Unit 5

Module 5.5a Treatment of Psychological Disorders: Introduction to Therapy, and Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies

Key Vocabulary
  • Deinstitutionalization: The process of moving individuals with psychological disorders out of institutional facilities, which began in the late twentieth century.
  • Psychotherapy: A treatment involving psychological techniques involving interactions between a trained therapist and a person seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth.
  • Biomedical therapy: Use of prescribed medications or procedures that directly influence a person’s physiology.
  • Eclectic: An approach to therapy that integrates techniques from various therapeutic methods.
  • Psychoanalysis:
    1. Freud's theory attributing thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.
    2. Freud’s therapeutic technique aimed at exposing and interpreting unconscious tensions.
  • Resistance: The blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material in psychoanalysis.
  • Interpretation: The analyst's noting of significant behaviors and events to promote insight in psychoanalysis.
  • Transferring: The process where a patient projects emotions linked to past relationships onto the therapist.
  • Psychodynamic therapists: Therapists who derive their practices from the psychoanalytic tradition, emphasizing unconscious forces and childhood experiences.
  • Insight therapies: Therapeutic approaches aimed at improving psychological functioning by increasing awareness of underlying motives and defenses.
  • Person-centered therapy: Developed by Carl Rogers, this humanistic therapy focuses on facilitating client growth in an accepting and empathic environment through techniques like active listening.
Differences Between Therapies
  • Psychotherapy vs. Biomedical Therapy:
    • Psychotherapy focuses on psychological techniques and interactions between therapists and clients.
    • Biomedical therapy employs medications directly affecting physiology.
Goals and Techniques of Psychoanalysis
  • Psychoanalysis aims to provide self-insight and relieve disorders by bringing anxiety-laden feelings to conscious awareness.
  • Techniques include free association, interpretation of resistance, and transference.
  • Psychodynamic therapy shares foundational aspects of psychoanalysis but focuses more on resolving current symptoms and understanding their relation to past experiences.
Basic Themes of Humanistic Therapy
  • Humanistic therapy aims to foster self-awareness, self-acceptance, and personal growth rather than merely curing psychological disorders.
  • Goals include taking responsibility for actions, focusing on the present and future, and enhancing conscious thought.
  • Carl Rogers emphasizes the therapist’s role as a mirror through active listening and the provision of unconditional positive regard.

Module 5.5b Treatment of Psychological Disorders: Behavioral, Cognitive, and Group Therapies

Key Vocabulary
  • Behavior therapists: Professionals who use learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors.
  • Counterconditioning: Procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to anxiety-triggering stimuli.
  • Exposure therapies: Techniques that treat anxieties by gradually exposing clients to feared stimuli through systematic desensitization or virtual reality.
  • Aversive conditioning: Associating an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior.
  • Token economy: An operant conditioning method where individuals earn tokens for desired behaviors, which can be exchanged for rewards.
  • Cognitive therapies: Approaches that teach adaptive thinking by focusing on the relationship between thoughts and feelings.
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): An integrative approach combining cognitive and behavioral strategies to alter thoughts and behaviors.
  • Group therapy: Forms of therapy conducted with groups, fostering support through shared experiences.
Behavior and Cognitive Therapy Assumptions
  • Behavior therapy focuses on modifying problem behaviors rather than gaining insight.
  • Classical conditioning techniques are used in exposure therapies and aversive conditioning to reshape responses.
Goals and Techniques of Cognitive Therapies
  • Cognitive therapies seek to alter self-defeating thinking patterns and help clients develop more constructive event perceptions.
  • Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) challenges irrational beliefs vigorously.
  • CBT integrates cognitive and behavioral practices for practical application in clients’ daily lives.

Module 5.5c Treatment of Psychological Disorders: Evaluating Psychotherapies

Key Vocabulary
  • Confirmation bias: The tendency to seek information affirming preconceptions while ignoring contradictory evidence.
  • Meta-analysis: Statistical procedures combining results from multiple studies for overall conclusions.
  • Evidence-based practice: Combining best research with clinical expertise and patient preferences for informed decision-making.
  • Therapeutic alliance: A trustful bond between therapist and client that enhances therapeutic effectiveness.
Effectiveness of Psychotherapy
  • Studies show therapy typically leads to greater improvements compared to untreated individuals.
  • No single psychotherapy method is universally superior; effectiveness often depends on the specific disorder.
  • Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies are effective for anxiety, PTSD, and depression, while behavioral therapies address phobias and compulsive behaviors.
Common Factors in Psychotherapy
  • Psychotherapies offer hope, perspective changes, and a supportive therapeutic alliance that contributes to effectiveness.

Module 5.5d Treatment of Psychological Disorders: The Biomedical Therapies and Preventing Psychological Disorders

Key Vocabulary
  • Psychopharmacology: The study of drug effects on mind and behavior.
  • Antipsychotic drugs: Medications used to treat severe thought disorders, like schizophrenia.
  • Antianxiety drugs: Used to control anxiety and agitation, often with potential for addiction.
  • Antidepressant drugs: Medications for depression and anxiety, often SSRIs that increase serotonin availability.
  • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): A treatment for severe depression involving electric current application.
  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): A method using magnetic pulses to influence brain activity.
  • Psychosurgery: Involves surgical alterations to the brain to change behavior, used as a last resort today.
Drug Therapies and their Evaluation
  • Drug therapies are the most common form of biomedical therapy, supported by methods like double-blind studies to gauge efficacy.
Brain Stimulation and Psychosurgery
  • ECT is effective for severe depression not responsive to other treatments.
  • Modern neurostimulation techniques are considered alternatives for persistent conditions.
Preventive Measures for Psychological Disorders
  • Programs aim at addressing socio-economic factors contributing to psychological issues and boosting resilience to foster mental health.