Disorders and Treatment: Chapters 14 and 15

Question 1

What is the goal of behavioral therapy?

Answer 1

To use the principles of learning theory, including as classical and operant conditioning, to extinguish maladaptive reactions/behaviors and replace with more successful behaviors. Exposure therapy and use of positive reinforcers are examples of behavioral interventions.

Question 2

Do people improve with psychotherapy?

Answer 2

Approximately 50% of people report improvement after 8 weeks of therapy.

Question 3

What is the lifetime risk of developing any psychological disorder?

Answer 3

46%

Question 4

What is the DSM-5?

Answer 4

The manual used by psychologists and psychiatrists to diagnose mental disorders.

Question 5

In our lectures, how did we look at the causes and treatments of mental disorders?

Answer 5

By the bio-psycho-social model, which says that an individual’s biology, psychology and social environment all interact in the formation of mental disorders.

Question 6

What is GAD?

Answer 6

Generalized Anxiety Disorder—a disorder of pervasive, “free floating” anxiety that seems in excess of the events causing it

Question 7

What is panic disorder?

Answer 7

An anxiety disorder involving episodes of intense fear, racing heart and other troubling physical symptoms. Frequent and unpredictable panic attacks lead to the individual becoming afraid of the panic attacks themselves.

Question 8

What is a phobia?

Answer 8

An irrational fear of an object or situation in which the person avoids the feared object and which interferes with activities of daily living.

Question 9

What is social phobia?

Answer 9

Intense anxiety about being public situations, performing routing activities in front of other people, or being judged by other people, which interferes with daily functioning.

Question 10

What is PTSD?

Answer 10

An anxiety disorder resulting from experiencing or witnessing severe trauma. Involves repeated memories of the event, avoidance of things that remind one of the event, and increased physical arousal.

Question 11

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Answer 11

A disorder in which the person has troubling, recurring thoughts (obsessions) and irrational rituals (compulsions) by which they ward off irrational anxiety. Most common core fear of OCD is contamination.

Question 12

How are anxiety disorders treated?

Answer 12

By medication and therapy. Antidepressant medication and anti-anxiety medication. Anti-anxiety medication such as benzodiazepine tranquilizers should be used with caution due to addiction potential. Most effective therapy with anxiety disorders involves exposing the patient to the thing they have been fearing and avoiding, thus decreasing their anxiety.

Question 13

What are symptoms of major depression?

Answer 13

Symptoms involve emotions, behaviors, cognition and physical well-being. Emotional symptoms include sadness, hopeless, worthlessness. Behavioral symptoms include withdrawal and lack of pleasure/interest in typical activities. Cognitive symptoms include negative thinking and suicidal thoughts. Physical symptoms include lack of energy, fatigue, lack of sexual desire, generally slowed down. 50% of people who experience one episode of major depression have another episode.

Question 14

How common is major depression?

Answer 14

People have a lifetime risk of 15-20%, probably higher for women.

Question 15

What is ECT?

Answer 15

Electro-convulsive therapy, or “shock treatment”, in which electricity is applied to the brain, causing a seizure and often resulting in improvement of symptoms of severe depression. Used to treat depression that does not respond to other treatments or if the patient is severely suicidal.

Question 16

What is persistent depressive disorder, formerly known as dysthymic disorder?

Answer 16

A chronic form of depression, often milder than major depression, that lasts for a period of at least 2 years.

Question 17

How is depression treated?

Answer 17

With anti-depressant medications that affect the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine. Also with psychotherapy that targets negative, depressive thinking, interpersonal problems, and emotional conflicts.

Question 18

What is bipolar disorder?

Answer 18

Formerly known as manic-depression. A disorder involving extreme fluctuations in mood between severe depression and a euphoric state known as mania. When in a manic episode, individuals experience an elevated mood, racing thoughts, impulsivity, risk-taking, irritability. Bipolar disorder is a recurring illness.

Question 19

What is the prevalence of bipolar disorder?

Answer 19

About 1% of the population.

Question 20

How is bipolar disorder treated?

Answer 20

With mood-stabilizing medications, most often Lithium. Individuals may also need psychotherapy to deal with symptoms and managing their illness.

Question 21

What is anorexia nervosa?

Answer 21

An eating disorder involving refusal to maintain normal body weight, restriction of food, fear of gaining weight, distorted body perception

Question 22

What is bulimia nervosa?

Answer 22

An eating disorder involving individuals with normal body weight who have an irrational fear of gaining weight, who may control their weight through vomiting, laxatives or excessive exercise, and who may engage in binge-purge cycles.

Question 23

What is a personality disorder?

Answer 23

A pervasive way of thinking, perceiving and interacting with others that is inflexible and maladaptive, and affects all areas of functioning.

Question 24

What is paranoid personality disorder?

Answer 24

When a person has pervasive distrust and suspicion that permeates all relationships and is maladaptive.

Question 25

What is borderline personality disorder?

Answer 25

A disorder involving extreme instability in the sense of self and emotional functioning, frequent mood fluctuations, instability in relationships with recurring anger/rage and extreme fears of abandonment, impulsive behavior, tendency toward self-injury and suicidal behavior.

Question 26

What is a dissociative disorder?

Answer 26

A disorder involving disruptions in memory and personal identity.

Question 27

What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Answer 27

DID: a disorder in which the person experiences disruptions in memory and awareness and appears to have developed more than one distinct personality and identity. Most people diagnosed with DID report experiencing severe abuse early in childhood. The alter personalities are thought to have developed as a way to cope with these early traumatic experiences. DID is still a controversial diagnosis due to the recent increase in diagnoses, the difficulty of substantiating the early abuse, and the pattern of memory loss for abuse.

Question 28

What is schizophrenia?

Answer 28

One of the psychotic disorders that involves impaired functioning related to severely distorted thoughts, beliefs and perceptions, disorganized thought and language, and emotional disturbance.

Question 29

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 29

Positive symptoms: delusions (bizarre, false thoughts); hallucinations (false perceptions), disorganized thinking and behavior
Negative symptoms: flat emotions, decreased speech, lack of motivation for everyday activities

Question 30

What is the prevalence of schizophrenia?

Answer 30

1% of population

Question 31

What are the causes of schizophrenia?

Answer 31

Biological: genetic (twin studies); brain abnormalities, excessive levels of dopamine, father’s age, exposure to flu virus in utero
Social/Stress: individuals at risk for schizophrenia are more likely to develop the illness in situations of stress, such as dysfunctional family. Study of adopted children whose biological mother had schizophrenia found that for children raised in a healthy family, they had no greater occurrence of schizophrenia than normal population. Adopted children raised in disturbed family were much more likely to develop schizophrenia.

Question 32

What is the goal of psychoanalytic therapy?

Answer 32

To help the patient become aware of unconscious conflicts and to gain insight into how these conflicts affect functioning. The therapist analyzes the patient’s symptoms, dreams, and slips of the tongue for understanding into their unconscious conflicts.

Question 33

What is the goal of humanistic therapy?

Answer 33

To help the patient improve self-concept and identify his or her own goals. The therapist uses acceptance and unconditional positive regard to support the patient and help him or her figure out feelings and goals.

Question 34

What is the goal of cognitive-behavioral therapy?

Answer 34

To help the patient identify and change negative thinking patterns that contribute to depression, anxiety and relationship problems. The therapist works on helping the patient replace negative cognitive patterns with more realistic, positive patterns and helps the patient resume regular activities.