neuro: treating psychopathology

Question 1

reveal unconscious conflicts, identify life events that caused conflicts, bring conflicts into conscious awareness. what approach is this?

Answer 1

Freud’s psychodynamic approach

Question 2

what are the 4 techniques used in the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 2

→ free association
→ transference
→ dream analysis
→ interpretation

Question 3

client is encouraged to verbalise thoughts, feelings, images that come to mind to bring unconscious conflicts into awareness

Answer 3

free association

Question 4

analyst is used as a target for emotional responses

Answer 4

transference

Question 5

how often and how long does psychodynamic approach take?

Answer 5

3-5 sessions a week, can take many years (3-7)

Question 6

view that symptoms of psychological disorders are learnt through simple conditioning processes

Answer 6

faulty learning

Question 7

anxiety symptoms as a result of ______ conditioning and behavioural problems were acquired from ______ conditioning

Answer 7

classical,

operant

Question 8

classical conditioning principle, assumes emotional problems can be unlearnt by disrupting the association between anxiety provoking cues or situations and the threat/traumatic outcomes

Answer 8

extinction

Question 9

what are some techniques that apply extinction principles/classical conditioning principles?

Answer 9

flooding, counterconditioning, systematic desensitisation, reciprocal inhibition, aversion therapy

Question 10

treatment of phobias and related disorders, patient repeatedly exposed to highly distressing stimuli

Answer 10

flooding

Question 11

behaviour therapy using conditioning techniques to establish a response that is antagonistic to the psychopathology

Answer 11

counterconditioning

Question 12

expose a person to their fear, starting at the least fearful activity → highest fearful activity

effective treatment for simple phobias

Answer 12

systematic desensitisation

Question 13

teach the person an association of the problem with a negative outcome

Answer 13

aversion therapy

Question 14

what are 3 therapies based on operant conditioning principles?

Answer 14

functional analysis, response shaping/token economy, behavioural self control

Question 15

try and understand what rewarding or reinforcing factors might be maintaining inappropriate/maladaptive behaviour

Answer 15

functional analysis

Question 16

give an example a psychopathology that would be treated by functional analysis

Answer 16

self harm → as may be maintained by a range of reinforcing consequences
reward = attention, self stimulation

Question 17

provide a reward for a response behaviour that shows improvement, reinforcement to encourage new behaviours

Answer 17

response shaping and token economy

Question 18

used by any individual to control and manage their own behaviour (addictions, habits, obsessions, other behavioural problems)
self control programmes → personal use → operant conditioning principles

Answer 18

behavioural self control

Question 19

try and understand what rewarding or reinforcing factors might be maintaining inappropriate/maladaptive behaviour

Answer 19

functional analysis

Question 20

give an example a psychopathology that would be treated by functional analysis

Answer 20

self harm → as may be maintained by a range of reinforcing consequences
reward = attention, self stimulation

Question 21

provide a reward for a response behaviour that shows improvement, reinforcement to encourage new behaviours

Answer 21

response shaping and token economy

Question 22

used by any individual to control and manage their own behaviour (addictions, habits, obsessions, other behavioural problems)
self control programmes → personal use → operant conditioning principles

Answer 22

behavioural self control

Question 23

explain the cognitive therapy approach

Answer 23

idea that psychological problems are faulty ways of THINKING

challenges existing dysfunctional beliefs and replaces them with more rational beliefs

Question 24

what are different types of cognitive distortion/bias?

Answer 24

→ attentional bias
→ inaccurate belief
→ paranoia

Question 25

describe Beck's cognitive therapy and the negative triad

Answer 25

view that depression is maintained by a negative schema leads depressed individuals to hold negative views about: → themselves → their future → the world

Question 26

CBT?

Answer 26

change dysfunctional cognitions

Question 27

what is MBCT?

Answer 27

mindfulness-based CT emphasises achieving a mental state by present moment focus and non judgemental awareness reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression

Question 28

benzos = agonists of _____

Answer 28

GABA gaba = valium, zolpidem anxiety reducing → treat anxiety disorders

Question 29

prevent reuptake of serotonin in the synapse so more serotonin to improve mood (treat depression)

Answer 29

SSRIs seroxat, zoloft → antidepressants

Question 30

what are the limitations of drug treatments?

Answer 30

→ side effects → overprescription medicalises everyday problems of living → many drugs ineffective (or no better than placebo) for people with mild symptoms

Question 31

attempts to understand the family as a social system

Answer 31

systems theory

Question 32

benzos = agonists of _____

Answer 32

GABA

Question 33

prevent reuptake of serotonin in the synapse so more serotonin to improve mood (treat depression)

Answer 33

SSRIs

Question 34

what are examples of antipsychotics and what disorders do they treat?

Answer 34

Haldol, clozaril antipsychotic → treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder

Question 35

how do we assess how effective a treatment is?

Answer 35

try and compare therapies

Question 36

the treatment provided will depend on what 2 factors?

Answer 36

→ theoretical orientation and training of therapist | → nature of psychopathology

Question 37

what are the different modes of delivery of treatments?

Answer 37

one to one client therapist meetings, group therapy, self help groups, counselling, computerised CBT, e-therapy (email), tele psychiatry (phone, videoconference)

Question 38

what are factors that might help recovery and make a treatment more effective?

Answer 38

→ sympathetic therapist | → rationale for recovery that the client believes and understands will help them

Question 39

what are factors that might hinder recovery and make a treatment less effective?

Answer 39

→ bad relationship with therapist → unsupportive home environment → use of intervention that is poorly structured

Question 40

need to assess the _____ validity

Answer 40

internal

Question 41

why is assessing the efficacy of different therapies difficult?

Answer 41

because of the large range of different factors that influence recovery

Question 42

spontaneous remission:

Answer 42

many people with psychological disorders will get better naturally over a period of time without therapy

Question 43

__% of people with depression/anxiety disorders recover without treatment

Answer 43

30

Question 44

detailed report of treatment provided to an individual patient and their outcome =

Answer 44

case study

Question 45

descriptive report of treatment and patient outcomes in groups of patients who have received different types of treatment =

Answer 45

case series

Question 46

comparison of the effectiveness of a treatment beings assessed with a variety of control conditions and with other forms of treatment

Answer 46

RTC's

Question 47

waitlist control =

Answer 47

when registered in need of a treatment → half get it while other half are told they will get the treatment in future hope for spontaneous remission (difficult to achieve → ethical issues → withholding treatment form clinically distressed individuals)

Question 48

What are some of the problems with RTCs?

Answer 48

→ high drop out rates (especially in control groups) → very expensive → doesn't take into account of patients preferred therapy (randomised patient preference trials do) → only focus on statistical rather than clinical significance → findings may not generalise to typical settings/populations → biases, publication bias, researcher allegiance bias → commercial interests

Question 49

In meta-analysis' and umbrella analysis what have RCTs shown about therapies?

Answer 49

most (but not all) therapies are more effective than control conditions many are better than placebo individual RCTs and meta-analysis tended to find few differences between different types of treatment

Question 50

implies all psychotherapies are more effective than no treatment but produce equivalent benefits and show treatment equivalence =

Answer 50

'The Dodo bird verdict'

Question 51

relationship between therapist and client =

Answer 51

therapeutic alliance