chapter 1 Flashcards
issues with defining abnormality
Eccentric & unusual behavior or beliefs are not necessarily abnormal
Behaviors that are repugnant & threatening to others are not always signs of an underlying psyc disorders
psychological abnormality
behavior, speech or thought that impairs the ability of a person to function in a way that
is expected of him or her – in context where the unusual functioning occurs
mental illness
same meaning as psychological abnormality but implies a medical rather than psychological cause
psychological disorder
a specific manifestation of this impairment of functioning – described by some set of
established criteria
psychopathology
scientific study of psychological abnormality & the problems faced by people who suffer from such
disorders
statistical concept
behavior is abnormal if it occurs in the population
challenges of statistical concept
Not all infrequent behaviors or thoughts should be judged abnormal
How unusual does a behaviour have to be in order to be considered abnormal?
personal distress
distress is present in many pathological disorders
challenges with personal distress
We all undergo distress & sometimes not undergoing it is seen as being pathological
Distress appears to be but not
frequent ; essential feature of abnormality
personal dysfunction
behaviour that is maladaptive and interferes with appropriate functioning is deemed abnormal
challenges with personal dysfunction
What is normal and adaptive?
wakefield
harmful dysfunction is the key to notion
Saying a given behaviour is disordered requires scientific judgment that there exists a failure
of designed function & a value judgement that the design failure harms the individual
If the dysfunction is harming the person, then that’s abnormal
volition of norms
the behaviour and thoughts of many psychologically disordered people run counter to what we
might consider appropriate
challenges of volition of norms
Criminals endanger in behaviours that violate social norms but few of them meet criteria for any
disorder
Social norms vary & defining abnormality is culturally relative
Society’s criteria for defining behaviour as acceptable / unacceptable effect the predominant view in
society
This makes people think that psychologically disordered people are
dangerous &
unpredictable
Depression has higher rates in
CND & USA compared to Asia
Asia: emphasis is on
physical symptoms & avoidance of stigma of mental disorders
Neurasthenia
condition w/ many physical symptoms similar to depression
neurasthenia is highly diagnosed in
asia
diagnosis by an expert
professionals who work w/ psychologically disturbed patients include: clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychiatric social workers & occupational
therapists.
In final analysis
the opinions of particular mental healthcare workers determine whether a person is said to suffer from a psychological abnormality
Thomas Szasz:
mental disorders were invented by psychiatry to give control to its practitioners
“the myth of mental disorders”
Notions, causes and treatments change over time which reflect
values of society
stone age
Recognized that mental processes occurred in the brain (natural)
This could become dysfunctional through demonic possession (supernatural)
trephinatian
drilling a hole into the skull= done to rid a person of evil spirits
Done to remove blood clots or bone splinters
greek and roman
Emphasized natural causes of mental disorders & developed greater understanding of their etiology & treatment
hippocrates
denied that psyc problems were the result of demonic possession
He thought that mental & physical disorders resulted from disturbances in bodily fluids – tumours
Described Hysteria
hysteria
Conversion Disorder
Psychologically induced physical dysfunction (blindness, deafness)
plato
dreams serve to satisfy our latent desires
The mentally ill shouldn’t be held accountable for their wrongdoings
They should be cared for in homes and community centers
Methodism rejects
Hippo’s bodily fluid’s theory
Methodism
mental disorder arises from constriction of body tissue or relaxation of those tissue due to exhaustion
Romans introduced
psychotherapy
the arab world
Treated the mentally ill w/ compassion & respect – asylums
avicenna
Islamic physician who wrote “The Canon of Medicine”
explored the natural causes of
mental disorders
Environmental and psychological factors
Europe in Middle Ages
Supernatural thought dominated again
Exorcism was popular
Paracelsus
rejected Hippo’s humoral theory & said that. All mental disorders arise from breath of life
Suggested that psychic conflicts might cause mental illness
Treated people w/ an early version of hypnotism
St. Vincent de Pal & Teresa of Avila
promoted compassionate care for people w/ mental disorders
Led to the establishment of asylums across Europe
what was the problem with st vincent de pal and teresa of avila
conditions were v poor and treatments were ineffective and inhumane
phillippe pinel
leading figure in the humanitarian reform
Changed how society dealt w/ caring for the mentally ill
Improved patient conditions and increased physician contact w/ patients
Created a systematic approach to classifying / managing / diagnosing them
why was philippes approach ended
because of the large increase in # of mentally ill patients
Too many= impossible to treat them the Pinel way
mental hygiene movement
this is how the type of “moral therapy” was introduced in N.A.
As the responsibility of the ill shifted to the state > the # of asylums & patients increased
Knowledge of poor conditions that they endured in asylums + the advent of antipsychotics lead to
a massive deinstitutionalization of patients
biological approaches
Abandonment of the humoral theory – adoption of autopsies and anatomical studies that pointed to neuronal
system dysfunction as a cause for mental disorder
Cabanis
combined psychological + somatic factors in his account of mental disorders
His theories encouraged the development of psychological approaches to treatment
Kraepelin
first to classify mental disorders into syndromes
Noticed that certain symptoms tended to occur in different syndromes and served as a way of
identifying & treating the disorder
Believed that all mental disorders were the result of biological processes
Somatogenesis
psychopathology is caused by biological factors
what did somitogenesis lead to
Led people to believe that infection may be the cause of the disorder: general paresis of the insane (GPI)
gpi
now known to be caused by syphilis spirochete bacterium
Shock Therapy
electroconvulsive
used in schizophrenia patients
mostly useful in depressed
patients (today)
Insulin-induced coma
patients who woke up were often more tranquil
Insulin administered in high dose put patients into a coma and sometimes produced seizures
Physicians thought that was the main reason why insulin-induced comas worked
Chlorpromazine
first antipsychotic introduced, started the biological revolution in psychiatry
Success of antipsychotics + patients’ rights movement
massive deinstitutionalization
occurred
Mesmer
thought that hysteria (conversion disorder) was caused by disturbed distribution of the magnetic fluid in the body
Some thought his treatments were successful in some… why?
Because they believed it worked
although his explanation of mental disorder was physiological, it brought
up the psychological aspects
Hypnotism
used to allow patients to talk openly & freely about their traumas and experiences
hypnosis was
Cathartic method that led to the birth of psychoanalysis
John B. Watson
if psychology were to become a science, it must be restricted to the study of observable features
john b watson was part of what field of psyc
behaviourism
behaviourism
Abnormal behaviours are the result of faulty conditional learning
Therefore, since we were taught, we can unlearn
introduction of behavioural approaches to understanding & treating psych disorders
First textbook printed dealing w/ the housing and care of the ill was written by
J.F. Lehman
His views were harsh and immoral
Psychosurgery
frontal lobotomies
These procedures were done to subdue the patients and lessen the burden on healthcare
practitioners
Role in introducing CBT Canada
the modification of cognition for treating psychological disorders
canada contributed
cutting edge research in psychiatry
Ex: use of tranquilizer in patients with schizophrenia
Two developments pertaining to mental health
Mental health commission of Canada (2007)
Introduction of evidence-based practice (treating w/ scientific evidence + indv. expertise)
