Psychological approaches to common mental health problems Flashcards
Common mental health disorders?
1 Affective/anxiety disorders
2 Substance misuse disorders
3 DISORDERS OF REACTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS
Common mental health disorders - Affective/anxiety disorders?
1) Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
2) Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
3) Panic Disorder and Phobic Anxiety Disorders
4) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Common mental health disorders - Substance misuse disorders?
1) Due to use of ALCOHOL
2) Due to use of TOBACCO
3) Due to use of OPIOIDS/BENZOS/STIMULANTS
Common mental health disorders - Disorders of reaction to psychological stress?
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
What is cognitive behavioural therapy good for?
Particularly good for depression, anxiety, phobias, OCD, PTSD
Overview of Cognitive behavioural therapy?
> How our thoughts relate to our feelings and behaviour (Beck, 1979)
> Particularly good for depression, anxiety, phobias, OCD, PTSD
> Focus on here and now
> Short-term
> Problem focussed, goal oriented
> Individual, group, self-help book or computer programme
What is CBT?
> Identify thoughts, feelings and behaviours
> Assess whether thoughts are unrealistic / unhelpful (thinking errors)
- Automatic negative thoughts - Unrealistic beliefs - Cognitive distortions - Catastrophizing - Black and white / all or nothing thinking - Perfectionism
> Identify what can change
> Client engages in “homework” which challenges the unrealistic or unhelpful thoughts (thinking errors)
- Graded exposure - Response prevention
Avoidance in depression - social withdrawal?
> Not taking on challenging tasks
> Sitting around the house
> Spending excessive time in bed
Avoidance in depression - non-social avoidance?
> Not thinking about relationship problems
> Not making decisions about the future
> Not taking opportunities
> Not being serious about work / studies
Avoidance in depression - cognitive avoidance?
> Watching rubbish on television
> Playing computer games
> Gambling
> Comfort-eating
> Excessive exercise
Avoidance in depression - avoidance by distraction?
Use of alcohol and other substances
What is behavioural action?
Behavioural therapy is an action-based therapy that looks to foster positive behaviour change. It is effective within depression
Behavioural Activation
Theory and Rationale?
Focus on avoided activities:
- as a guide for activity scheduling - for a functional analysis of cognitive processes that involve avoidance
Focus on what predicts and maintains an unhelpful response by various reinforcers
Client taught to analyse unintended consequences of their way of responding
What can interpersonal psychotherapy used for?
Depression
Anxiety
Interpersonal therapy - Strengths?
A grade evidence for treating depression
No formal homework – may be preferable
Client can continue to practise skills beyond the sessions ending
Interpersonal therapy - Limitations?
Requires degree of ability to reflect – may be difficult for some
Where poor social networks – limited interpersonal support
What is interpersonal therapy?
A central idea in IPT is that psychological symptoms, such as depressed mood, can be understood as a response to current difficulties in our everyday interactions with others. In turn, the depressed mood can also affect the quality of these interactions. When a person is able to interact more effectively with others, their psychological symptoms often improve.
IPT can typically focus on the following relationship areas:
> Conflict with another person
Life changes that affect how you feel about yourself and others
Grief and loss
Difficulty in starting or keeping relationships going
What is interpersonal therapy?
A central idea in IPT is that psychological symptoms, such as depressed mood, can be understood as a response to current difficulties in our everyday interactions with others. In turn, the depressed mood can also affect the quality of these interactions. When a person is able to interact more effectively with others, their psychological symptoms often improve.
IPT can typically focus on the following relationship areas:
> Conflict with another person
Life changes that affect how you feel about yourself and others
Grief and loss
Difficulty in starting or keeping relationships going
What is motivational interviewing (MI)?
MI uses a guiding style to engage clients, clarify their strengths and aspirations, evoke their own motivations for change and promote autonomy in decision making
Four general principles of motivational interviewing?
R - resist the urge to change the individual’s course of action through didactic means (avoid argument)
U - understand it’s the individual’s reasons for change, not those of the practitioner, that will elicit a change in behaviour (self-efficacy)
L - listening is important; the solutions lie within the individual, not the practitioner (express empathy)
E - empower the individual to understand that they have the ability to change their behaviour
Stages of Change?
1) Pre-contemplation
2) Contemplation
3) Planning
4) Action
5) Maintenance
Stages of Change - Pre-contemplation?
In denial
Stages of Change - Contemplation?
Ambivalence – 6 months to a lifetime! – information - risk screening - pros and cons
Stages of Change - Planning?
“I have a problem – how can I change” – options for change / build confidence and motivation
Stages of Change - Action?
‘this is what I am doing ‘– preventing relapse and coping strategies / strategies to maintain goals encouragement in failures
Stages of Change - Maintenance?
Coping strategies / weak points / emergencies/ slips back protocols
How many people suffer from a mental disorder at some point?
1 In 4
