Practice Abnormal psych erq (treatment)

Evaluate one biological treatment for one disorder

Studies:

Arnone 2013 - ssris

Fu 2015 - ssris

the assumptions about etiology upon which the treatment is based advantages and disadvantages of the treatment

  • human behavior is rooted in biological origin (we know its an interplay of factors

  • genetic predispositions

one biological treatment of a disorder is ssris on depression.

define depression and some symptoms

based on serotonin theory of MDD (depression is result of brain abnormalities, this theory is known to be bunk)

define ssris and how do they help?

evaluation points:

  • holism vs reductionism (reductionist)

  • applications (been widely applied and sort of works but UNKNOWN exactly why or how)

  • ethical considerations (ssris have sideeffects)

Evaluate one cognitive treatment for one disorder

CBT on MDD.

define cbt

define mdd

the assumptions about etiology upon which the treatment is based advantages and disadvantages of the treatment, why would cbt work?

-cognitive etiology assumes the brain processes information and directs how one behaves

-mediational process like thinking or memory occur between stimuli and response

-schema affects thinking in every day life and can lead to faulty thinking

Beck’s Cognitive Triad / Becks theory of depression

  • cognitive bias → people focus on negative aspects in life

  • negative self schema → usually developed in childhood, misinterpretation of self-information, im ugly im dumb so on

  • negative triad → as depressed people are likely to have negative or irrational views on themselves and situations, they also think negatively of the future, all of these beliefs only enforce each other.

One issue with CBT is that it requires motivation. Patients with severe depression may not engage with CBT, or even attend the sessions and therefore this treatment will be ineffective in treating these patients. Alternate treatments, for example antidepressants, do not require the same level of motivation and maybe more effective in these cases. This poses a problem for CBT, as CBT cannot be used as the sole treatment for severely depressed patients.

Furthermore, cognitive behavioural therapy has been criticised for its overemphasis on the role of cognitions. Some psychologists have criticised CBT, as it suggests that a person’s irrational thinking is the primary cause of their depression and CBT does not take into account other factors. CBT therefore ignores other factors or circumstances that might contribute to a person’s depression. For example, a patient who is suffering from domestic violence or abuse, does not need to change their negative/irrational beliefs, but in fact needs to change their circumstances. Therefore, CBT would be ineffective in treating these patients until their circumstances have changed.

Discuss the role of culture in the treatment of disorders

cultural attitudes toward therapy whether biological or psychology and culture itself can influence treatment. Two ways this can happen is through different cultural attitudes towards specific treatments themselves, like drug therapy (medication) and different cultural attitudes to etiologies of disorders (internal model of illness)

Evaluate the effectiveness of some treatment for one disorder