chapter 14 Flashcards
psychological disorders
syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual cognition, emotion regulation, or behaviour that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological biological or developmental processes underlying mental functioning
biopsychosocial model
social conditions: environments, cultural influence, family relations, social support
biological characteristics: genetic predisposition, exposure to germ, brain and nervous system development
psychological factors: thoughts/action, lifestyle, stress, health
evidence based practice
- began in medicine and spread to psychotherapy and other helping professions
- combined personal experience of the clinician, the best scientific evidence and a consideration of patient values and expectations to tailor scientifically valid treatments to the individual
comorbidity
Two or more disorders in the same individual.
abnormal behaviour
behaviour must interfere with at least one important aspect of the persons life
diathesis stress model
combination of both genetics, childhood, family, and stress that determines how likely someone is to develop a mental disorder
- A model that suggests that the experience of stress interacts with an individual’s pre-existing vulnerability to produce a psychological disorder.
psychoanalytic therapy
- bringing unconscious struggles into consciousness (free association, dream analysis)
- increase understanding of their own psychological processes
psychodynamic therapy
- in-depth form of talk therapy based on the theories and principles of psychoanalysis
-But psychodynamic therapy is less focused on the patient-therapist relationship
person/client centered therapy
- encourage personal growth through self understanding - congruence
- safe and comfortable setting, empathy, reflective listening
cognitive behavioural therapy
- modify maladaptive thought patterns
- challenge or dispute thoughts
- recognizing automatic thoughts
- identify cognitive distortions
- replace with healthy more functional thoughts
- correct faulty thinking and change maladaptive behaviours
anxiety and mood disorders treated well
psychotropic medication
drugs that affect mental processes
pharmacotherapy
medical treatment by means of drugs.
neurodevelopmental disorders
affect the development of the nervous system leading to abnormal brain function which may affect emotion, learning, self control and memory
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
A disorder characterized by deficits in social relatedness and communication skills that are often accompanied by repetitive, ritualistic behaviour.
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
A disorder characterized by either unusual inattentiveness, hyperactivity with impulsivity, or both.
schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
- alterations in perceptions, emotions, thoughts or consciousness
- paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, residual type
- A disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thought and speech, disorders of movement, restricted affect, and avolition or asociality.
positive symptoms
- excesses in behaviour
negative symptoms
deficits in functioning:
- isolation, withdrawal, apathy, blunted emotion, slowed and monotonous speech
- more difficult to treat
mood disorders
affect emotionally
major depressive disorder
- 7% of the adult population yearly
- more common in young adults and women
- diagnosis requires presence of depressed mood and/or anhedonia along with other physical or cognitive symptoms (appetite, sleep disturbance, loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness, death thoughts)
depressive attributional style
attribute failures to internal, global, stable causes
cognitive triad
-negative views about the world
-negative views about the future
-negative views about oneself
bipolar disorder
A mood disorder characterized by alternating periods of mania and depression.
mania/manic episode
elevated mood, increases activity, diminished need for sleep, grandiose ideas, racing thoughts, extreme distractibility
- A period of unrealistically elevated mood.
electroconvulsive therapy
small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental health conditions.
deep brain stimulation
implanting electrodes in the brain and delivering a mild electrical current to a specific part of your brain.
anxiety disorder
excessive anxiety in the absence of true danger
- autonomic system arousal
- worry/anxiety/tenseness
- restlessness
- excessive startle response
- A disorder featuring anxiety that is not proportional to a person’s circumstances.
generalized anxiety disorder
- hypervigilance: fatigue, irritability, headaches
- A disorder characterized by excessive anxiety and worry that is not correlated with particular objects or situations.
specific phobia
Fears of objects other than those associated with agoraphobia or social anxiety disorder.
panic disorder
A disorder characterized by repeated panic attacks and fear of future attacks.
agoraphobia
Unrealistic fear of open spaces, being outside the home alone, or being in a crowd.
social anxiety disorder
A disorder characterized by an unrealistic fear of being scrutinized and criticized by others.
obsessive compulsive disorder
involves frequent intrusive thoughts and or compulsive actions : anticipate catastrophe and loss of control
obsessions
recurrent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts or ideas or mental images; include fear of contamination, of accidents, or ones aggression
- An intrusive, distressing thought.
compulsions
particular acts that one feels driven to perform over and over; cleaning checking and counting
- Repetitive, ritualistic behaviour associated with high anxiety.
stigma
- one big barrier to treatment is the fear of being judged or discriminated against
- certain mental health issues are more stigmatized than others
stereotypes
- incurable
- violent and dangerous people
- behave in bizarre ways and are different from normal people
biomedical model
- mental disorders are brain diseases and emphasizes pharmacological treatment to target presumed biological abnormalities
- not the fault of the person
assessment
involves examining a person mental state in order to diagnose and treat disorders
treatment
interactions between practitioner and client/patient
- increased understanding of causes of disorder does not necessarily lead to effective treatment
psychotherapy
any psychological service provided by a trained
professional that primarily uses forms of
communication and interaction to assess,
diagnose, and treat dysfunctional emotional
reactions, ways of thinking, and behaviour pattern
aaron beck
father of CBT
behaviour therapy
- modify maladaptive behaviour and the environments that trigger them (reconditioning)
- systematic desensitization (fear hierarchy, relaxation training, exposure therapy)
anxiolytics
treatment of anxiety - benzodiazepines increases GABA activity
antidepressants
SSRI increase serotonin levels
antipsychotics
block dopamine, reduce positive symptoms of schizophrenia
delusions
false personal beliefs based on incorrect inferences about reality
hallucinations
false sensory experiences
- A false perception.
disorganized speech
loosening of associations; speech pattern in which thoughts are disorganized or meaningless
disorganized behaviour
disorganizes or abnormal motor behaviour (catatonia)
schizophrenia biological and environmental factors
- genetic component
- structural and functional differences in the brain - frontal lobe dysfunction
- environmental stress - socioeconomic status, prenatal environment
- drug use (THC)
schizophrenia treatment
- pharmacological are most effective
- neuroleptics revolutionized schizo treatment
- significant side effects: tardive dyskinesia
- atypical (second gen) antipsychotics : clozapine which has lower risk of motor impairment
- little to no effect on negative symptoms long term
causes of depression
- caused by learned helplessness
- depressive attributional style
- heritability of depression is around 40% : genes affecting serotonin function or genes affecting circadian rhythm
- experience severe stress
depression treatment
- antidepressants
- CBT
- phototherapy
- aerobic exercise
- ECT : electroconvulsive therapy
- deep brain stimulation
causes of anxiety
- cognitive factors
- attention to an perception of threat
- ambiguous stimuli
- interpretation of bodily sensations (panic disorder)
- genetics
- inhibited temperamental style
- fear circuitry dysfunction (amygdala, prefrontal cortex)
treatment of anxiety
- anxiolytics (xanax - increase gaba)
- CBT
- exposure therapy
causes of OCD
- strong genetic
- classical and operant conditioning process - anxiety paired with event (CC), behaviour linked with relief (OC)
