Clinical psychology

Question 1

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)

Answer 1

Catalogues all mental disorders in standardized language, changes regularly made

Question 2

psychological (or mental) disorder

Answer 2

a clinically significant disturbance in an individuals’ cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour that is usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational, or other important activities

Question 3

what is not a psychological disorder?

Answer 3

‘weird’ or abnormal behaviour need not indicate a psychological disorder (ex. superstitions)

Question 4

lifetime prevalence

Answer 4

% in population with disorder at some point in their lives

Question 5

clinical assessment

Answer 5

a procedure for gathering information that is needed to evaluate an individual’s psychological functioning and to determine whether a diagnosis is warranted

Question 6

clinical interview

Answer 6

may be structured or unstructured. After collecting information from the client, the clinician may have an idea of whether the client is managing a psychological disorder

Question 7

self-report measures

Answer 7

reliable tools that can indicate the severity of a client’s symptoms, results must be interpreted keeping in mind the client’s history

Question 8

projective tests

Answer 8

allow a client to impose structure on an ambiguous image, and the clinician can glean hidden thoughts and motivations (not reliable)

Question 9

pros of labels

Answer 9

provide a reason, accommodations, specific treatments

Question 10

Cons of labels

Answer 10

feeling limited, perceived negatively by others, stigmatized, clinicians view as permanent and multiple diagnoses as unrelated

Question 11

Co-occuring disorders

Answer 11

Different mental disorders are often highly related, many mental disorders are marked by common symptoms.
It is not uncommon for a person with one mental disorder diagnosis to have others

Question 12

Trephination

Answer 12

surgical procedure in which a hole is drilled into the skull, often to reduce pressure within the skull (thought of as driving out demons)

Question 13

Philippe Pinel

Answer 13

pressured the French government to stop barbaric practices in Paris hospitals and developed a more humane method (moral treatment) of providing therapy to psychiatric patients

Question 14

Dorothea Dix

Answer 14

championed the cause of mistreated people with mental illness

Question 15

Sigmund Freud

Answer 15

founder of the talking cure, as he observed that verbalizing a traumatic event and related emotions seemed to help his clients

Question 16

Psychological therapies

Answer 16

Provided by psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, child and youth counsellors

Question 17

Biological therapies

Answer 17

A family doctor or a psychiatrist can prescribe medications as part of a treatment plan

Question 18

Principles for health professionals

Answer 18

Do no harm; establish relationships of trust; promote accuracy, honest, truthfulness

Question 19

What predicts a successful therapist?

Answer 19

Not predicted by qualifications, years of experience, but more interpersonal skills and how well treatment fits client’s needs

Question 20

cost of mental disorders

Answer 20

one estimate is that anxiety and depression alone are estimated to cost at least $1 trillion each year

Question 21

subsyndromal disorders

Answer 21

individuals who encounter significant problems despite their symptoms not meeting the threshold for an official diagnosis

Question 22

Why do people not seek therapy?

Answer 22

Men and non-White individuals less likely to seek therapy, people with low incomes less likely to afford therapy, remaining stigma can prevent some from seeking

Question 23

How effective is therapy?

Answer 23

Therapy is about as effective for men as for women, for people from different ethnic groups, and for people with different incomes.
One study demonstrated that 5-10% of people get worse after therapy

Question 24

Behavioural approaches

Answer 24

We learn behaviours that are maladaptive
Treatment example: exposure therapies to treat a phobia response

Question 25

Cognitive approaches

Answer 25

We make errors in thinking that cause maladaptive behaviours
Treatment example: adjusting the belief that “everything I do must be perfect”

Question 26

cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Answer 26

combination of approaches: Treatment goals set right from the start
Clients will complete homework assignments such as thought records

Question 27

Acceptance and commitment therapy

Answer 27

works toward the client behaving in a constructive way despite having to manage negative thoughts and feelings

Question 28

Mindfulness-based stress reduction

Answer 28

inspired by Eastern traditions, encourages clients to view their thoughts and feelings simply as fleeting mental byproducts

Question 29

evidence-based

Answer 29

meaning psychological research has been conducted and peer-reviewed studies have been published

Question 30

city densification

Answer 30

associated with increased social isolation and poorer physical and mental health

Question 31

How do we know therapy works?

Answer 31

A meta-analysis revealed that the average person who receives therapy is better off at the end of it than 80% of people who don’t

Question 32

empirically supported

Answer 32

research has shown them to be effective on average

Question 33

Empirically supported treatments (ESTs)

Answer 33

We do have some evidence that certain modes of therapy are more effective for certain disorders that others
- Behavioural approaches are especially helpful for anxiety disorders, including phobias
- Cognitive approaches are especially helpful for depression and bipolar disorders

Question 34

Syndromes

Answer 34

clusters of symptoms that tend to occur simultaneously

Question 35

Symptom

Answer 35

physical or mental feature regarded as indication of a condition

Question 36

Psychopathology

Answer 36

Study of disorders or the disorders themselves

Question 37

Qualifications of a disorder

Answer 37

not expectable or culturally approved response, or simple deviance from norms

Question 38

Point prevalence

Answer 38

% in given population at one point in time

Question 39

Benjamin Rush

Answer 39

hot/cold submersion until almost drowned, spinning until unconscious

Question 40

Thematic Apperception test

Answer 40

Client makes up a story to describe what is going on in a picture

Question 41

Dodo bird affect

Answer 41

One treatment not better than the rest