Ch 16+17 Flashcards
A behavior is considered to be normal
when it helps a person to assimilate approximately into their society and to function independently as expected for their age.
Medical approach to normality
Diagnosing someone with a mental illness or physical illness, is referred to as the medical approach to normality. In this case, a persons state of mental health is determined by a set of symptoms. If a mental illness is diagnosed, treatment is required.
Functional Approach to Normality
It is not normal when these thoughts, feelings and behaviors become intense and interfere with normal activities.
Functional Approach to Normality (Psychological Dysfunction definition)
Occurs when there is a breakdown in the way a person thinks, feels and behaves.
Mental health is a
state of emotional and social wellbeing in which individuals realize their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and can contribute to their community.
Mental Health Problem
refers to a problem that causes emotional, cognitive and behavioral difficulties that effect relationships and functioning in every day life. (Depression)
A mental illness is a
mental disorder that affects one or most functions of the mind, and can interfere with a person’s thoughts, emotions, perceptions and behaviors.
A mental disorder implies
the existence of a clinically recognizable set of symptoms and behaviors that usually need treatment to be deviated.
What is the difference between a mental illness and a mental health problem?
A mental illness is more severe and ongoing than a mental health problem.
What is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)?
It is the most widely used classification system in Australia. It is a handbook that is used by clinicians and researchers to identify and classify symptoms of mental disorders. It is descriptive.
What does the DSM not do?
It does not specify the causes of the mental disorder, nor does it direct the treatment.
What is the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)?
The ICD is produced by the World Health Organization. It is descriptive and largely based on the symptoms reported by the patient and criteria ranked as importantly by professionals. It covers a wider range of illness than the DSM.
Stress is a
psychological and physiological response to internal or external sources of tension (stressors) that challenge a persons ability to cope. Stressors can be positive or negative, environmental, physiological or social/culture in nature.
Eustress
refers to a positive psychological response to a perceived stressor.
Distress
refers to a negative psychological response to a perceived stressor.
According to Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping,
stress is regarded as a ‘transaction or cognitive appraisal determines how to deal with the situation. This appraisal is influenced by a person’s beliefs, goals and personality.
Lazarus focused on
working with people. It became apparent that it was not just the response to the stressor or the stressor itself that was important but, rather, the individuals perception and assessment of that stressor.
Lazarus and Folkman’s model outlines two main stages during the cognitive assessment of a situation:
primary and secondary appraisal.
Primary appraisal is the
initial evaluation process where the person determines whether the event is a threat or a challenge.
During Primary appraisal, the significance of a situation can be classified as:
1 Harm/Loss - assessment of that some type of damage has been done such as poor test result.
- Threat - assessment that there may be a future harm/loss
- Challenge - assessment that there is an opportunity for personal growth
- Neutral - assessment that this event is of little or no personal importance/relevance.
Secondary appraisal is the
stage where the person considers what options are available to them and how they will respond.
Both stages involve emotional forecasting, which is where
the person predicts the possible emotional impact of each potential response.
Problem-focused coping looks
at the causes of the stress from a practical perspective and works out ways to deal with the problem. (Pros/cons list, information seeking, taking control)