abnormal psych & treatment Flashcards
qualifications for a mental disorder
- deviant: strange for the culture you are in (dress, act, behavior, etc.)
- distressful: it bothers the person doing it
- dysfunctional: it bothers others
(must have all 3)
ancient treatment of psych disorders
the treatments were barbaric because people treating psychological disorders did not realize what the true cause of the disorder was
medical model/medical perspective
looks at every psychological disorder as having a biological or physical cause
biopsychosocial perspective
assumes that biological, socio-cultural, & psychological factors combine & interact to produce psych. disorders
DSM-V
diagostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition
use it to identify & describe psychological disorders
labeling controversy with psych disorders
- labeling a person with a psych disorder might be bad because the label may come to define who the person is
- labeling psych disorders is good because it helps to treat people with those disorders
anxiety disorder
generalized anxiety disorder
a condition of persistent & uncontrollable tenseness & apprehension. one shows autonomic nervous system arousal & often is unable to identify or avoid the cause of these feelings
panic disorder
a minute-long episode of intense dread which may include feelings of terror, chest pains, choking, or other frightening sensations
phobia
is marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that disrupts behavior
agoraphobia
phobia of open places
arcrophobia
phobia of heights
claustrophobia
phobia of closed spaces
hemophobia
phobia of blood
social phobia
phobia of social situations
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
persistence of unwanted thoughts, (obsessions), and urges to engage in senseless rituals that cause distress, (compulsions)
(overactive frontal lobe - OCD)
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
four or more weeks following a traumatic event, the patient still shows:
- haunting memories
- nightmares
- social withdrawl
- jumpy anxiety
- sleep problems
dissociative disorder
a disorder in which your consciousness, or awareness, becomes confused
dissociative identity disorder (DID)
a disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct & alternating personalities, formerly called multiple personality disorder
DID has not had many cases outside of the US which leads critics to argue that it might be completely in the patient’s mind
mood disorder
major depressive disorder
when signs of severe depression exist for two weeks or more and are not caused by drugs or medical conditions
signs:
- lethargy & fatigue
- feelings of worthlessness
- loss of interest in family & friends
- loss of interest in activities
dysthymic disorder
a bit less severe than a major depressive disorder but can often last longer (2 years or more)
bipolar disorder
- formerly called manic-depressive disorder
- patient jumps from/between periods of depression & extreme mania (hyperactive, thoughts racing, euphoria, etc.)
mania
schizophrenia
- the literal translation is “split mind”
- a group of severe disorders characterized by the following
symptoms of schizophrenia:
1. disorganized thinking
2. delusional thinking (believing things that aren’t true)
3. hallucinations (most commonly auditory/voices)
4. apathy (lack of emotions or appropriate emotions)
5. catatonia (repetitive meaningless behavior)
disorganized thinking
- many psychologists believe disorganized thoughts occur because of a lack of selective attention
- it is hard for the patient to focus on one thing, let alone what is real and unreal
delusions
believing things that aren’t true
hallucinations
most commonly auditory/voices
apathy
lack of emotions or appropriate emotions
catatonia
repetitive meaningless behavior
positive symptoms
something a schizophrenic patient has, but a normal functioning person does not have
(hallucination, delusions, etc.)
negative symptoms
something a schizophrenic person does not have, but a normal functioning person does
(apathy)
chronic/process schizophrenia
develops slowly, harder to help the patient
acute/reactive schizophrenia
develops quickly, easier to help the patient
subtypes of schizophrenia
schizophrenic patients are often classified a subtype, which is typically their worst symptom
personality disorders
- characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
- they are usually without anxiety, or depression, or delusions
antisocial personality disorder
- a disorder in which the person (usually men) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members
- formerly, this person was called either a sociopath or psychopath
hypochondria
excessive worry about serious illness
somatoform disorder
mimic an actual injury but there is not a physical cause
conversion disorder
type of somatoform disorder where the psychological trauma transfers to a physical disorder
narcissistic personality disorder
obsessed with oneself and with a need for admiration
rates of psychological disorders
- 15% of americans have exhibited signs of a mental disorder within a given year
- the united states leads all other countries with cases of psychological disorders
- do we do a better job of diagnosing?
- do we overdiagnose?
psychotherapy
involved an emotionally charged, confiding interaction between a trained therapist and a mental patient
biomedical therapy
uses drugs or other procedures that act on the patient’s nervous system, curing him or her of psychological disorders
eclectic approach
uses various forms of healing techniques depending upon the client’s unique problems
psychoanalysis
- sigmund freud’s actual perspective used to treat psychological disorders
- the goal was to make patients aware of the underlying issues that were causing their psychological problems
- Freud believed these underlying problems were trapped in the patient’s unconscious mind
free association
- developed to unravel the unconscious mind & its conflicts
- the patient lies on a couch & speaks about whatever comes to his or her mind
resistance
during free association, the patient edits his thoughts, resisting his or her feelings to express emotions
transference
the patient opens up & reveals his or her innermost private thoughts, developing positive or negative feelings towards the therapist
psychodynamic theory
- a perspective that is influenced by Freud, but has been modified to fit more with today’s patients & issues
- goal: to tap into important themes across the patient’s life that can lead to disorder.
interpersonal psychotherapy
- type of psychodynamic therapy
- tries to change just the problem areas of the patient, and not the patient’s entire personality
humanistic therapy
aim to make patients feel great about themselves, and to have the patient strive to be the best person they can be
person-centered therapy
- type of humanistic therapy
- the therapist has the patient lead the conversation, and leads the patient to ultimately diagnose themselves
- the therapist deals with the patient in a very positive uplifting way
active listening
- therapist engages in active listening and echoes, restates, and clarifies the patient’s thinking, acknowledging expressed feelings
behavioral therapy
counterconditioning
a procedure that conditions new response to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors
(it is based on classical conditioning & includes exposure therapy & aversive conditioning. it does not deal with the root cause of the behavior, just the behavior itself)
exposure therapy
expose patients to the thing(s) that are giving them anxiety
systematic desensitization
a type of exposure therapy that exposes people to their fears little by little
flooding
a type of exposure therapy that exposes a patient to their greatest fear all at once
aversive conditioning
pairing an unwaned behavior with an unpleasant consequence
behavior modification
reward the patient for wanted behaviors & punish them for unwanted behaviors
token economy
- give a token/chip/star every time a patient does something desireable
- have an opportunity for the patient to turn in these chips at the end of a period of time for prizes or desirable items
cognitive therapy
- gets the patient to change their way of thinking, in order to make the patient feel better
- Aaron Beck was an important member of this perspective
stress inoculation training
cognitive techniques where patients are trained to think positively during a stressful event
rational emotive therapy (cognitive-behavior therapy)
- cognitive-behavior therapy aims to alter the way people act, and modify the way they think.
- this is similar to rational emotive therapy
group therapy
pros:
- cost effective (cheaper), often beneficial to hear others with similar problems
cons:
- confidentiality is lost, less one on one time with therapist
eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- the therapist waves a finger in front of the patient’s face and has them follow it with their eyes.
- this is supposed to unlock the unconscious mind & bring back repressed thoughts
light exposure therapy
used for people with seasonal affective disorder, this treatment involved staring into a very bright light to rid oneself of seasonal depression
counselor
pastoral counselors or abuse counselors work with problems arising from family relations, spouse & child abusers & their victims, and substance abusers
- often have Bachelor’s degree
social worker
- they have a Masters Degree in social work
- postgraduate supervision prepares some social workers to over psychotherapy, mostly to people with everyday personal & family problems
clinical psychologist
- they have a PhD in psychology mostly
- they are experienced in research, and therapy, all of which is verified through a supervised internship
psychiatrist
- they are physicians who specialize in the treatment of psychological disorders
- not all psychiatrists have extensive training in psychothrapy, but as MDs they can prescribe medications
thorazine
drug that improves behavior of Schizophrenia (hallucinations, delusions, apathy, catatonia, disorganized thinking)
- positive symptoms
- both block receptors for dopamine (lower amount of dopamine)
clozapine (clozaril)
drug that improves behavior of Schizophrenia (hallucinations, delusions, apathy, catatonia, disorganized thinking)
- negative symptoms
- both block receptors for dopamine (lower amount of dopamine)
xanax & ativan
drugs that improve behavior of anxiety (nervousness, heart racing, breathing heavy, etc.)
- increasing levels of GABA
prozac, zoloft, & paxil
drugs that improve behavior of depression (suicidal thoughts, lonliness, sadness, low appetite, pessimism, low motivation)
- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): they increase the levels of serotonin
SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
they increase the levels of serotonin
lithium carbonate
drugs that improve behavior
& thinking of bipolar disorder
- stabilizes levels of norepinephrine & glutamate
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
- second to last resort
what are you trying to fix/improve? mostly depression (could be other things)
methods that improve behavior: 100 volts of electric shock to the brain
how do these methods work? jump start the patient’s brain with electricity
transcrainial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
- second to last resort
what are you trying to fix/improve? mostly depression (could be other things)
methods that improve behavior: strap two high powered magnets to the brain to alter brain chemistry
how do these methods work? activate the brain by altering brain chemistry
psychosurgery
- last resort
what are you trying to fix/improve? anything that is bad enough, and can’t be treated another way
methods that improve behavior: destroy/remove the part of the brain that is causing the problem
how do these methods work? by removing the problem area, the problem can’t continue (you are also losing all other functions that part of the brain was responsible for & it’s irreversible
