Psychological Disorders (Ch. 13) Flashcards
what are psychological disorders?
Behavioral or psychological syndromes or patterns that lead to clinically significant distress or disability.
point prevalence
% of people in a given population who have a given psychological disorder at one point in time.
lifetime prevalence
% of people in a given population who have a given psychological disorder at any point in their lives.
what are the impacts of psychological disorders on death rates?
psychological disorders represent 5/10 leading causes of disability and premature death worldwide
what is a clinical assessment?
a procedure used to evaluate a client’s psychological functioning and determine whether a psychological disorder is present
clinical interviews
designed to systematically explore a client’s current mental state, life circumstances, and history
- asks them to describe their problems
- open-ended or structural (can ask questions pertinent to diagnostic criteria)
- can gather insights from looking at hand gestures, facial expressions, etc.
what can therapists use to eval clients besides clinical interviews?
self-report measures and projective tests
self-report measures
fixed set of questions for patient to answer
projective tests
client asked to respond to unstructured/ ambiguous stimuli (usually pictures) requires them to impose their own structure
(ex. Thematic Apperception Test [TAT], client has to make up a story about what is happening)
(ex. Rorschach Inkblot Test, client has to describe what they see in set of inkblots)
are projective tests useful?
general consensus is that the popularity > usefulness
what do we use to diagnose disorders?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It has been revised many times, now at version DSM-5. It is updated to reflect current scientific evidence.
who publishes the DSM?
the American Psychiatric Association
how does the DSM reflect culture-specific disorders?
in addition to the 20 categories of disorders, there is an appendix of some culture-specific ones (however still some specific to only W culture, ex. bulimia nervosa, that is concluded in the overall manual)
how can we make our language more inclusive around people with mental illnesses?
distinguishing between the person and the illness (ex. “people with schizophrenia,” as opposed to “schizophrenics”)
the biopsychosocial model
analysis of psychological functioning is incomplete unless it considers biological, psychological, and social dimensions
panic disorder
anticipation and experience of unexpected panic attacks (sudden episodes of terrifying bodily symptoms – labored breathing, choking, sweating, heart palpitations – and sense of losing control)
are panic attacks specific to panic disorder?
No, they occur in almost all anxiety disorders, but in panic disorders, they are recurrent and unexpected
what is the relationship between panic disorder and agoraphobia?
panic disorders are usually accompanied by agoraphobia (fear of being in situations where help may not be available or escape would be embarrassing/ difficult)
why are panic disorder and agoraphobia usually concurrent?
because people with panic disorders usually fear having an attack in a public place (so stay in side)
worry and generalized anxiety disorder
one common feature of GAD is worry, which some clinicians believe is a cognitive form of avoidance to decrease anxiety responses
OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)
obsessions (recurrent unwanted disturbing thoughts) and compulsions (ritualistic actions to control the obsessions)
sometimes people have just one or both
is OCD voluntary?
people usually know the obsessions are irrational but unable to stop and control the compulsions
(ex. an obsession with cleanliness may lead to a compulsion to keep washing their hands)
mental rituals
form of compulsions in an attempt to manage obsessions
trauma and stress-related disorders
psychological disorders triggered by an event involving death (or the threat of), serious injury, sexual violation, etc.
process of trauma and stress-related disorders
- period of numbness/ disassociation (feels alienated, socially unresponsive, oddly unaffected)
- intrusive symptoms emerge (recurrent nightmares/ flashbacks), arousal symptoms (maintaining high states of readiness), avoidance symptoms
acute stress disorder
trauma and stress-related disorders that last less than a month
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
if acute stress disorder symptoms last longer than one month, it is considered PTSD
why do some people who experience trauma not develop a stress disorder?
unclear, only 1 in 10 individuals who experience highly traumatic events go on to experience PTSD