Mental Health Topic 3

Question 1

What are the assumptions of the behaviourist percpective?

Answer 1

-All behaviour is leaned, including abnormal bhevaiour.
-Learning occurs through classical conditioning, operant conditioning and vicarious learning.
-Behaviour that is learned can be unlearned

Question 2

classical conditioning is when we learn through….
Operant conditioning is when we learn through ….
What is Vicarous learning?

Answer 2

assosociation
concequences.
Can be learned through response to certain situation

Question 3

What is social learning theory?

Answer 3

When we observe those around us (role models) and imitate their behaviour at a later time.

Question 4

How does the behaviourist explanation explain depression?

Answer 4

Due to a lack of rewards/ early experiences/ an excess of unpleasent experiences (punishments)/ Both lack of rewards and excess of unpleasent experiences.

Question 5

Wha
t does Seligman’s “learned helplessness theory” explain the cause of depression of?

Answer 5

That depression occurs as a concequence of classical conditioning in that a person leanrs taht their attempts to escape negative situation make no difference

Question 6

What does the behaviourist explanation consider the link between and give an example.

Answer 6

depression and major life events
e.g if a person loses their job, then the positive reinforcements of interactions with collegues is reduced.

Question 7

How does the behaviourist explanation consider that depression can be shaped by operant conditioning?

Answer 7

Depression may be reinforced if it initially leads to a great deal of smpathy and thus reward. A vicious circle is created upon which a patient is only recieving attention and sympathy, ratherf than positive social events that they may have previously encountered.

Question 8

How is the behaviourist explanation of depression valid?

Answer 8

As there is evidence that supports some of the key feaures of depression such as Lewinsohn found that depressed people recive fewer positive reinforcement and are likely to have more unpleasent experiences than non-depressed people (lack social approval) linking to the behaviourist theroy that depression can rewsult from operant conditioning.)

Question 9

How is the beahviourist explanation reductionist?

Answer 9

It explains MI as a concequence of relatively simple learning priniciples. This is because it ignors the possible contribution of biological factors. For exampole ignoring the large body of evidence that suggest depression/schizophrenia are due to genetic predisposition. these factors are not explored and then are too simplistic.

Question 10

How is the beahviourist explanation uselful?

Answer 10

Treatments involving operant conditioning can be highly effective at treating depression this then supports the explanation taht conditioning can be a cause of depression.

Question 11

What does Elkers et al study say in regard to the beahviourist explanation?

Answer 11

Conducted a meta analysis of 17 studies involving 1109 patients with depression. the found taht behavioural treatment that involved rescheduling daily activities to reintroduce positive reinforces and to reduce avoidnace of situtations that could involve reinforces significantly reduced depressive symptoms compared to a control group.

Question 12

How can the behaviourist explanation of MI be seen as less uselful?

Answer 12

As it lacks explanatory power E.g. arguing that extremely serious disorders such as SZ are a consequence of behaviourist principle seems quite naive, but sensible when explaining other disorders such as phobias. So may be less useful.

Question 13

What are the assumptions of the cognitive area and then related to MI?

Answer 13

-Mental processing, including processes of thinking and perception, influence normal and abnormal behaviour.
-Mental processes can be scientifically investigated.
Mental processing is active, not passive. mental illness is caused by daulty thinking which can be challenged and altered.

Question 14

What is the cognitive explanation of mental illness?

Answer 14

It is due to faulty and negative thinking. Particulary applies to soemone with depression. Essentially, it isn’t the situation someone is in that causes an issue, it is the way they are thinking about it.

Question 15

What do cognitive principles say about internal processes?

Answer 15

It is not an external event that causes a mental illness, it’s the individuals interpretations of that event that is key to understanding mental illness.
The way we think about ourselves and others and how we percieve our experiences, are the causes of menatl illness.

Question 16

What does the cognitive principle say about irrational thinking?

Answer 16

Assume that faulty or irrational thinking are the root cause of abnormal behaviour. For example they may have a perception that ‘nobody likes them’ which can lead to the development of negative feeling about the self.

Question 17

What are cognitive biases?

Answer 17

Thinking can be distorted in many ways that lead to cognitive biases:
Magnification of difficulties and faliures e.g.
Minimisation of successes adn achievements
Over-generalisation- an overall negative conclusion about all situation based on one, perhaps trivial event.

Question 18

What does ‘The self’ mean in the negative triad by Beck?

Answer 18

The self- The individual believes that they are worthless or the person has a negative self- concets, for example feeling unattractive or not likeable.

Question 19

What does ‘The future’ mean in the negative triad by Beck?

Answer 19

The individual thinks that the future is going to be negative, such as thinking they will never find the right partner/job.

Question 20

What does ‘The world’ mean in the negative triad by Beck?

Answer 20

The individual thinks that everyone around them, and every situation is negative. For example, if a friend cancels a get-together , they interpret it as a sign that nobody likes them.

Question 21

What will the negative cognitive triad result in?

Answer 21

behaviourla concequences. Beck stated that depressed people only concentrate on information that confirms their negative thoughts, ignoring other positive factors taht are present

Question 22

What is a negative schema?

Answer 22

A schema is a preconception of a situation where the expectation is taht a situation will be negative. beck believes taht a depressed person has developed a negative set of schemas upon which their expectation about life are based

Question 23

What happens when the traid of negative views, schemas and coghnitive biases interact?

Answer 23

Reinforce each other eventually leading to clinical depression.

Question 24

Why is the cognitive approach cognitive?

Answer 24

As it has lead to successful treatments of depression e.g. CBT which is effective in treating a variety of disorders. For these to be so widely adopted and successful, surerly the underlying theory must have more than an element of truth.
Beck’s theory is scientific. It is testable and research into it can be replicated.

Question 25

Describe 2 weaknesses of the cognitive approach for depression.

Answer 25

Reductionism: Over simplistic explanation. may be seen as incomplete approach to understanding mental helath problems. It ignors biologoical causes of depression e.g. serotonin. This is particularu problematic since their is strong evidence for a biological origin for something like SZ/BP.
Ethics: This approach implies that the individual is responsible for their own faulty thinking, which may be stressful. This could lead to people feeling blamed for abnormalities.

Question 26

What is the humanist explanation of mental illness?

Answer 26

People are good and we are driven to fufil our potential, in other words we are driven for self-actualization.

Question 27

What does rogers state can be the cause of psychological problems?

Answer 27

Anything that blocks our ability to elf-actualization, can be the cause of psychological problems

Question 28

one factor that can cause “unhappiness” and prevent self actualization is “unconditional positive regard” what does this mean

Answer 28

We all need to be valued and respected by others irrespective of our behavior. Harsh or inattentive parenting that involves conditional love can result in an ability to self-actualize

Question 29

Why do we need unconditional positive regard?

Answer 29

in order to have a sense of worth or self-esteem. If we lack this then again we are blocked from achieving our potential

Question 30

Self-esteem is related to our conditions of worth. What does conditions of worth mean?

Answer 30

Others/society may impose on us certain “conditions” that need to me met in order for us to be loved/happy. if we feel we can’t meet these conditions then the gap between our real self and your ideal self becomes wider

Question 31

How can conditions of worth lead to depression?

Answer 31

Conditions of worth are part of the ideal self, so we are only ever valued for achieving goals set for us. Such goals may be impossible and then can lead to a life of unhappiness and therefore result in depression.

Question 32

How would the Humanist perspective say is a better was to understand a person’s MI symptoms?

Answer 32

As their individual response to the blockage of their growth. it is wrong to talk about “abnormality” since everyone is different and experiences “problems in living”

Question 33

Outline/explain the humanistic explanation of MI?

Answer 33

1-we all have a desire to self-actualize.
2-Anything that prevents you from self-actualization can cause mental problems e.g. strict social rules, lack of unconditional positive regard.
3-If you are prevented from reaching self-actualization then this can reduce your self-esteem and self worth.
4-self-esteem-> affected by conditions of worth.
5-Depression occurs as we cannot meet the “condition of worth” imposed on us by others/society ->rejection->more suffering.

Question 34

what is the background to Szasz’s research?

Answer 34

Wrote an essay in 1960 that detailed the myth of mental illness. in this study Szasz reviews his comments in 2010.

Question 35

What was Szasz article originally about?

Answer 35

he claimed that treating MI as a medical condition was wrong, and that people with mental ‘illness’ were just people behaving differently.
The need to treat these illnesses was simply to make society feel more comfortable rather than actually help the patient themselves.
In summary, he challenged the medical model and claims that modern psychiatry rested on a fundamental conceptual error

Question 36

What was the aim of Szasz’s review article?

Answer 36

He considers the current medicalisation of normal behavior in the light of his earlier arguments.
Szasz aimed:
To challenge the medical character of mental illness;
To reject the psychiatric treatments that are justified by this approach to mental illness;
To stop using terms such as ‘psychoses’, ‘neuroses’ and mental illness and instead think of individual behaviors that disturb of disorient others or the self;
Reject the image that patients are helpless victims of pathological events outside of their control;
Stop coercive psychiatric practices which are compatible with the moral ideas of free societies.

Question 37

What were the six main sections of Szasz’s article?

Answer 37

-Fifty years of change in US mental healthcare
-Mental illness- a medical or legal concept.
-‘mental illness’ is a metaphor
-Revisiting The Myth of Mental Illness
-Changing perspectives on human life and illness
-Having an illness does not make an individual into a patient.

Question 38

What are the conclusions of Szasz’s article?

Answer 38

-over the past 50 years, psychiatry (in the USA) has become thoroughly medicalised and politicized, leading to a dehumanized model of care.
-Mental illness is a myth- It is a false belief that all mental illness can be diagnosed accurately and treated successfully.
-Szasz rejects the moral legitimacy of the involuntary psychiatric interventions it justifies as it violates human liberty.
-It is wrong to treat individuals called mentally ill as sick patients needing psychiatric treatment. These individuals should have the right and liberty to define and control their won lives.

Question 39

What are 3 key points from Szasz’s article?

Answer 39

-MI is a myth, not a disease that can be scientifically proven.
-government decides what illnesses exist, control all regulation and funding.
-Economic issues- big business in pharmaceuticals and treatments to treat mentally ill.

Question 40

What are some reason Szasz gives for the fact that the medical model is unacceptable.

Answer 40

-Diagnosis is subjective
-The medical model is dehumanizing, ignoring the suffering of a person
-Alternative ways- understanding the patient, help them to help themselves. medical treatments do not work they only suppress (not cure) the symptoms.
-No alternative legal approach- the government has become involved.

Question 41

Using a mental illness (e.g. depression), apply Szasz’s ideas to explain how patients would be viewed or treated.

Answer 41

The persons 9depressive) experience would be viewed by Szasz as being due to their way of coping with the world around them.
The person would be responded to ethically as a human being and would not be given a diagnostic label of ‘depression’ because Szasz would argue they should not be denied free will for their behavior.
The person would not experience social control implemented by the government in response to their experience influencing their behavior.
Would not be given anti-depressant drugs, because they only serve to suppress symptoms.

Question 42

What is behavior therapy?

Answer 42

refers to techniques based on classical conditioning, while behavior modification refers to therapies based on operant conditioning and social learning

Question 43

What is the behaviorist treatment systematic desensitization used for?

Answer 43

phobia

Question 44

Who was systematic desensitization developed by?

Answer 44

Wolpe (1958)

Question 45

What did Lewinshon find in relation to the behaviourist perspective

Answer 45

Found that depressed people receive fewer positive reinforcements and are likely to have more unpleasant experiences than non-depressed people.

Question 46

What did Beck and Clark find to support the cognitive approach?

Answer 46

Found that depressed people do show dog more irrational thoughts than non-depressed people.

Question 47

What is Szasz argument mental illness is a ‘metaphor’ mean?

Answer 47

Szasz argued that many mental illnesses may actually be misdiagnosed physical illnesses. For example he shared the quote ‘I know X who was diagnosed as mentally ill but turned out to have a brain tumour.’

Question 48

What is meant by Szasz argument: Having a illness does not make an individual into a patient.

Answer 48

Medical model is dehumanising, ignoring suffering of a person. Labels are constructed due to medicalisation of disturbed behaviour.

Question 49

What is meant by Szasz’s argument: 50 years of change in US mental healthcare

Answer 49

Szasz noted that there had been changes. the government had intervened in mental healthcare which made it thoroughly medical and political. The focus of the government is their legal responsibility to prevent the patient from being a danger to themselves/others.

Question 50

What is meant by Szasz’s argument: Mental illness- a medical or legal concept?

Answer 50

Noted that MI is highly politicised. This means that those in power determine what is perceived as a MI.Szasz’s argued that mental hospitals are like prisons. People are labelled with mental illnesses are done so involuntarily and are treated like prisoners rather than receiving proper treatment for their illness.

Question 51

What is meant by Szasz argument: Mental illness is in the eye of the beholder.

Answer 51

Szasz argued that behaviours we call MI are not medical illnesses. When a person displayed disturbing or disturbed behaviours we medicalise them and search for ways to treat the ‘problem’. Szasz argued that there are individual reasons for mental illnesses that must be understood.

Question 52

What is the aim of Beck’s (1967) therapy?

Answer 52

To challenge irrational and dysfunctional thought processes (about the self, the world and the future), and to replace them with more realistic and optomistic ones. In the therapy cognitive techniques address thought patterns while behavioural techniques help to change behaviours.
CBT can be done either individually or in groups. It focuses on the ‘here and now’ rather than past experiences like other therapies do.q

Question 53

What are the 4 stages of CBT?

Answer 53

Assessment, Identification, Hypothesis, working with deeper core beliefs.

Question 54

What happens in the assessment stage of CBT?

Answer 54

Precipitating factors (triggers), predisposing factors (earlier experience), maintaining factors (any additional), are identified.

Question 55

What occurs in the identification stage of CBT?

Answer 55

Dysfunctional automatic thoughts are them identified, e.g. ‘I am worthless’.

Question 56

What happens in the hypothesis stage of CBT?

Answer 56

Therapist considers how the precipitating, predisposing and maintaining factors lead to the automatic thoughts identified.

Question 57

What is meant with the working with deeper core beliefs stage of CBT?

Answer 57

Testing the validity of automatic thoughts, e.g. look closely at the evidence for the claim. Some thoughts can be modified or be less threatening. Looking at core beliefs of the individual. Challenging core beliefs.

Question 58

What did Butler et al find about the effects of CBT on depression?

Answer 58

Found that the beneficial effects of CBT on depression last longer than those of antidepressant drugs.

Question 59

What is a weakness of CBT?

Answer 59

Focuses on the ‘here and now’ so may jot address teh root problem.
CBT takes time and you ahve to regularly access appointments
Can be socially sensitive as it may cause blame as its a way to change thought processes.