Abnormal Psychology - Lecture One Flashcards
Introduction
Why are mental disorders considered disorders?
Because they are statistically infrequent in a population
The extent of abnormal behaviour of depression
Lifetime: 10-20% for woman and 5-12% for men
The extent of abnormal behaviour of schizophrenia
Lifetime: 0.5-1.5&
The extent of abnormal behaviour of any disorder
Lifetime: 48%
Treatment of mental illness
Biomedical or psychological
Biomedical treatment
Tend to be administered by medical doctors, psychiatrists and take the perspective that mental illness has a biological disfunction
Psychodynamic approaches
Psychological difficulties as seen as stemming from unresolved tension based on early life traumas, conflicts, frustrations and deprivations
Goal of psychodynamic approaches
Therapist and patient work together to identify “hidden blocks” that haver developed as a result of past conflicts and them guide the patient to discover the relationship between root causes and current symptoms
Behavioural approaches
Focuses on using techniques like exposure, reinforcement, ignoring and punishment
Goal of behavioural approaches
Extinguish non-productive/upsetting behaviours and reinforce the desirable behaviours
Cognitive approaches
How you interpret a situation influences how you feel about the situation
Goal of cognitive approaches
Identify maladaptive thoughts and challenge them then replace them with more adaptive thoughts
Humanistic approaches
Teaches patient to seek fulfilment and reach their potential
Goal of humanistic approaches
Helps the patient to discover and then achieve their potential
Eclectic treatment
Therapist selects techniques from various types of therapies to design a treatment that best suits the case
