Page 2: What are Mental Disorders?

• Mental illness is often seen as abnormal and out of touch with reality.

• People with moderate depression show different cognitive patterns, such as being less susceptible to self-enhancement bias and having more balanced assessments of future events.

Page 3: What determines a mental illness?

• A mental illness is determined by maladaptive behavior that impairs the individual's ability to function and causes distress to themselves or others.

• Mental illnesses are poorly understood in society, leading to stigma.

• At any given time, 1 in 4 people have a mental health problem.

Page 5: Causes of Mental Disorders

• Mental disorders can be caused by a combination of nature (genetics, biology) and nurture (environmental factors, learned behavior patterns, social factors).

• The diathesis-stress model suggests that mental illness is influenced by both genetic predisposition (diathesis) and exposure to life events or stressors (stress).

Page 7: Classification of Disorders

• Mental disorders can be classified into various categories, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, psychotic disorders, personality disorders, substance-related disorders, cognitive disorders, developmental disorders, and physical disorders.

Page 8: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

• The DSM is a manual developed by psychiatrists to classify mental disorders.

• The current version is DSM-5-TR (2022), which organizes diagnoses into 5 axes.

• Each disorder is described with prototypical symptoms, and an individual must meet a set number of criteria to receive a diagnosis.

Page 9: DSM 5 Changes

• The DSM-5 removed the previous axial assessment and introduced separate notations for psychosocial and environmental factors, as well as disability.

• New chapters and diagnoses were added, such as "Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders" and hoarding disorder.

• Revised diagnoses include autism spectrum disorder, which now includes what was formerly known as Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder.

Page 10: DSM Strengths and Weaknesses

• Pros of the DSM include guiding prognosis and treatment, providing an objective classification of abnormal behavior, and reducing stigma.

• Cons of the DSM include high comorbidity due to overlapping symptoms, low reliability, the debate between categories vs. dimensions, political and social influence, and the potential for labeling to affect how others view individuals with mental disorders.

Page 12: Earliest Approaches to Treatment

• In the past, mental illness was often attributed to daemons or spirits, and treatments such as trephining (creating a hole in the skull) were used to release evil spirits.

• Mesmerism, a form of hypnosis, was introduced in the late 18th century as a modern treatment approach.

Page 14: Psychoanalysis/Psychodynamic Therapy

• Psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy focus on unconscious conflicts and the resolution of these conflicts through insight.

• Traditional psychoanalysis involves techniques such as free association, dream analysis, interpretation of resistance, transference, and analysis of memory and speech.

• Modern psychoanalysis places more emphasis on social and interpersonal experiences, as well as the present life and ego.

Page 16: Humanistic Therapy

• Client-Centered Therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, assumes that people are inherently good and have innate worth.

• The goal of therapy is for the patient to gain understanding of their unique potential for personal growth and self-actualization.

• Client-centered therapy involves the client deciding what to talk about, unconditional positive regard from the therapist, and making incongruence between the patient's real self and ideal self noticeable through reflection and mirroring.

Page 17: Behavioral and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies

• Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapies focus on changing maladaptive behavior and thinking patterns.

• Behavioral therapy involves manipulating environmental variables, while cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on restructuring thinking patterns and correcting faulty beliefs.

• Examples of these therapies include systematic desensitization and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Page 18: Systematic Desensitization

• Systematic desensitization is a behavioral therapy used to treat fears or phobias based on classical conditioning.

• The process involves creating a fear hierarchy, learning deep muscle relaxation techniques, and gradually exposing the individual to feared stimuli while maintaining a relaxed state.

Page 19: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on the interconnectedness of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and behavior.

• Methods used in this therapy include attribution retraining, rational-emotive therapy, and challenging irrational beliefs.

• Emotional consequences, such as depression and anxiety, are seen as caused by the individual's belief system rather than external events.

Page 20: Biological Treatments

• Biological treatments for mental disorders include electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), psychosurgery, and drug therapy.

• ECT is used for severe depression, while psychosurgery is mostly discontinued.

• Drug therapy involves the use of medications such as antipsychotics and antidepressants.

Page 22: Specific Mental Disorders

• The transcript mentions anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, dissociative disorders, personality disorders, schizophrenic disorders, and mood disorders as specific mental disorders.

Page 23: Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety is characterized by apprehension or doom accompanied by physiological reactions.

• Anxiety disorders are the most common psychological disorders.

• Common types of anxiety disorders include:

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

  • Panic disorder

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder

  • Phobias

  • Generalized anxiety disorder

Page 24: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions.

• Obsessions are recurrent thoughts and excessive worries.

• Compulsions are ritualized behaviors intended to reduce anxiety.

• Example: Excessive washing and vacuuming due to obsession with dirt and germs.

Page 26: Phobia

• Phobias are irrational fears of specific objects or situations.

• Examples include agoraphobia (fear of open spaces) and social phobia (fear of scrutiny by others).

• Specific phobias, such as arachnophobia (fear of spiders), are also common.

Page 27: Somatoform Disorders

• Somatoform disorders are characterized by symptoms that suggest a medical condition but have no evidence of such found by a physician.

• Somatization disorder involves wide-ranging physical ailments without a biological basis.

• Conversion disorder involves physical complaints resembling neurological disorders without organic causes.

Page 28: Dissociative Disorders

• Dissociative disorders involve a disruption in consciousness, leading to changes in one's sense of identity.

• Dissociative amnesia is severe memory loss that cannot be explained by a medical condition.

• Dissociative fugue is a specific form of dissociative amnesia where a person deliberately leaves home and starts a new life elsewhere.

• Dissociative identity disorder involves two or more separate personalities within the same individual.

Page 29: Personality Disorders

• Personality disorders are characterized by enduring inflexible behavior patterns that differ from social expectations.

• Individuals with personality disorders often respond inappropriately but are unaware of the problem.

• Treatment for personality disorders tends to be difficult.

Page 30: Types of Personality Disorders

• Cluster A personality disorders are eccentric and include paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal.

• Cluster B personality disorders are dramatic and include antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic.

• Cluster C personality disorders are anxious and include avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive.

Page 32: Schizophrenic Disorders

• Schizophrenic disorders involve positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking) and negative symptoms (emotional flatness, apathy, withdrawal).

• Different subtypes of schizophrenia include paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, and undifferentiated.

Page 34: Heritability of Schizophrenia

• The heritability of schizophrenia is higher in monozygotic twins (genetically identical) compared to dizygotic twins (on average, 50% genetic similarity).

• Schizophrenic twins have a higher percentage of schizophrenia in their offspring compared to non-schizophrenic twins.

Page 35: Mood Disorders

• Mood disorders are psychological disorders characterized by an elevation or lowering of a person's mood.

• Extreme types of mood disorders include mania, depression, and bipolar disorder.

Page 36: Mania

• Mania is characterized by inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, excessive talking, racing thoughts, distractibility, and wild, unrealistic activity.

• Manic episodes last at least one week and may involve excessive pleasurable activities with high risk or negative consequences.

Page 37: Depression

• Depression has a lifetime prevalence of about 17%.

• Main symptoms of depression include sad mood, loss of pleasure, negative self-concept, low self-esteem, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, changes in activity, and lack of sleep, appetite, and sexual desire.

Page 38: Bipolar Disorder

• Bipolar disorder involves alternating episodes of mania and depression.

• Different types of bipolar disorder exist based on the severity of manic and depressive episodes.

• Some patients may only seek treatment for the depressive