lecture 2 material Flashcards
Introduction to Psychopathology
What is the definition of Psychopathology
Scientific study of mental disorders, including their causation, progression, symptomatology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment
How can language impact views of mental health
Based on the language used to describe certain mental conditions can cause negative connotations and lead to dehumanisation of the individuals experiencing these disorders. For example ‘they are crazy’ ‘they are abnormal rather then their behaviour is abnormal’ etc. This can also equate these individuals with their disorders and can insinuates their disorder defines them –> enforces stigma surrounding mental illness. These can all also impact whether these individuals seek help or not.
How is abnormality defined
There is no single behaviour that is sufficient in determining abnormality.
However, indicators of abnormality can include:
* (Subjective) distress - distress can be abnormal however it alone is not enough to determine abnormality as feelings of distress can also be normal such as in the forms of anxiety (e.g. anxiety before an exam)
* (Statistical or social) deviancy - rare behaviours or behaviour that deviates from social norms is another way to define abnormality since our behaviour is influenced by cultural/societal practices
* Dangerousness - danger can be internalised (e.g. suicidal thoughts) or externalised towards others (e.g. agressiveness or hostility) –> however hostility exists as an emotion to protect us against people/things that threaten our safety, so would this actually be considered abnormal behaviour?
* Dysfunction (maladaptiveness) - Dysfunction exists when a thought, feeling or behaviour that effects our wellbeing such as restrictive eating in the case of anorexia or others behaviour such as ASPD conning people
Acronym = DDDD –> distress, deviancy, dangerousness, and dysfunction
How does culture play a role in defining abnormality. Give an example of one cultural norm that may be considered abnormal in another
Many people who would be considered abnormal in one culture would be considered quite normal in another culture due to differences in values and norms for certain behaviors.
For example, every culture has their own way of dealing with death such as the Spanish/Mexicans who have a holiday dedicated to the celebration of death to commemorate those who have passed –> they dress up, and build alters to offer the dead food to eat as a way to celebrate.
Another example is Tibetans who don’t believe in preserving the body after death and rather, these communities used to take the bodies to the top of mountains and nature and animals to erode the body as they view this as spiritually generous.
How can culture impact the presentation of a mental disorder
Culture also shapes the way someone expresses/presents a mental disorder based on what is valued in these communities, such as social anxiety where in western societies social anxiety encompasses a fear of negative evaluation of the self, whereas in Japanese culture it encompasses the fear of embarrassing or offending other people as it is culturally prevalent to value respect and politeness
How can culture be harmful in defining abnormality
Throughout history, societies have labelled individuals as abnormal to justify criminalising certain lifestyles such as homosexuality, and justify controlling, silencing and discriminating against individuals, perpetuating social stigmas among groups including
* Witch hunts
* Political dissent
* LGBTIQA+ Rights
* Racial and ethnic minorities * Slavery
* Stolen generation
* Women’s rights
Therefore these can prevent science-based treatment from being implemented, and/or support harmful interventions, as well as reinforcing systemic inequalities and justifies oppressive policies and practices
What does stigma refer to regarding mental disorders
Stigma is a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something. It encompasses:
* Ignorance or limitations in knowledge about mental health
*Prejudice or negative attitudes toward mental illness
*Unhelpful or discriminatory responses to people with mental health problems
Stigma has a negative effect on self-esteem and help-seeking
What are the different kinds of stigma
- Personal or public stigma * Self-stigma
- Perceived stigma
How was mental health viewed during ancient times
Demonology, Gods and Magic
- Was believed people were possessed by evil spirits and therefore inhumane treatments were used including torture, confinement, exorcisms etc.
What was the Hippocrates theory in reference to historical accounts of stigma in mental health
Hippocrates separated supernatural beliefs from medicine
- was believed that bodily fluids were linked with the earths 4 elements
- therefore viewed mental illness as an imbalance in one or more of these bodily fluids (blood, phlegm, bile etc.
- Viewed balancing fluids as treatment e.g. too much black bile = need more rest, hysteria = wandering uterus and therefore treatment was marriage (obv not correct)
What were the historical accounts of stigma regarding early Chinese medicine
Yin and Yang –> complementary forces in the universe
- Yin = darkness, coldness and passivity
- Yang = light, warmth and activity
In Chinese medicine, health was considered a balance between ying and yang –> therfore mental illness was viewed as a result of an imbalance in one or both of these
- treatment = restoring balance of ying and yang such as through acupuncture
What were the historical accounts of stigma during the middle ages in Europe
- Believed mental illness to be the cause of the supernatural
- Treatment = Prayer, holy water, sanctified ointments, touching relics, mild exorcisms
What were the historical accounts of stigma during the Renaissance Period
- Scientific questioning re-emerged –> slowly replacing demonology and superstition
- ‘Humanism’ emerged (not the same as modern day humanism)
- Treatment consisted of confining individuals in asylums where they were locked up and chained –> given nothing for warmth and no visitors aside from those who fed them
- These asylums were generally run by medical physicians who viewed mental illness as a ‘medical condition’ whereby there was too much blood in the brain –> therefore further treatment would include blood letting
What century did moral treatment emerge and who was involved in the emergence of humane car
Emerged in 18th century
Philippe Pinel (France 1790’s)
* Removed chains from inmates to test hypothesis that patients with mental illness should be treated with kindness
William Tuke (England 1790’s)
* Established the York Retreat, a place where mentally ill patients lived, worked, and rested in a kindly, religious atmosphere (Quackers)
* Treatment = Restore balance
Dorothea Dix (USA 1802-1887)
* Helped extend the care seen in private hospitals
to state-based hospitals in the United States
Their success and lobbying efforts led to laws to improve the care of people with mental illness
Explain the differences between Freud’s Psychoanalytic Perspectives the ID, Ego and Super-Ego
ID = Everyone is born with ID and the ID operates at the pleasure principle which means it drives us to satisfy our immediate instincts and desires
Ego = Ego is the rational part of the psyche that mediates between the instinctual desires of the id and the moral constraints of the superego, operating primarily at the conscious level
Superego = Develops as a child grows older and is the moral component of the psyche, representing internalized societal values and standards. The superego incorporates the values and morals of society, which are learned from one’s parents and others.
