Lecture 23: Description Of Psychopathology Flashcards
What is mental health?
A state of emotional and social well being
What is psychopathology?
It refers to problematic patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour
Disrupted functioning at home, work and in the person’s social life (of some duration)
Patterns that cause distress in the person or in others
Varies between and within cultures
What are mental health problems?
The wide range of emotional and behavioural abnormalities that affect people throughout their lives
What is a mental disorder?
A clinically recognisable set of symptoms and behaviours which usually need treatment to be alleviated (a serious departure from normal functioning)
What is the highest proportion of mental disorder in australia?
Schizophrenia and related disorders
Followed by affective (depressive disorders)
What is the mental disorder burden by age and disorder?
20 year olds have the highest burden of mental disorders.
The highest type of mental disorder is others, followed by schizophrenia
Who has the highest burden of disease?
People aged 80-100
How do we classify mental disorders?
Using a manual called the DSM-IV published by the american psychiatric association
This uses a multi-axial system of diagnosis.
The axes cover symptoms as well as medical conditions, stress and current level of function
WHO also publishes a manual of mental and physical disorders called the international classification of disorders. This is used by mental health services in UK and for coding by DHBs in NZ
What are the 5 different axis in the DSM-IV?
I- symptoms that cause distress or significantly impair social or occupational functioning
II- personality disorders and intellectual disability-chronic and enduring problems that impair interpersonal or occupational functioning
III- medical conditions that may be relevant to understanding or treating a psychological disorder
IV- psychosocial and environmental problems such as negative life events and interpersonal stressors that may affect the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of psychological disorders
V- global assessment of functioning- the individual’s overall level of functioning in social, occupational and leisure activities
What are the major types of disorders?
Disorders of infancy, childhood and development, e.g. ASD, ADHD,
Disorders secondary to medical condition
Substance use disorders e,g, alcohol dependence
Mood disorders e,g, depression
Anxiety disorders e.g. Panic disorder
Psychotic disorders e,g, schizophrenia
Cognitive disorders e.g. Dementia
Personality disorders e.g. Borderline PD
What is formulation?
The processes of understanding why a person has developed a disorder or problems of a certain time, why these have not got better or worse and what may happen if unaddressed
What does formulation require?
Detailed info about the person, via an assessment
Requires the use of one or more theories (lenses)
What are the 5 P’s of formulation?
Predisposing factors (e,g, genetic) Precipitating factors Perpetuating factors Protective factors Prognosis
What are the major disorders of focus for this lecture?
Mood
Anxiety
Personality
Psychotic illnesses
What are mood disorders
These are characterised by a disturbance in emotion and mood.
A mood is an internal feeling or emotion which often influences behaviour and the individual’s perception of the world
Affect is the external expression of an emotional state
What is major depressive disorder?
This is a long term episode of intense sadness, loss of appetite and difficulty in sleeping
Prevalence is about 8-10%
Women are twice as likely to have major depression
What is dysthymia?
A less severe type of depression where symptoms are evident over longer time periods (2 years) but are not as debilitating as those of major depression
Prevalence up to 20%
What is bipolar disorder?
Alternating episodes of mania and depression
Mania: an excessive degree of happiness and a belief that the person can do anything
Lifetime risk is low (1.5%)