verbal and psychological techniques
One of the major criticisms leveled against psychotherapy is one that calls into question its effectiveness
Confidentiality & The Law
Psychotherapists and psychiatrists are required by law to protect the confidentiality of their clients
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), sets limits on the way patient or client information can be shared
Therapists can break confidentiality when people are a threat to themselves or others (also court orders)
Behavior Therapy
Goal is to extinguish unwanted behavior and replace it with more adaptive behavior
Abnormal behavior is a result of maladaptive behavior learned through faulty rewards and punishment
Therapies based on learning principles of classical conditioning, operant condition, and observational or social learning theory
Exposure Treatments
Behavioral treatments in which persons are exposed to the objects or situations they dread
Systematic Desensitization
Developed by Joseph Wolpe, reconditioning so that the crucial conditioned stimulus elicits the new conditioned response
Client learns to practice deep relaxation
Client creates hierarchy of anxieties (lowest to highest stimulus)
Led by therapist, client is introduced to the least feared object during deep relaxation then next, etc.
Flooding
Client is fully exposed to the anxiety-producing stimulus in a harmless and controlled situation from which he or she cannot escape in which extinction is achieved
Classical conditioning treatment for phobias and other anxiety disorders
Aversion Therapy
Trains the client to associate physical or psychological discomfort with behaviors, thoughts or situations he or she wants to stop or avoid
Unpleasant consequence will eventually stop the behavior
Aversion therapy & flooding could be harmful if done carelessly
Behavior Modification
The client selects a goal and with each step toward it, receives a small reward until the intended goal is finally achieved
Token Economy
Positive behaviors are rewarded with secondary reinforcers (tokens, points, etc.) which can eventually be exchanged for extrinsic rewards
Often used to encourage socially acceptable behaviors and to discourage socially unacceptable ones
Social Skills Training
Behavior therapy to improve interpersonal skills by using modeling, behavioral rehearsal, and shaping
With modeling, the client is encouraged to observe socially skilled people in order to learn appropriate behaviors
Biofeedback
Provides feedback, or information about our biological reaction to the environment
Involves giving the individual immediate information about the degree to which he or she is able to change anxiety-related responses such as heart rate, muscle tension, etc. to improve control of physiological process
Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
Developed in 1950s by Albert Ellis, psychological problems arise when thoughts are irrational and lead to behavioral consequences that are distressful
(ABS of Treatment) Help client confront irrational thoughts by discussing his or her actions, his or her beliefs about those actions, and consequences of those beliefs
Aaron Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
Researched by Aaron Beck, concluded that the symptoms of depression grew as a result of cognitive dysfunctions
Cognitive Therapy to alleviate faulty and negative thoughts
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists
Abnormal behavior is the result of faulty thought patterns
Cognitive restructuring, is turning the faulty, disordered thoughts into more realistic thoughts, client may change abnormal behavior
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Disorder marked by extreme unresponsiveness to others, severe communication deficits, and highly repetitive and rigid behaviors, interests, and activities
Intellectual Disability (ID)
Disorder marked by intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that are well below average
Previously called mental retardation
Low IQ score of 70 or below
Neurocognitive Disorders
Group of disorders in which the primary problem is in cognitive function, impairments in cognitive abilities such as memory, problem solving, and perception
Delirium
A rapidly developing, acute disturbance in attention, and orientation that makes it very difficult to concentrate and think in a clear and organized manner
Common in elderly people, state of massive confusion
Alzheimer’s Disease
Fatal degenerative disease in which brain neurons progressively die, characterized by loss of memory, reasoning, emotion, and control of bodily functions
Alzheimer’s strikes 3 percent of the world’s population by age 75
Personality Disorders
Longstanding, maladaptive thought and behavior patterns that are troublesome to others, harmful, or illegal
Impair people’s social functioning, individuals do not experience anxiety, depression, or delusions
Personality disorders
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Pattern of distrust and suspiciousness about other people’s motives, and usually those motives are considered malevolent
Overly sensitive; often envious (more common in males)
Schizoid Personality Disorder
Characterized by persistent avoidance of social relationships and little expression of emotion
Genuinely prefer to be alone, no effort to start of keep relationships
Withdrawn behavior, considered “cold” (more common in males)
Personality disorder
Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD):
Characterized by a general pattern of disregard for and violation of other people’s rights (closely linked to criminal behavior)
Used to be called sociopaths or psychopaths
Violate other people’s rights without guilt or remorse
Manipulative, exploitive, self-indulgent, irresponsible (more common in males)
Borderline Personality Disorder
Characterized by repeated instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and mood and by impulsive behavior
Unpredictable and prone to boredom (more common in females) extreme mood swings, trouble controlling their emotions, self-destructive behavior
Always in conflict with the world around them, suicidal threats and actions are also common
Borderline Personality Disorder
Characterized by repeated instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and mood and by impulsive behavior
Unpredictable and prone to boredom (more common in females) extreme mood swings, trouble controlling their emotions, self-destructive behavior
Always in conflict with the world around them, suicidal threats and actions are also common
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality (dramatic) and attention seeking
Tend to overreact and be egocentric (more common in females)
Exaggerate physical illnesses, depth of their relationships
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Characterized by a proad pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy
Unrealistically self-important, manipulative, can’t take criticism, expects special treatment (more common in males)
Personality disorder
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Characterized by consistent discomfort and restraint in social situations, overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, and extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation/potential rejection, humanilitation
Dependent Personality Disorder
Characterized by a pattern of clinging and obedience, fear of separation, and an ongoing need to be taken care of
Excessively lacking in self-confidence, subordinates own needs and allows others to make all decisions (more common in females)
Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
Characterized by an intense focus on orderliness, perfectionism, and control that the person loses flexibility, openness, and efficiency
Preoccupied with rules, schedules, details and extremely conventional
Eating & Feeding Disorders
Mental disorders defined by abnormal eating habits. May involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual’s physical and mental health
People with eating disorders can appear underweight, of healthy weight, or overweight
Anorexia Nervosa (Anorexia)
Life-threatening 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 Nervosa (Bulimia)
Recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors for the intake of food, such as purging
Binge Eating Disorder “Compulsive Overeating
Uncontrollably eating a large amount of food in a short period of time; after a bingeing episode a person will not purge and will feel an extreme sense of guilt
Episodes of bingeing may be a method of self-soothing in the face of emotional stressors; social isolation and loneliness
INSIGHT & BIOMEDICAL THERAPIES
Insight Therapies
Designed to help clients understand the causes of their problems. This understanding or insight will then help clients gain greater control over their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Psychodynamic Therapies
Humanistic Therapies
Gestalt Therapies
Psychoanalysis
The primary focus of psychodynamic therapy is to uncover the unconscious content of a client’s psyche in order to alleviate psychic tension
To resolve unconscious conflicts psychoanalysis involves going back to discover the roots of the problem
Traditional psychoanalysis, often required two or three session a week for up to seven years
Psychodynamic Therapy
Evolved from Freud’s original approach, based on the ideas that a person’s development is often determined by forgotten events in early childhood, human behavior and dysfunction are largely influenced by the unconscious
Less expensive and extensive therapy
The relationship between client and therapist as an agent of change
Free Association
The client spontaneously reports thoughts, feelings, and mental images that come to mind (no censorship)
The psychoanalyst asks questions to encourage the flow of associations in order to provide clues as to what the patient’s unconscious wants to hide
As trust increases, ego will lower to reveal unconscious
Resistance
The patient’s conscious or unconscious attempt to block disturbing memories, motives, and experiences (sensitive material)
The client reached an important issue that needs to be discovered
Transference
The process by which a patient projects or transfers unresolved conflicts and feelings onto the therapist
Freud believed that transference helps patients gain insight by reliving painful past relationships
The job of the therapist is to detect when transference is happening & help patient understand what it reveals
Dream Analysis
Freud believed that dreams are symbolic representations of unconscious conflicts and repressed impulses
He also believed that dream interpretation is a means of interpreting their unconscious conflicts, motives, and desires
Psychoanalysts look at the latent (underlying) content as opposed to the manifest (storyline) content
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
Enable people to gain insight into the causes of their problems, but it focuses on current relations to relieve present symptoms
Short-term therapy
Humanistic Therapy
Aim to boost self-fulfillment by helping people grow in self-awareness and self-acceptance
The present and future more than the past
They explore feelings as they occur, rather than achieving insights into the childhood origins of the feelings
Conscious rather than unconscious thoughts
Person-Centered (Rogerian-Therapy)
One of the most widely used models in psychotherapy today developed by Carl Rogers. Nondirective therapy, the therapist listens, without judging or interpreting, and seeks to refrain from directing the client toward certain insights
Person-Centered (Rogerian-Therapy)
Client-centered therapy uses the following:
Unconditional Positive Regard, allow client to steer the direction of the therapy, clients have value
Empathy, ability to truly see, feel, & understand what client is experiencing
Genuineness, therapist is willing to foster honest/open relationship
Person-Centered (Rogerian-Therapy)
Client-centered therapy uses the following:
Active listening, therapist listens to client, paraphrasing what the client says, prevents advice or judgements
Echoing, restating, and seeking clarification of what the person expresses (verbally or nonverbally) and acknowledging the expressed feelings
Gestalt Therapy
Developed by Fritz Perls, therapists goal is to push clients to decide whether they will allow past conflicts to control their future or whether they will take control of their own destiny
Empty-chair technique in which a patient sits in front of an empty chair and imagines that the person to whom she/he needs to express his/her feelings is in the chair
Group Therapy
In a small group, usually around 6 to 12, persons with similar problems come together under the direction or facilitation of a trained therapist or counselor to discuss their psychological issues
Provides a vital element to mental healing: knowing you are not alone in suffering and struggles (reduces isolation and hopelessness)
Enables therapist to treat more clients at same time, less expensive
Self-Help Groups
Facilitator organizes meetings, but there is an absence of a trained psychotherapist directing the process of the group
The responsibility for leading the group is up to the group members themselves
Couples/Family Therapy
Trained professionals can direct spouses and family members to openly discuss their individual perspectives on the same issue
Understand how their behavior affects others
Practice better communication skills and bring about improved relationships
Biomedical Therapy
Based on the premise that the symptoms of many psychological disorders involve biological factors, involves medication and/or medical procedures to treat psychological disorders
In order to treat disorders, biomedical therapy uses drugs or brain stimulation in combination with psychotherapy
Psychopharmacology
The study of how psychotropic drugs affect mental processes and behavior
Medications used to treat psychological disorders are called psychotropic medications
They do not cure the disorders; they only treat the symptoms (effectiveness is upwards of 80%)
The drugs are more effective when used in conjunction with psychotherapy
Antianxiety Drugs (Anxiolytic)
Designed to reduce anxiety and produce relaxation by lowering sympathetic activity in the brain
Short term treatment of anxiety-antianxiety drugs, long term treatment of anxiety-antidepressant drugs
Antidepressant Drugs
Elevate mood by affecting neurotransmitters such as serotonin that are linked to depression
SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) – blocks the reuptake of serotonin
NDRI (norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors)
SNRI (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors)
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