Untitled Flashcards Set

Psychiatrist – A medical doctor who can give medication or do surgery to treat mental health problems.

Clinical Psychologist – Has a doctorate (Ph.D. or Psy.D.), does an internship, and passes a test. Uses different kinds of therapy depending on their training.

Counseling Psychologist – Has a degree like a Ph.D., Ed.D., or M.A. in counseling. Usually helps with less serious mental health problems.

Psychoanalyst – Follows Sigmund Freud’s ideas and uses talk therapy to find hidden feelings from the past. May or may not be a medical doctor.

Marriage and Family Therapist – Has a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Focuses on how family or surroundings affect a person’s problems.

Insight Therapies (Understanding Yourself Better)

Insight Therapies – Help people understand the reasons behind their problems. Once they understand, they can change their behavior and feel better.

Psychoanalysis (Freud’s Therapy) – Tries to dig deep into the unconscious mind to find past traumas. Uses things like talking freely, dream analysis, hypnosis, and emotional release.

Resistance – When a person avoids talking about something because it’s uncomfortable. It can show that an important issue is hidden.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy – Focuses on current relationships and feelings to help with present-day problems.

Humanistic Therapies – Believe everyone has the potential to grow and be happy, but life can block that. Therapists try to create a safe and accepting space to help people grow.

Client-Centered Therapy – The therapist listens and supports without judging. Uses “active listening” (repeating, clarifying, and showing understanding).

Gestalt Therapy – Encourages people to face past problems and take control of their life now. Therapists are direct and ask challenging questions.

Insight Therapies Help With – Depression, eating problems, and relationship issues.

Behavior Therapy (Changing Bad Habits)

Behavior Therapy – Believes bad habits are learned. The goal is to replace them with better habits using rewards and practice.

Systematic Desensitization – Helps people face fears slowly while staying relaxed.

Flooding – Makes people face their biggest fear all at once so they realize it’s not as scary.

Aversive Conditioning – Links bad behaviors with something unpleasant so the person wants to stop.

Behavior Modification – The person works toward a goal and gets small rewards for each step they take.

Social Skills Training – Teaches people how to interact better using practice and role-playing.

Behavior Therapy Helps With – Anxiety, addictions, bedwetting, and autism.

Cognitive Therapy (Changing Negative Thoughts)

Cognitive Therapy – Focuses on changing negative or untrue thoughts that cause problems.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – Combines changing thoughts and behaviors at the same time.

Rational Emotive Therapy (Ellis) – Helps people challenge and change irrational beliefs using the A-B-C model:

A = Activating event

B = Belief about the event

C = Consequence (emotion or behavior)

Cognitive Therapy (Beck) – Tries to fix negative thinking about yourself, the world, and the future.

Cognitive Therapy Helps With – Depression, anxiety, eating problems, chronic pain, and relationship issues.

Biological Treatments (Using Medicine or Brain Treatments)

Biological Therapies – Treat mental illness as a problem with the brain, chemicals, or genes. Use medicine, electric shock therapy (ECT), or surgery.

Psychopharmacology – Using medication to treat mental health problems.

Antianxiety Medications (Anxiolytics) – Drugs like Valium or Xanax. Help calm the brain by increasing GABA, a calming chemical.

Antidepressants – Improve mood by keeping “feel-good” chemicals (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain longer.

Types:

MAOIs – Stop the chemical that breaks down mood boosters.

Tricyclics – Stop reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine.

SSRIs – Stop reuptake of just serotonin (e.g., Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil).

Mood Stabilizers – Used for bipolar disorder. Lithium and Depakote are common ones.

Stimulants – Boost focus and energy. Used for ADHD and sleep disorders (e.g., Ritalin, Dexedrine).

Antipsychotics (Neuroleptics) – Help with schizophrenia by lowering dopamine, which causes hallucinations and delusions. Examples: Thorazine, Haldol.

Client-Centered (Person-Centered) Therapy – The client leads the way. They choose what to talk about and how long therapy lasts.

Nondirective – The therapist doesn’t take control; the client sets their own goals.

Unconditional Positive Regard – The therapist accepts the client completely, flaws and all.

Genuineness – The therapist is real, honest, and warm.

Congruence – The therapist’s words match their facial expressions and body language.

Empathy – The therapist truly understands what the client is feeling.

Active Listening – The therapist repeats what the client says in their own words to show they’re listening closely.

Self-Actualization – Humanists believe everyone can grow and become their best self. These techniques help the client move toward that goal.

Behavioral Therapy (Changing Actions)

Behavior Modification – Since behavior is learned, it can be changed without changing who you are.

Counterconditioning – Teaches a new, positive response to something that used to cause fear or discomfort.

Systematic Desensitization – A slow, step-by-step way to help someone get over a fear by pairing it with calm feelings.

Anxiety Hierarchy – A list of fear-related situations, from least to most scary, used during desensitization.

In Vivo – Facing fears in real life.

Virtual Reality Therapy – Using computer simulations to face fears in a safe way.

Flooding – Facing your biggest fear right away, all at once, in a safe setting.

Aversive Conditioning – Linking a bad habit with something unpleasant to help stop it.

Token Economy – Getting rewards (like points or tokens) for good behavior.

Social Skills Training – Learning better ways to talk and interact with others by watching, practicing, and getting feedback.

Cognitive Therapy (Changing Thoughts)

Main Ideas of Cognitive Therapy:

Thoughts affect how you act.

You can notice and understand your thoughts.

Changing your thoughts can change your behavior.

Cognitive Restructuring – Replacing harmful or false thoughts with more realistic and helpful ones.

Overgeneralization – When someone sees one bad thing as proof that everything is bad, especially common in depression.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) – Mixes thinking-change (cognitive) and action-change (behavioral) techniques. Uses things like learning new thinking skills, role modeling, and practicing.

REBT (Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy) – Uses the ABC model:

A = Activating event (something happens)

B = Beliefs about what happened

C = Consequences (how you feel and act based on those beliefs)

Biological Therapy (Medical Model)

A treatment approach that sees mental illness as a result of brain problems like chemical imbalances, brain abnormalities, or genetics. Uses medication, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and psychosurgery.

Psychotropic Medications

Antianxiety Medications (Tranquilizers)

Drugs that increase GABA (a calming neurotransmitter) to reduce anxiety.

Examples: Xanax, Valium, BuSpar

Used for: PTSD, panic disorder, phobias, GAD

Antidepressants

Medications that boost serotonin and/or norepinephrine to improve mood.

Used for: Depression, OCD, panic disorder

MAOIs – Stop breakdown of serotonin/norepinephrine (e.g., Nardil).

Tricyclics – Block reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine.

SSRIs – Block only serotonin reuptake (e.g., Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro).

SNRIs – Block serotonin & norepinephrine reuptake (e.g., Effexor, Cymbalta).

Bupropion (Wellbutrin) – Atypical antidepressant that affects dopamine.

Mood Stabilizers

Drugs used to control mood swings in bipolar disorder.

Lithium – Effective but has dangerous side effects.

Anticonvulsants – Originally for seizures; help stabilize mood (e.g., Depakote, Lamictal).

Atypical Antipsychotics – Sometimes used with mood stabilizers (e.g., Zyprexa, Abilify).

Stimulants

Drugs that increase focus and energy by raising dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels.

Used for: ADHD, narcolepsy

Examples: Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvanse

Antipsychotic Medications (Neuroleptics)

Used to treat schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder by blocking dopamine.

Typical Antipsychotics – Older drugs like Thorazine and Haldol; risk of tardive dyskinesia (involuntary movements).

Atypical Antipsychotics – Newer drugs like Risperdal, Seroquel, Abilify; fewer side effects.

Tardive Dyskinesia (TD)

A serious side effect of long-term use of typical antipsychotics that causes involuntary muscle movements, usually around the mouth.

Other Biological Treatments

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A treatment for severe depression that uses a small electric current to trigger a seizure in the brain. Used when medications fail.

Psychosurgery

Surgical removal or destruction of brain tissue to treat mental illness.

Example: Prefrontal lobotomy (rarely used now due to severe side effects).

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A treatment for severe depression where a brief electrical current is passed through electrodes placed on a patient's temple, causing a controlled seizure.

Mental Health Movement

A shift in how mental illness is treated, focusing on integrating patients into the community instead of isolating them in institutions.

Deinstitutionalization

The process of closing long-term psychiatric hospitals and moving patients to outpatient care facilities and community settings.

Goal: Help individuals live in society with therapy and support, not confinement.

Problem: Many patients struggled outside institutions, especially if they stopped taking their medication.

Community Mental Health Centers

Outpatient facilities created to offer therapy, medication, and support to individuals with mental illness as part of the deinstitutionalization movement.

Community Psychology

A field focused on preventing and reducing psychological disorders by studying how families, social environments, and communities affect mental health.