Clinical Psychology Flashcards
What is Clinical Psychology?
A branch of psychology concerned with assessing and treating mental illness and psychological problems.
THE 4 Ds
What are the 4 Ds of diagnosing mental disorders?
- Danger.
- Dysfunction.
- Distress.
- Deviance.
What is deviance?
When behaviours and emotions are viewed as unacceptable.
> regarded as abnormal/defy social norms.
What is distress?
When someone’s own behaviours or emotions upset them (for an extended period of time).
> anxiety, fear, confusion.
What is dysfunction?
When behaviours prevent someone from doing everyday tasks/satisfying social and occupational roles.
What is danger?
When someone’s behaviour puts themself or others at risk of harm.
> subjective—drinking + smoking vs bungee jumping.
What do the 4 Ds do?
Assist the accuracy and reliability of diagnoses.
THE DSM
What is the DSM?
A handbook used to help the diagnosing of mental disorders.
How many versions are there?
5.
Why was it created?
- To create a common system for diagnosing disorders.
- Originally published to help the armed forces correctly diagnose servicemen.
What are some facts about the DSM 1?
- Was dominated by Freud’s psychodynamic theory.
> was a leading form of clinical psychology. - Used as a manual for military doctors in the US army.
What are some facts about the DSM 2?
- Bandura challenged the psychodynamic approach.
- Thomas Szasz argued that MH was a myth.
- Rosenhan’s study exposed it as unreliable.
What are some facts about the DSM 3?
- It had a better biological understanding of MH.
- Had a strong focus on observation due to the biological approach.
- More scientific.
What are some facts about the DSM 4?
- People became more aware of how MH was different in different cultures.
- Followed 5 axes.
What were the 5 axes?
- Mental health conditions.
- Personality disorders.
- Medical conditions.
- Psychosocial and environmental problems.
- Daily functioning.
What are some facts about DSM 5?
- No axes.
- Has 3 sections.
- More research into different disorders.
What are the 3 sections?
- Introduction + directions on how to use the manual.
- All known disorders + diagnostic criteria.
- Conditions that require further research.
> Caffeine use disorder.
> Internet gaming disorder.
THE ICD
What is the ICD?
The international classification of disease.
How many versions are there?
11.
What are some facts about the ICD?
- It’s free and available for everyone.
- Contains all known disorders and diseases.
- Created by the world health organisation.
RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF DIAGNOSES
How do we know if a diagnosis is reliable?
More than one psychologist agrees on the diagnosis.
How do we know if a diagnosis is valid?
The diagnostic criteria will measure the disorder it claims to.
How can patient factors affect reliability?
- May provide inaccurate information to the clinician.
> memory problems, denial or shame. - May not think a symptom is notable.
> could be normal to them.
How can clinician factors affect reliability?
- Unstructured interviews may lead to focus on a certain symptom.
- May already be set on a diagnosis.
- Different clinicians may have different training backgrounds.
> psychodynamic vs medical.
What are the different types of validity?
- Predictive.
- Concurrent.
- Etiological.
What’s concurrent validity?
When there is a broad agreement about which symptoms mean which disorder.
> cross-checking with another diagnostic tool.
What’s etiological validity?
When people with the same disorder have the same causal factors.
> genetics.
What is predictive validity?
When a diagnosis can lead to the prediction of future symptoms and the prediction of the effect of treatment.
How can implicit biases affect the validity of diagnoses?
Clinicians may be more likely to diagnose women with depression because it’s more common among women.
CLASSIC STUDY
Who created this classic study?
Rosenhan
What were the aims of this study?
- To see what it was like to be institutionalised.
- To see if the DSM had good reliability when distinguishing the ‘sane’ from the ‘insane’.
What was the procedure?
- 8 pseudo patients chosen (5M + 3F).
> one was Rosenhan himself. - Each patient went to a different psychiatrist.
> Reported the same symptom of hearing a voice saying ‘hollow’, ‘empty’, ‘thud’.
> Bar that symptom, everything else was normal. - Covert observation—staff and doctors didn’t know.
- As soon as they were admitted, they acted how they normally would—stopped showing abnormal symptoms.
> took part in activities + spoke to staff. - Patients took notes.
What were the results of this study?
- All patients were admitted.
- All but one was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
> Diagnosed with manic depression. - Average stay was 19 days.
- A lot of the actual patients were suspicious of the pseudo patients’ sanity.
- Staff dehumanised the patients.
> Ignored them + invaded their privacy.
-Taking notes was seen as normal behaviour in the hospital.
FOLLOW UP STUDY
What was the aim of this study?
To see if the tendency towards diagnosing the sane as insane could be reversed.
What was the procedure?
- Another hospital didn’t believe that the results of the first study could happen/be found in their hospital.
- Rosenhan told them that over the next 3 months 1 or more pseudo patients would try to gain access to the hospital.
What were the results?
- 193 patients tried to gain access—none ended up being pseudo patients.
- 41 were suspected fake by at least 1 staff member.
- 23 suspected fake by at least 1 psychiatrist.
- 19 suspected fake by psychiatrist and 1 other staff member.
SCHIZOPHRENIA
What is schizophrenia?
A chronic mental health condition where you see, hear or believe things that aren’t real.
What are positive symptoms?
Symptoms that are additional to behaviour.
What are negative symptoms?
Symptoms that show a lack of normal functioning.
Give some positive symptoms.
- Hallucinations.
> Visual or auditory. - Delusions.
- Thought insertions—thoughts are put there by someone else.
- Thought withdrawal.
- Disorganised speech and behaviour.
Give some negative symptoms.
- Apathy—loss of interest in normal goals/interests.
- Lack of speech.
- Social withdrawal.
- Flat emotions.
> Immobile face, lifeless eyes, tone less speech.
Give some statistics of schizophrenia.
- In men symptoms show during teens-20s.
- In women symptoms show during 20s-30s.
- Affects 1% of the population.
- More common in those of a lower class.
What are the 5 types of schizophrenia?
- Paranoid.
- Disorganised.
- Residual.
- Catatonic.
- Undifferentiated.
What’s the paranoid type?
Delusions of control and auditory hallucinations.
What is the disorganised type?
Disorganised speech and behaviour, and flat emotions.
What is the catatonic type?
- Apathy.
- Bizarre postures.
- Excessive motor activity.
Repetition of others’ words (echolalia).
What’s the residual type?
When they portray few symptoms but have history of schizophrenia.
What’s the undifferentiated type?
When people have symptoms that aren’t fully formed or specific enough to permit diagnosis.
How is schizophrenia diagnosed?
- Clinicians look for at least 2 symptoms.
- Symptoms must be present for 6 months.
What are the biological explanations for schizophrenia?
- Neurotransmitters.
- Genetics.
What are the neurotransmitters associated with schizophrenia?
- Dopamine.
- Serotonin.
- Glutamate.
How does dopamine affect schizophrenia?
- Schizophrenics have an abnormal number of D2 receptors at the synapse.
- Increased dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway in the brain causes positive symptoms.
- Decreased dopamine in the mesocortical pathway in the brain causes negative symptoms.
How does serotonin affect schizophrenia?
- Increased serotonin leads to positive and negative symptoms.
How does glutamate affect schizophrenia?
- It controls memory and learning.
- Reduced glutamate=increased dopamine.
Where does evidence of the neurotransmitters hypothesis come from?
- Lieberman —75% of schizophrenics show new symptoms/increased symptoms after taking amphetamines.
-
Randrup and Munkvad —Raised dopamine levels in rats brains (injected amphetamines).
> Showed psychotic behaviour—aggression and isolation. - Post-mortems —High density of dopamine receptors.
Give some strengths of this?
- Clearly scientific.
- Continues to generate research using objective methods—PET scans, animal studies.
- Possible to test.
Give some weaknesses.
- Doesn’t adequately explain types of schizophrenia.
- Can’t explain why some aren’t helped by antipsychotic drugs.
- Reductionist.
- Unknown whether schizophrenia causes increased neurotransmitters or whether increased neurotransmitters cause schizophrenia.
What is the treatment for this theory?
Antipsychotic drugs.
What are the 2 types of antipsychotics?
- Atypical.
- Typical.
What are typical antipsychotics and what do they do?
- Chloraprozamine + Haloperidol.
- Block the action of dopamine.
What are atypical antipsychotics and what do they do?
- Clozapine + Risperidone.
- Blocks both serotonin and dopamine.
Why are antipsychotics bad?
They have lots of negative side effects.
How do genetics link to schizophrenia?
- Thought that schizophrenia runs in families.
- Occurs in 10% of people with a close relative with the condition.
- Identical twins have a 40-65% risk.
What is the problem with the genetic explanation?
No singular gene has been identified with causing schizophrenia.
What research backs up this explanation?
-
Gottesman and Shields —Twin studies.
> MZ + DZ twins.
> 75% concordance for identical twins. -
Sullivan —Meta-analysis
> 81% heritability. -
Heston —Adoption studies.
> Those who had biological mothers with schizophrenia were more prone to it—10%.
> Shows its not environment.
Give some strengths of these studies.
-
Gottesman and Shields
> Replicates other studies—reliable. -
Heston
> Ensured the separation at birth—reliable. - Common finding occurred between multiple studies.
Give some weaknesses of this explanation.
- Reductionist—reduces schizophrenia down to just genetics.
- Some people with schizophrenia don’t have family members with the condition.
- Ignores that environmental factors can contribute.
What is the non-biological explanation for schizophrenia?
The social explanation.
What are the social risk factors for schizophrenia?
- Social adversity.
- Urbanicity.
- Social isolation.
- Immigration/minority group status.
What evidence is there that shows immigration and minority is a risk?
- There is a high incidence rate among African-Caribbean and black immigrants.
- Immigrant populations are disadvantaged.
> Education, class, housing, discrimination.
What is the social-drift hypothesis.
The development of schizophrenia leads to movement into the lower class—not the other way round.
Give some strengths of this explanation.
- Enables suggestions for improving mental health of children in minority communities.
-
Pedersen and Mortensen
> Longer urban living creates a greater probability of schizophrenia.
Give some weaknesses of this explanation.
- Not actually a cause of schizophrenia.
> Only triggers/elicits it in those with a genetic predisposition. - Evidence can be biased.
> Lower classes are more likely to be diagnosed.
> Greater intervention. - Hard to pin point specific social factors.
What is the treatment for this explanation?
Care in the community.
What are the aims of this treatment?
- To avoid institutionalisation.
- To rehabilitate patients in society.
How does it work?
- Treatment is provided while the patient is living at home or in sheltered accommodation.
- Those who need hospitalisation are admitted—only short-term.
> Only used as a last resort.
What are some arguments for this treatment?
- Helps them learn independence.
- Improves their quality of life.
- Reduces their symptoms.
- Allows them to function as normally as possible.
What are some arguments against this treatment?
- Chronic underfunding.
- Overstretched staff.
> May affect recovery. - Lack of coordination between different services.
> Different advice, methods or quality of care from different people.
CONTEMPORARY STUDY
Who is this study by?
Carlsson et al.
What were the aims of this study?
- To review studies into the relationship between neurotransmitters and schizophrenia.
- To produce drugs that reduce relapse of symptoms and negative side effects.
What research does this study review?
- Research from sources investigating neurochemical levels in schizophrenia patients.
- Studies into psychosis inducing drugs.
> Amphetamines and Angel Dust (PCP). - Effectiveness of drugs in treating schizophrenia.
What were the results?
- PCP acts as an antagonist of glutamate.
> reduces glutamate action. - Clozapine is highly effective.
- Evidence supports the role of low glutamate levels and psychotic symptoms.
What did they conclude?
- Further research needs to be conducted to develop better results.
- Schizophrenia may have different types that are caused by neurotransmitters other than dopamine.
Give some strengths.
- It’s scientific.
- Secondary data allowed more information to be brought together quickly.
- Sendt et al —Agreed with Carlsson—Reliability.
- Few/no ethical problems—secondary data.
Give some weaknesses.
- Citing of animal studies—can’t be generalised to humans—bad ethics.
- Difficult to know how useful the data is.
- Validity issues—PET scans—stressful and affect normal functioning.
What does an agonist do?
Increases activity/activates the receptor.
What does an antagonist do?
Limits/decreases activity—blocks the receptor.
CULTURE AND MENTAL HEALTH
Give a way that culture doesn’t affect diagnoses.
If mental disorders are clearly defined with specific symptoms and features.
> Schizophrenia presents the same all over the world.
Give a way that culture does affect diagnosis.
If disorders have different symptoms.
> Symptoms are often interpreted and reported differently.
How is schizophrenia across different countries (america, japan, nigeria)?
- America —focus on technology and surveillance—being spied on.
- Japan —Social conformity—delusions are often public humiliation and slander.
-
Nigeria —Believed that mental health is caused by spirits—delusions of witches and
ancestral ghosts.
How is schizophrenia similar across cultures?
- Similar prevalence.
- Similarity in symptoms outweigh the differences.
How can normality vary across different cultures?
- Behaviours that are normally symptoms of schizophrenia in Western cultures can be considered signs of spiritual exaltation in developing countries.
> e.g. In Western culture, if someone claimed to be a God they’d be delusional.
> In India—considered to be a spirit medium—a human incarnation of a Hindu God.
How can cultural attitudes to mental disorders differ?
- Different attitudes may affect whether people seek help and receive diagnoses.
- Particular disorders may have particular meanings to different cultures.
How can experience and expression of symptoms differ from culture to culture?
- Different cultures may react in different ways.
- If different symptoms aren’t accounted for it can cause diagnostic system bias.
How can diagnostic processes differ from culture to culture?
- Some cultures encourage the hiding or denial of problems.
- Some cultures show more tolerance.
- Significant differences in the extent to which ethnic minorities use mental health services.
How can language affect diagnoses?
- May be language assumptions.
> Interpreters can unconsciously change information that being provided.
How can a difference in backgrounds affect diagnoses?
- May feel more comfortable talking to their own culture—talk more freely.
- May perceive different ethnic and cultural groups differently.
Give 2 culture-bound mental disorders.
- Taijin Kyofusho.
- Hwa-byung.
What is Taijin Kyofusho?
It is the individual’s intense fear that their body, its parts, and its functions are displeasing, embarrassing, or offensive to others.
> Essentially social anxiety.
What are the origins of it?
- A childhood of social inhibition or shyness.
- Stressful or humiliating experiences.