Health Psych Session 1- Stress, Coping & Therapies Flashcards
What is the biopsychosocial model?
A more complete model of health and illness including physical, mental and social circumstances
Name some of the physiological responses to a stressful event
Increased oxygen availability Increase fuel availability Preparation for tissue damage/fatigue Enhanced mental functioning Conservation of energy resources Enhanced physical functioning
Describe the relationship between stress and performance
Performance increases with stress but after a certain point begins to decrease back to zero
What are the 3 steps of the long term stress response and describe them
- Alarm- 1st response to stress but body cannot retain this
- Resistance- body tries to combat high levels of stress causing weight loss and fatigue
- Exhaustion- physically and emotionally depleted
Describe the process of appraisal
Primary appraisal- is this event a threat? How bad could it be?
Secondary appraisal- do I have the resources or skills to cope?
Reappraisal- reconsider the situation after trying to cope with it
Name the 2 most important factors that influence the effect of stress
Control- more control=less stress
Social support- buffer against stress
Name some of the cognitive distortions that present with stress
Overgeneralisation
Catastrophising
Personalisation
Name the 4 main ways stress can impact on health
Direct physical
Immunosuppression
Unhealthy behaviours
Mental health
What are the 2 main coping styles?
Emotion focussed
Problem focussed
Describe emotion focussed coping
Changing the emotion by either doing something or changing how you think about the situation
Describe problem focussed coping
Changing the problem or your resources by reducing the demands of the stressful situation or expanding resources to deal with it
Name the 3 main ways to aid coping
Increase/mobilise social support
Increase personal control
Prepare patients for stressful events (reduce ambiguity and uncertainty)
What are the outcomes of successful coping?
Tolerating or adjusting to negative events or realities
Reducing threats and enhancing prospects of recovery, preparing for the future
Maintaining a positive self image
Maintaining emotional equilibrium
Continuing satisfying relationships with others
Name the 2 most common emotional responses to chronic illness
Depression
Anxiety
What is anxiety a response to?
Threat
What is sustained anxiety associated with?
Unhelpful thinking patterns
Physiological effects
Anxiety disorder (e.g. Phobia, panic attack, PTSD)
What is depression a response to?
Loss, failure or helplessness
What are the characteristics of the emotional state of depression?
Persistent low mood Sadness Loss of interest Despair Feelings of worthlessness
What factors make you at higher risk of depression?
Illness that is severe, painful or disabling
Negative life events
Lack resources to cope
Name the 3 main barriers to recognising psychological problems
Symptoms may be inadvertently missed
Patients may not disclose symptoms
HCPs may avoid asking
What is the difference between classical and operant conditioning
Classical conditioning pairs two stimuli but operant conditioning pairs behaviour and response
Describe the 3 types of framework for psychological therapies
A- psychological treatment as an integral part of mental health care
B- eclectic psychological therapy and counselling
C- formal psychotherapies
What are the 3 main types of psychological therapies?
Cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT)
Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapies
Systemic and family therapy
Describe CBT
Combination of cognitive and behavioural therapy
Relieves symptoms by changing maladaptive thoughts, beliefs and behaviour
What behavioural techniques are used in CBT?
Graded exposure to feared situations
Activity scheduling
Reinforcement
What cognitive techniques are used in CBT?
Education
Monitoring of thoughts, behaviours, feelings, contexts, to develop awareness of their inter-relationship
Examining/challenging negative thoughts
Behavioural experiments
Cognitive rehearsal of coping with difficult situations
What is CBT used for?
Depression
Anxiety states
Eating disorders
Sexual dysfunction
What makes you a suitable patient for CBT?
Keen to be active participants
Can engage collaboratively
Can accept a model emphasising thoughts/feelings
Able to articulate problems and actively seeking solutions
What are the limitations of CBT?
Findings of efficacy usually derived from homogeneous populations with limited co-morbidity
Delivered by expert practitioners
Circumscribed benefits where problem complex and diffuse
Describe the 2 types of psychoanalytic/dynamic therapies
Focal- ID conflicts arising from early experience that are reenact end in adult life
Analytic- allow unconscious conflicts to be reenacted and interpreted in relationship with therapist
What techniques are used in psychodynamic therapy?
Resolve the unconscious conflicts that underlie symptoms
Explore feelings using experience of therapist and relationship
Enhance insight of difficulties and help incorporate painful previous experiences
Who is psychodynamic therapy suitable for?
People with interpersonal difficulties and personality problems
Requires capacity to tolerate mental/emotional pain and interest in self-exploration
Describe systemic and family therapy
Focus on relational context, address patterns of interaction and meaning
Aim to facilitate resources within the system as a whole
Who is systemic/family therapy suitable for?
Mild-moderate difficulties related to life events, sub clinical depression, mild anxiety/stress, marital/relationship difficulties Recent onset (<1 year)
How do you decide which type of therapy to use?
Depends on both problem and patient
