Chapter 16

Question 1

Biological treatments

Answer 1

Involve use of drugs, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), brain surgery or other methods that affect body or brain chemistry
Can be effective, because many disorders have a biological basis

Question 2

Placebo

Answer 2

a substance with no chemical effects given to a patient instead of a drug

Question 3

Biological Treatments - Concerns

Answer 3

Increasing off-label prescription
Side effects may feel worse than the disorder symptoms
Especially bad with Lithium and antipsychotics, leading to high relapse and dropout rates
Long-term effects
Addiction
Diabetes
Tardive dyskinesia

Question 4

Psychosurgery

Answer 4

Any surgical procedure that destroys selected areas of the brain believed to be involved in emotional disorders or violent, impulsive behavior

Question 5

Frontal lobotomy

Answer 5

Destroys or separates parts of the frontal lobes
Stops strong emotional reactions, leads to flat affect
Also can interfere with other frontal lobe functions – planning, socially appropriate behavior
18,000 conducted 1939-51

Question 6

Antonio Moniz’ method

Answer 6

Moniz’s hypothesis was that, in mentally ill patients, the presence of abnormal neural connections originate from the frontal lobes. Working at the University of Lisbon, Moniz believed that certain obsessive and melancholic persons could be helped if their frontal lobes were cut out.
Moniz received the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Question 7

Walter Freeman’s method

Answer 7

transorbital lobotomy which cuts out parts of the frontal cortex where he claimed he no longer needed a drill, sterile field nor surgical scrubs.

Question 8

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Answer 8

Used in cases of severe major depression
Ineffective for other conditions
Initiated by Ugo Cerletti in 1937
Produces retrograde amnesia for the procedure itself
Widely used today (100,000+ / year)
Criticized as a tool more of control than treatment

Question 9

Antipsychotic Drugs

Answer 9

Block or reduce sensitivity of brain receptors that respond to dopamine
Some increase levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that inhibits dopamine activity
Can relieve positive symptoms of schizophrenia but are ineffective for or even worsen negative symptoms
Side effects include weight gain, diabetes
Increasingly prescribed off-label (e.g. Seroquel)

Question 10

Antidepressants

Answer 10

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (Nardil, Parnate)
Elevate norepinephrine / serotonin in brain by blocking an enzyme that deactivates them

Tricyclic antidepressants (Elavil, Tofranil)
Boost norepinephrine and serotonin in brain by preventing normal reuptake of these substances

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Also inhibit re-uptake of serotonin to boost levels
Examples – Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil

Question 11

Anti-Anxiety (Tranquilizers)

Answer 11

Increase levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter
Developed for shorter-term use, with high relapse rates when people stop taking them
Often overprescribed by general physicians for patients who complain of any mood problems
Overprescription or long-term use can lead to addiction
Examples – valium, xanax

Question 12

Psychodynamic Therapy

Answer 12

Uses various techniques to explore the unconscious as a route to identifying and solving problems

Question 13

Behavioral Methods

Answer 13

Apply principles and techniques of classical and operant conditioning to help people change self defeating or problematic behaviors

Question 14

Free Association

Answer 14

A method of uncovering unconscious conflicts by saying freely whatever comes to mind

Question 15

Transference

Answer 15

A critical step in which the client transfers unconscious emotions or reactions onto therapist (e.g. conflicts about parents)

Question 16

Dream analysis

Answer 16

the investigation of repressed feelings that can be expressed in our dreams.

Question 17

Systematic desensitization

Answer 17

a treatment for phobias in which the patient is exposed to progressively more anxiety-provoking stimuli and taught relaxation techniques.

Question 18

Behavioral self-monitoring

Answer 18

a form of data-gathering in which clients are asked to systematically observe and record specific targets such as their own thoughts, emotions, body feelings, and behaviors.

Question 19

Aversive conditioning

Answer 19

used to help a person give up a behavior or habit by having them associate it with something unpleasant.

Question 20

Cognitive Therapy

Answer 20

Aim is to have people identify and understand maladaptive thought patterns, then change them to improve their life

Question 21

Albert Ellis’s Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT)

Answer 21

focuses mostly on the present time to help you understand how unhealthy thoughts and beliefs create emotional distress which, in turn, leads to unhealthy actions and behaviors that interfere with your life and goals.

therapist and client actively challenge existing beliefs

Question 22

Aaron Beck’s Cognitive Therapy

Answer 22

examines interconnection of thoughts, feelings and behaviors

Question 23

Humanistic Therapy

Answer 23

Humanistic therapy emphasizes people’s free will to change

Question 24

Client- / Person-Centered Therapy (Carl Rogers)

Answer 24

Emphasizes empathy with client, seeing the world as client does

Question 25

Family Therapy

Answer 25

Many problems develop in the context of family, or are perpetuated by the dynamics of the family
Any changes made will affect all members of the family.

Question 26

Family-System Perspective

Answer 26

Therapy with individuals or families that focuses on how each member forms part of a larger interacting system

Question 27

Group Therapies Advantages

Answer 27

Can be led by a professional to show people that they are not alone in their problems
People can learn from the growth of others
Less expensive than one-on-one
Most common type is that used in AA, NA, etc.

Question 28

Group Therapies Disadvantages

Answer 28

Lack of confidentiality
Requires a skilled facilitator to avoid social issues such as groupthink

Question 29

Evaluating Therapies

Answer 29

Success hinges on:
Getting the person into the most compatible type of therapy for their disorder and personality.
Client and therapist working together in a therapeutic alliance.
Therapist being culturally competent for client population.
Client being motivated to change.

Question 30

Scientist-Practitioner Gap

Answer 30

A substantial, serious disconnect between scientists who research and those who practice.
Practitioners often disregard scientific evidence as not relevant to their personalized approaches
This leads to perpetuation of misdiagnoses and useless or harmful treatment methods
Scientists may undervalue the individual human elements of therapy, overemphasize one-size-fits-all approaches

Question 31

comorbid disorder

Answer 31

individual who has two or more diagnoses, which often includes a substance abuse
diagnosis and another psychiatric diagnosis, such as depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia

Question 32

counterconditioning

Answer 32

classical conditioning therapeutic technique in which a client learns a new response to
a stimulus that has previously elicited an undesirable behavior

Question 33

nondirective therapy

Answer 33

therapeutic approach in which the therapist does not give advice or provide
interpretations but helps the person identify conflicts and understand feelings

Question 34

play therapy

Answer 34

therapeutic process, often used with children, that employs toys to help them resolve
psychological problems

Question 35

transference

Answer 35

process in psychoanalysis in which the patient transfers all of the positive or negative emotions
associated with the patient’s other relationships to the psychoanalyst

Question 36

unconditional positive regard

Answer 36

fundamental acceptance of a person regardless of what they say or do; term
associated with humanistic psychology

Question 37

virtual reality exposure therapy

Answer 37

uses a simulation rather than the actual feared object or situation to help
people conquer their fears