Lecture 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What are some of the ways that professionals might interpret and respond to mental health symptoms?

A
  • one interpretation is that a person has a disease with a biological cause
  • a person has a disorder
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2
Q

define disorder

A

a dysfunction that is mental in nature, whatever the cause

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3
Q

Who experiences cardinal symptoms of some mental illnesses like sadness (depression) and worry (anxiety)?

A
  • EVERYONE
  • even mental health experts may find it difficult to define line between “healthy” and “unhealthy” degrees of these emotions
  • It may be possible that the symptoms and behaviours are within the spectrum of normal human responses to stressors
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4
Q

What does good mental health look or feel like?

A
  • routine
  • tasks
  • meet social role / responsibilities
  • feel happy / satisfied
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5
Q

What does poor mental health look or feel like?

A
  • self-loathing
  • unmotivated
  • lazy
  • no self-love
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6
Q

Review what is meant by mental health and illness

A
  • The definitions of “Mental Health” and “Mental Illness” are not straightforward!
  • One possible definition: Mental health is the freedom from suffering, abnormal
    behavior, and distress
  • Another possibility: Mental health is the absence of mental illness
  • Neither of these are very definitive! It might be useful to explore the concepts of distress, abnormality, and dysfunction…
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7
Q

define “mental”

A
  • refers to feelings, awareness, cognition (thinking/learning), behavior
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8
Q

What is health and illness associated to

A
  • health is associated with feeling good, while illness is associated with feeling bad
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9
Q

what is dysfunction

A

When a person’s thoughts and feelings make it difficult for them to meet their daily needs and fulfill typical responsibilities

  • however, individual capacity is influenced by a person’s resources and environment

ex. a person may be able to afford days off work when distressed but another person may not be able to and is more adversely affected in terms of fulfilling role responsibilites

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10
Q

What is the WHO definition of mental health?

A

“a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (WHO, 2013)

  • definition points to the interaction of people with their community - but some people have less ability to contribute to society due to sexism, racism, ageism, etc. not due to anything about the individual person
  • does it make sense to call such a person not as mentally healthy?
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11
Q

What is the DSM definition of mental illness?

A
  • refers to disturbances in cognition, emotion, or behavior which can be attributed to mental functioning and which usually are associated with distress or disability
  • this def touches on distress, abnormality, and disability and also relies on the professional judgement of a clinician for diagnosis
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12
Q

What does the DSM stand for?

A

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

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13
Q

What are some strengths of the DSM definition?

A
  • it’s a flexible definition using words like “usually” and describing the dysfunction as being “psychological, biological, or developmental”
  • “bridges” a variety of perspectives about nature of mental illness making it possible for variety of mental health professionals to use it
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14
Q

What are some limitations of the DSM definition?

A
  • flexibility in definition may indicate lack of strong evidence about nature of mental illness
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15
Q

What are the 3 models of mental health and illness?

A
  • biomedical
  • psychological-behavioural
  • social
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16
Q

explain the biomedical model

A
  • binary division (a person is either mentally ill OR mentally healthy
  • sees good mental health as the natural human state
  • uses a model of disease to suggest that mental illnesses have specific causes: Biological dysfunction of the brain (even if cause not yet understood or known), genetic
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17
Q

In the biomedical model, what interventions are considered the best way to treat mental illness?

A
  • brain-based interventions
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18
Q

What are the 3 brain-based interventions?

A
  • Psychopharmaceuticals
  • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
  • Genetic interventions (potentially in the future)
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19
Q

Define biomarker

A
  • a measurable substance in the body that definitively indicates the presence of a disease
  • there are virtually no biomarkers of mental illnesses universally agreed upon, raising questions about whether it is a disease
20
Q

is there a test to prove someone is in good mental health?

A

no

21
Q

Explain the psychological-behavioural model

A
  • considers mental disorders to be patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that are harmful to the individual
  • does not assume a binary between mental health and mental illness
  • assumes that symptoms exist along a continuum
  • with mental health and mental illness as 2 extremes on a continuum
22
Q

What are 4 of the schools of thought/practice?

A
  • Freudian Psychoanalysis
  • Psychodynamic approaches
  • Behaviorism
  • Humanism
  • all of these support the idea that mental illness arises as a result of our personal experiences and perspectives (ex. childhood experiences shaping thoughts/feelings)
23
Q

What does treatment within the psychological-behavioral model rely on?

A
  • relies on psychotherapy
24
Q

What are the types of psychotherapy?

A
  • cognitive behavioral therapy
  • psychodynamic treatment
  • humanistic therapies
  • existential approaches to therapy
25
Q

Explain the social model

A
  • sees mental health as a social product
  • this means that good or bad mental health are socially constructed and produced (defined and re-defined by social relations and norms)
  • this model places less emphasis on individual characteristics and qualities, and considers the individual in the context of their social environment
26
Q

What are some examples from the social model?

A
  • homosexuality no longer considered a mental illness
  • shyness in the past considered “normal human quality” may now be referred to as social anxiety disorder
  • auditory hallucinations : hearing one’s dead ancestor is celebrated in some cultures

this suggests that power and culture lead to the labelling of some people, often those who are marginalized, as mentally ill
- behaviors that are more common among some groups may be more likely to be labelled as symptoms of mental illness

27
Q

What is a suggested response to mental illness to improve it

A

social interventions like supported housing, employment, and skill building

28
Q

define demedicalization

A
  • a process by which issues that are understoof as medical problems are redefined and understood through other perspectives
29
Q

what does demedicalization mean in the social model

A
  • means de-classifying a mental illness and looking at social causes rather than individual causes of mental distress
30
Q

Explain the biopsychosocial model

A
  • suggests that biological factors, social conditions, and individual expereinces all contribute to a person’s mental health
  • integrates persepctives form the 3 models
  • social in this context refers to social determinants of health, such as income, housing education, etc.
31
Q

give examples of some providers of mental health care that delivery care and support to people with mental illness

A
  • psychologists
  • psychiatrists
  • social workers
  • registered psychiatric nurses
  • counsellors, therapists, psychotherapists
  • life coaches
  • religious advisors
  • also “peers” or people with lived experience of mental illness - “fellow patients/clients” (current or former
32
Q

What do psychiatrists do?

A
  • trained medical doctors (MDs) who specialize in mental illness
  • capable of prescribing certain treatments
  • typically possess legal powers
33
Q

What do psychologists do?

A
  • not physicians
  • cannot typically prescribe medications
  • still perform diagnosis and psychotherapy
34
Q

What do social workers do?

A
  • often at the forefront of providing care to individuals with mental health difficulties
  • may provide psychotherapeutic services
  • helps individuals with mental health problems meet their daily needs
  • may provide both therapeutic and practical assistance
35
Q

What do nurses who specialize in mental health including registered psychiatric nurses do?

A
  • perform mental status examinations that assess qualities like mood, cognition, judgment, and behaviour
  • assess and assist with patients’ overall health, ensure adherence to treatment plan and may conduct bloodwork
36
Q

How would you know if you had a mental illness?

A
  • self-check test
  • doctor diagnosis
37
Q

What does determining mental health and illness require?

A
  • subjective assessment (by a clinician)
38
Q

What are 3 diagnostic tools?

A
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
  • International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
  • Clinical Scales
39
Q

Explain the DSM

A
  • produced by American Psychiatric Association
  • descriptions of each diagnosis (or disorder), and includes a checklist of their symptoms (thoughts, moods, behaviours) used to determine if a specific diagnosis applies
  • a practitioner observes and speaks with patients/clients to gather info used to make a diagnosis
  • evolves with each new edition
40
Q

describe ICD

A
  • produced by WHO
  • includes all recognized health conditions (not just mental disorders)
  • also includes diagnostic criteria
  • definitive classification schemes are highly relevant to public health - we use them to track mortality, morbidity, and treatment in health administrative data
41
Q

Describe Clinical Scales

A
  • measure patients mental state with a series of “standard” questions
  • answeres can be used to determine severity of the condition
42
Q

how do clinical scales work?

A
  • “score” for every item or question is calculation
  • the total indicates whether the person qualifies for the diagnosis and how severe their condition may be
43
Q

What is an example of clinical scales

A

the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

44
Q

Explain the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

A
  • 17 items measure the severity of depressive symptoms
  • the interviewer rates the level of agitation clinically noted during the interview and how the mood is impacting on an individual’s work or leisure pursuits
  • scoring is based on the 17-item scale
45
Q

What is the scoring for the hamilton rating scale

A
  • 0-7 are considered as being normal
  • 8-16 suggest mild depression
  • 17-23 moderate depression
  • over 24 indicates severe depression
  • the maximum score being 52 on the 17-point scale
46
Q

What are the potential causes of bias in diagnosis?

A
  • classification systems are human-made and subject to biases (not robots)
  • clinicians may display biases related to patient characteristics: race, class, gender, weight
  • clinician characteristics may be influential too: training, race, gender
  • potential for bias in diagnostic criteria: symptom lists and criteria may make some individuals more likely to be diagnosed with particular conditions
  • unrecognized class/race/gender bias among those creating diagnostic criteria
47
Q

Describe committees

A
  • homogenous groups
  • lacks diversity
  • upper middle class, largely white
  • may lead to diagnostic criteria that function to reinforce cultural norms
  • unrecognized or un-reported conflicts of interest may exist