Exam 4 Flashcards
What are 3 characteristics of abnormal psychopathology
Unusual, distress, and interference
Details about unusual
The more unusual a thought or belief is, the more likely to in up in abnormal category.
Details about distress
When you cause you or someone else distress or uncomfortableness but you want it to go away you are under the abnormal category.
Details about interference
When thought or behavior INTERFERE with everyday life (holding a job is hard or in and out of jail). Falls under abnormal category.
What is the Medical side of abnormality?
Mental problems and biological abnormality that causes abnormal psychology. (Used by psychologists)
Psychosocial model of abnormality
How your relationships influence mental health, thought patterns, cope with stress. Used by therapist (for depression and anxiety)
Anxiety
Lots of worrying, high levels of fear or panic.
- panic disorders- anxiety level rise for no reason
- phobic disorders- uncontrollable fear for unharmful things
- OCD- anxiety and a behavior used to make disorder manageable
What is OCD?
Obsession- persistent unwanted thoughts
Compulsive- a need to perform behavior ( irresistible)
What is the medical explanation behind anxiety disorders?
This happens when you have an abnormal amount of neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) and neuron sensitivity (overreaction to neurotransmitters)
What helps with anxiety disorders?
Therapy and medication
Schizophrenia
Disturbance of thought; disturbance spills over into behavior, relationships, perceptions
-diagnosed usually from the ages 15-25
-most institutionalized disorder
- high number of homeless (usually cannot live alone)
- high suicide rate
Symptoms of schizophrenia
Irrational thought, distorted perceptions, behavior adapriveness
What is irrational thought?
Delusions; false beliefs that are clearly out of touch with reality. Can be about harm done to you (dangerous).
What are distorted perceptions?
Hallucinations; inaccurate sensory interpretations. What you see, hear, smell, touch do not match reality.
- voices may influence behavior
What is behavior adaptiveness?
Losing ability to do social life behaviors.
Language problems are big here (you forget how to put sentences together). Also results in poor health, loss of emotion.
Why does schizophrenia happen?
-abnormal gene function
- complication during pregnancy
- high stress environments
- high levels of dopamine
What is major depressive disorder?
Known as clinical depression
- hopelessness, loss of interest, and sadness
- how they feel or think all the time
- weight change
-diagnosed usually from 18-25
- in women more than men
Why do more women have clinical depression?
- have many different hormones that are affected
- men are less diagnosed
- women have more emotional based issues
- postpartum depression
Where does clinical depression come from?
- passed down
- cognitive disorder
- abnormal neurotransmitter levels
What is bipolar disorder?
Form of depression
- mania: high energy and excitement, no sleep, bad decisions
- women go through mania quicker then men
Why does bipolar disorder happen?
- usually inherited
What are the different psychotherapies?
- Cognitive therapy
- Behavior therapy
- Client therapy
- CBT
- Biomedical therapy
What is cognitive therapy?
Helps people with adjustment issues (school stress, couple counseling)
Goal of cognitive therapy
Helps clients recognize thinking errors and get them to understand those thoughts aren’t helping
Selective abstraction
Falls under cognitive therapy; only focusing on the negative aspects of something
Overgeneralizing
Falls under cognitive therapy; when you blow things out of proportion
Ex: I forgot my moms birthday so I think I’m a horrible person)
Downfalls of cognitive therapy?
- therapist aren’t interested in how you feel. Believes emotions are side affects.
- limited to situations it can be used in
Behavior therapy
Belief that the cause of your problems have been learned and are bad habits.
What is the goal of behavior therapy?
- therapist want to understand learning principles to stop doing damaging behaviors
- therapist do not care why you do this behavior just how to stop it
Treatments used for behavior therapy
-Counter conditioning: relies on substituting bad behavior for something else.
- operant:use rewards and punishers to change how someone behaves
Problems with behavior therapy
-Only treats behavior, not cause ( not interested in why)
- used w people with substance abuse (may trade one habit for another bad one).
- not permanent and may resurface as another disorder later
What is client therapy?
-Less about a specific way to change and more of a discussion about why you do what you do.
-inconsistency between how you see yourself and how you act
What is the goal of client therapy?
-Finding out why you do behaviors that make you uncomfortable
- therapist listens and it’s usually the client doing self evaluation
What tools do therapist use during client therapy?
Empathy and unconditional positive regard (no judging)
Problems with client therapy
-doesn’t work. It’s minor to see mental change in patients.
What is CBT?
Combination of therapies. Adds compassion and emotional support, gives homework to patients, and wants the ways of therapy to become the patients lifestyle
Does CBT work?
Does a good job at helping people deal with sadness beliefs and anxiety disorders.
Biomedical therapy
Sees mental illness as another expression of a physical or psychological abnormality.
Goal of biomedical therapy?
Reduce severity of symptoms, not completely eliminate them.
What are some biomedical treatments?
-drug therapy (antidepressants and antipsychotics): tend to reduce feelings of depression but takes about a month.
-anti anxiety: intended to reduce tension and stress
Problems with biomedical therapy
- addictive
- overdose problems
- interactions with other drugs
- overly prescribed by family physicians
What is lithium and what’s it do
Used to control mood swings. Shortens the cycle of manic symptoms and how long they are. Also lowers suicide risks.
Side effects of lithium
- chance of heart rhythm
- influence kidney function over time
- thyroid regulation
- weight gain
- toxic if dosage is too high
Side effects of antipsychotic
Dyskinesia: problem with motor movement uncontrollability. Can lead to not being able to sit down.
- can produce symptoms worse then what you started with
What is electroconvulsive therapy
Electricity is sent through your brain to create a cortisol seizure
- last resort if nothing else work
- works quickly
- five treatments every other day for it to work
- no pain
Side effects of electroconvulsive therapy
-Short term memory loss
- difficulty learning new things (temporary)
- confusion (temporary)
Why isn’t electroconvulsive therapy used more often?
The history scares people. Also media (movies and shows) always represented it in a bad way so people are nervous.
What is psycho surgery?
When you actively destroy brain tissues with the goal of symptom reduction (irreversible)
- occurs for last resort (medication doesn’t work)
Problems with psycho surgery
- inappropriately practiced (by people without medical license and people just wanting control over someone)
- people would appear like potted plants where they would no longer have emotions
Why isn’t psychosurgery common?
Lithium took its place and this procedure also makes people nervous.
What DISORDERS was psychosurgery used for?
-OCD
-MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
- EPILEPSY
What makes a good therapist?
Not if they have a PHD but if they have a relationship with their patient. Each patient has a different view of the person they are talking to and just need to find the right one.
What does ADHD stand for?
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
When is ADHD most commonly diagnosed?
School-aged children
Problems with ADHD
Difficulty to focus on tasks and follow instructions. Can also lead to problems at school and home.
Why are children with ADHD know as “problem children”?
Despite their intentions, they struggle to comply with adults instructions and are labeled as problem children
How many children are affected by ADHD?
3%-7% of children are affected by ADHD and 65% of children are diagnosed
What is hyperactivity?
The hyperactive symptom cluster describes children who are perpetually in motion even during times when they are expected to be still.
What is impulsivity?
Describes difficulty in delaying response and acting without considering the repercussions of behavior.
Description of inattentive symptoms
-difficulty with organization and task follow through
- tendency to be distracted by external stimuli
How to distinguish between normal and disordered behavior?
- Symptoms must significantly impair the child’s functioning in important life domains (school or home)
-repeating a grade or being suspended are usual factors - The symptoms must be inappropriate for the child’s developmental level.
What other disorders to people with ADHD experience?
Depression, learning disorders, anxiety, and oppositional defiant disorder.
-when older, may abuse alcohol, drugs, and other adverse outcomes.
Adult negative outcome of ADHD
-depression
-substance abuse
- poor work performance
-divorce
-early parenthood from highrisk sexual behavior
-obesity
- impairment in driving ability
Why do children develop behavior disorders?
Most experts believe this to be a genetic disorder. This is linked to neurotransmitters and serotonin and dopamine. Can also be diet.
What’s to treat ADHD.
-medication (adderall)
-parenting management training
Side effects of adderall
-growth and appetite suppression
- increased blood pressure
- insomnia
- changes in mood
What is psychopharmacology?
The study of how drugs affect the brain and behavior.
What is pharmacokinetics?
How the body handles the drugs we take.
Drug metabolism
Involves a breakdown of psychoactive drugs and this occurs primarily in the liver.
What are the problems with psychotropic drugs and metabolism?
-grapefruit juice- if drugs are in the body, the juice will make the drug levels build to potentially toxic levels.
*valium, Luvox
