Clinical Psych

Psychological Disorders

a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in a individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior

insanity degree

legal term- when someone pleads insanity they are trying to prove they could not recognize right or wrong at the time of the crime

Intern’s Syndrome

condition among medical/psychology students to see symptoms they are studying in themselves

Etiology

causes and progress of a disease or disorder

\-signs and symptoms

\-why does it happen

Biopsychosocial model

diagnosis and treatment of disorders is not only biological, but also must consider the environment, a person’s interpretation of events, bad habits and or bad social skills

Biomedical Model

the concept that diseases or psychological disorders have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases cured through treatment in a hospital

Diathesis Stress Model

explains behavior/disorder as the result of biological and environmental factors

Diathesis- hereditary disposition

Stress- environmental load put on us by as people

Labeling disorders

classifications attempt to describe a disorder, predict its course, apply treatment, and stimulate research

* patients can be viewed differently or treated differently with labels

DSM-V

system of diagnosis under which a person will be compared to criteria in the manual and if they meet those criteria, they can be diagnosed

Thomas Szaz

theorist who believed that mental illness was a myth because there are no biological, chemical, or physical traces of most mental illnesses

\-thought labels associated with mental illnesses were political

posttraumatic growth

positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises

Social Anxiety Disorder

intense fear of social situations, have intense fear of being scrutinized by others, avoids potentially embarrassing situations

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in state of automatic nervous system arousal

* often jittery, agitated, sleep deprived
* often accompanied by depressed mood

Panic disorder

anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes of long intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, etc.

Phobias

anxiety disorders marked by a persistent irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation

* incapacitated by efforts to avoid fears

Obsessive compulsive disorder

characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and actions (compulsions)

* person will often know their thoughts are irrational, which increases anxiety surrounding behaviors and they continue to take up more and more time

Hoarding Disorder

persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of perceived need to save them

* distress at thought of getting rid of things

Body Dysmorphic disorder

person can’t stop thinking about one or more perceived flaws in appearance

* can feel ashamed or anxious in social situations

Post Traumatic stress disorder

characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, insomnia for over 4 weeks after a traumatic experience

Major Depressive Disorder

when a person experiences (in the absence of drugs or other medical conditions) two or more weeks with 5 or more symptoms of depression, one of must be depressed/loss of interest or pleasure

Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder

* significant weight loss
* insomnia or hypersomnia
* lethargy or physical agitation
* fatigue/ loss of energy
* feeling worthless
* excessive guilt
* problems in thinking/ concentrating
* recurrent thoughts of death/suicide

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Persistent depressive disorder

mildly depressed mood more often than not for at least 2 years

Symptoms of Persistent depressive disorder

* low self esteem
* problems with sleep
* low energy
* hopelessness
* problems with appetite
* problems with decision making

Bipolar disorder

periods of deep depression and mania

* phases alternate week to week/ month to month

mania

hyperactive, euphoric, wildly optimistic

Cyclothymia

shifts between milder depression and hypomania (milder mania)

Seasonal Affective Disorder

people who have normal mental health through most of the year exhibit depressive symptoms at the same time each year (mostly winter)

Dissasociative Amnesia

memory disorder characterized by sudden autobiographical memory loss

* forget name, address, family, friends, etc.

Dissociative Fugue

amnesia for personality, identity, individuality, with unplanned traveling/wandering

* usually short lived

Dissociative Identity Disorder

rare dissasociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities

* each personality has own voice/mannerisms
* original personality denies awareness of others

Antipyschotic drugs

drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other severe forms of thought disorders

\-dampen responsiveness to irrelevant stimuli

\-occupy receptor sites for dopamine

Psychoactive drugs

drugs that physically change the brain’s functioning by altering its chemistry

Antidepressants

drugs used to treat anxiety disorders, depression, OCD, and PTSD

* act as agonists, working to increase availability of neurotransmitters such as norepinphrine and serotonin
* take abt a month to go into full effect

Antianxiety drugs

* used to control anxiety and agitation
* typically used along with psychotherapy
* work to depress the nervous system
* can be addictive

Mood Stabilizers

* used to treat the emotional highs and lows of bipolar or schizophrenia

Lithium Carbonate

* helps stabilize mood and decreases risk of suicide
* most common drug for this is lithium carbonate
* becomes distributed in the central nervous system and causes various changes there

Electroconvulsive Therapy

biomedical therapy for severely depressed (or manic) patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetised patient

* will seize and be unconcious for abt 30 min
* done 3 times a week for 2-4 weeks

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

procedure that includes application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain

* used to treat depressed moods
* patients are awake during procedure, and there are no serious side effects
* assumed to stimulate depressed areas of the brain

Deep Brain Stimulation

* relatively new technique that involves use of an implanted device that will stimulate the neural hub that connects the frontal lobe and the limbic system
* used to attempt to treat depression
* has appeared to create relief for some

Psychosurgery

surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior

* most famous of this is lobotomy

Lobotomy

* procedure that was used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients
* during procedure, nerves connecting the frontal lobe to the emotion controlling centers of the brain were cut

Schizophrenia

* delusions- false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur that may accompany psychotic disorders
* hallucinations- false sensory experience
* disorganized speech
* diminished or innapropriate emotional expression
* disturbed perceptions
* caused by genetics and having larger ventricles

Delusions

* false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur that may accompany psychotic disorders

Chromic Process Schizophrenia

schizophrenia that develops slowly over time

* more likely to have negative symptoms

Acute/ Reactive Schizophrenia

when schizophrenia develops suddenly

* more likely to have positive symptoms

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia

remove appropriate behavior

* catatonic state
* expressionless faces
* toneless voices

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia

* disorganized speech
* hallucination
* delusion

Neurodevelopmental disorders

impairments in the growth and development of the brain or cerebral nervous system

Autism Spectrum disorder

marked by significant defecincies in communication and social interactions and by rigidly fixed interests and repetitive behaviors

Attention defecit hyperactivity disorder

extreme innattention hyperactivity and impulsitivity

* caused by genetics
* diagnosed 3x more in boys than girls

Tourette’s Syndrome

characterized by multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic

* also includes coprolalia- type of vocal tic which you say taboo/ innapropriate words (only 10% with tourettes have this)
* cause by genetic factors

Impulse and conduct disorders

problems with self control or emotions or behaviors

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Conduct Disorder

behavioral and emotional disorder found in children which is characterized by

* agressive behavior- fighting, bullying, violating rules, running away
* destructive behavior- arson, vandalism, etc.
* deceitful behavior- lying, shoplifting, etc.

with little to some remorse

Oppositional defiant disorder

presents as ongoing pattern of an angry/irritable mood, defiant/argumentative behavior and vindictiveness to those in authority

* temper tantrums
* arguing w/ authority
* blaming others for mistakes
* swearing
* being spiteful
* saying mean and hurtful things when upset

Somatic Symptom disorder

psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause

* psychological state produces physical results

Conversion disorder

disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms with no physiological basis

* covers area which is covered voluntarily- swallowing, vision, etc.

Illness Anxiety disorder

interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease

* every physical sensation is caused by a disease no matter what doctors say

Factitious disorder

acts as if they have an illness by creating or exaggerating symptoms

* creates medical issues for attention
* purposely creates bodily symtoms as result of a psychological issue

anorexia nervosa

eating disorder in which a person maintains starvation diet despite being significantly underweight

* anorexic people typically feel fat even though they are underweight and they are afraid of being fat

bullimia nervosa

eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating with purging (vomiting or laxatives), excessive excercise or fasting

Binge eating disorder

characterized by binge eating episodes accompanied by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without purging associated with bullimia

Personality disorders

characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social function

Cluster A Personality

(odd, bizzare, eccentric)- paranoid schizoid schizotypical

Cluster B Personality

(dramatic, erratic)- antisocial, histrionic, compulsive

Cluster C Personality

(anxious fearful)- avoidant, dependant, obsessive compulsive

Paranoid Personality disorder

characterized by paranoia, mistrusting people, and are suspicious of others with no reason to be

* unforgiving, hypersensitive, cold/distant in relationships, and cannot see their role in problems

Antisocial personality disorder

person exhibits lack of conscious for wrongdoing, even towards friends and family- may be aggressive, ruthless, impulsive

* criminal behavior is common
* genetic and social cause (trauma, poverty, etc.)

Narcissistic personality disorder

* person will have inflated sense of their own importance as well as need for admiration
* behind this self-esteem is fragile
* unhappy when they dont get admiration they crave
* genetic/ social factors cause it

Avoidant Personality disorder

avoid work, school, events that force them to interact with others, concerned with feelings of inadequacy

Borderline Personality disorder

mood swings, intense episodes of anger, anxiety, etc, which can last a few hours to a few days

Histrionic Personality disorder

characterized by intense unstable emotions and distorted self images

* overly dramatic and concerned with appearance
* often seen as shallow

Obsessive compulsive personality disorder

person who is preoccupied with orderliness, perfectionism, interpersonal control

* reluctant to delegate tasks and is stubborn

Phillipe Pinel

helped to establish a more humane approach (moral treatment) to treating the mentally ill that considered emotions and social interactions

* seen as father of modern psychiatry

Dorothea Dix

known for touring prisons in massachusetts and advocated for the mentally ill who were imprisoned there

Deinstitutionalization

A movement to shift individuals with mental illness from long-term institutional care to community-based care.

* done to improve their quality of life and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.

Clinical Psychologist

can provide emotional, mental, and behavioral healthcare but are unable to prescribe medication

Psychiatrist

specializes in treatment of psychotic disorders

* are MDs and can prescribe medication

Social Workers

can provide therapy, social rehabilitation, crisis intervention, or outreach services

Counselors

type of social worker that can evaluate and treat mental/ behavioral disorders

Eclectic Approach

An approach to therapy that combines techniques from different theories to fit the client's needs. It aims to be flexible and adaptable to individual cases.

Psychoanalytic Approach

A psychological approach that focuses on the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences to understand and treat mental illness. Developed by Sigmund Freud, this approach emphasizes the role of unconscious conflicts, defense mechanisms, and the importance of the therapist-patient relationship in therapy.

Freud and Jung

believed free association released previously repressed feelings, allowing patient to gain self-insight

Dream Interpretation

analyst’s interpretation noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight

Transference

strong positive or negative feelings transferred to the analyst of emotions, linked with other relationships

* leads to insight on current relationships

Catharsis

purging emotions which brings relief

Psychodynamic Therapy

derived from psychoanalytic theory that focuses on themes important in all relationships

* goal is to help people improve relationship skills rather than looking at past hurts

Insight therapy

aims to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person’s awareness of underlying motives and defenses

Client Centered Therapy

created by Carl Rogers, therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathetic environment to facilitate clients growth

* therapist listens without judging

Active Listening

when listener echoes, restates, and clarifies feelings of the client

Unconditional Positive Regard

therapist helps client feel unconditionally accepted, so that they express their true feelings, which will be empathetically reflected by therapist

Conditions of Worth

conditions we think we must meet in order for people to accept us as worthy of love or positive regard

Cognitive Therapy

Type of therapy that focuses on changing negative thoughts and beliefs to improve mental health.

* based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected and can be changed through identifying and challenging negative patterns

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

confrontational cognitive therapy that challenges people’s illogical self defeating attitudes and assumptions

* created by Albert Ellis

Cognitive Triad

three key elements present in a person’s depressed beliefs

* thought you could reverse the way clients felt abt themselves by gently revealing irrational thinking and persuaded people to see life in a better light

Explanatory styles

created by Seligman

* internal or external causes
* optimist or pessimist

Directive Behavior Therapy

* be mindful and focus on the present
* tolerate crisis with cognitive techniques
* be assertive in relationships
* conditioning to eliminate bad behaviors

Counterconditioning

uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors (includes exposure therapy)

Systematic Desensitization

exposure therapy that associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety triggering stimuli

* patients are taught progressive relaxation- therapist has you learn to relax one muscle group at a time until you are completely relaxed-- once releaxed make list of anxiety triggering stimuli and relax and then level up and repeat

Flooding

patient subjected to phobia basically immediately

* while exposed, therapist leads them through relaxation techniques to eliminate anxiety