Psychopathology

Question 1

what defines psychopathology?

Answer 1

deviant, maladaptive, distress, not merely expectable response to event

Question 2

give a brief history of psychopathology

Answer 2

demonology/possession accounts were common. treatments included exorcism, trephination, being transfused with animal blood

Question 3

what did Pinel (1745-1826) argue?

Answer 3

madness was due to ailment of the mind rather than demonic possession . containment rather than treatment (madhouses)

Question 4

give a brief history of medical treatments for psychopathology

Answer 4

transorbital lobotomy; insulin shock therapy for schizophrenia; electroconvulsive

Question 5

describe a transorbital lobotomy

Answer 5

needles entered into eye, wiggled around to destroy some tissue, then taken out again

Question 6

describe insulin shock therapy for schizophrenia

Answer 6

puts them in a coma and ‘shakes up’ mental function

Question 7

describe electroconvulsive therapy

Answer 7

Still used today; Lots of research on it; Both sides of your brain, nothing to protect you from the convulsion; Short term memory loss, and occasionally loss; Some evidence that is can help depression

Question 8

describe ‘moral’ treatments

Answer 8

Stressed the understanding of the patient; Offering hope, Encouraging moral responsibility and Engaging in occupational therapy. Non-conformist, religious point of view. Positive view of human nature: like humanist viewpoint later

Question 9

what is social stigma?

Answer 9

negative attitudes and behaviour in society

Question 10

what is perceived stigma?

Answer 10

what the sufferer experiences

Question 11

what can labelling increase?

Answer 11

stigma

Question 12

how does the media often portray mental illness?

Answer 12

dangerous, murderous, and unpredictable

Question 13

describe the user/recovery movement

Answer 13

challenging attitudes and recovering respect. originated in the us.

Question 14

describe the use of psychiatric disorders in language

Answer 14

entered our everyday language eg. OCD and bipolar. also works the other way: depression existed in language before it was used for mental illnesses

Question 15

describe the gender differences in reporting and diagnosing mental illnesses

Answer 15

women generally more able to notice and report feelings. can under diagnose eg. eating disorders in men, because they don’t appear in the same way as women

Question 16

what is the most biological way of looking at mental health problems?

Answer 16

medical

Question 17

describe the medical model to mental illness

Answer 17

was the most dominant theory. genetic or bio cause. medical language such as patient and diagnosis. reductionist. assumes categorical distinction between those who have a disorder and those who don’t. can be stigmatising

Question 18

describe the psychodynamic approach to mental illness

Answer 18

unconscious conflict between id, ego and superego. defence mechanisms. fixation on early stage of development. idiographic. deterministic. concepts difficult to measure and research (case studies only)

Question 19

describe the humanistic approach to mental illness

Answer 19

barriers to self-actualisation and realising potential. client centred therapy (Rogers, 40s). unconditional positive regard, empathy and acceptance. widened therapy beyond psychiatry. principles in many modern therapies. not much empirical evidence

Question 20

describe the behavioural model approach to to mental illness

Answer 20

learned responses to life experiences (classical/operant conditioning). adaptive turned to maladaptive. aims to unlearn associations. supported by evidence. difficult to trace learning causes. treatment may be simplistic and not generalise.

Question 21

describe the cognitive model

Answer 21

feelings/behaviour caused by thoughts. dysfunctional cognitions. CBT aims to identify, challenge and replace these. widely used and good evidence. not every individual is helped. direction of causality unclear.

Question 22

describe the biopsychosocial model

Answer 22

a ‘catch all’. binary devising between nature and nurture. you can stress different parts of it

Question 23

describe the diathesis-stress model

Answer 23

not a competitor to the biopsychosocial model. time span runs along the bottom. developmental psychopathology: factors interacting over time that leads to a diagnosable illness

Question 24

describe the ICD

Answer 24

international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems. made by the WHO. introduced 1939, currently v10 (yearly)

Question 25

describe the DSM

Answer 25

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders. made by APA.. introduced 1958, currently DSM-5. used more widely

Question 26

what does the DSM aim to do?

Answer 26

provide objective and reliable diagnosis

Question 27

describe Section II of the DSM

Answer 27

diagnostic criteria. each disorder (~300) described with prototypical symptoms. meet set number of criteria to receive a diagnosis. mild/moderate/severe.

Question 28

describe Section III of the DSM

Answer 28

emerging measures and models. disorder-specific dimensional assessments general cross-cutting assessments to index impairment and track change. alternative models/disorders that need further research

Question 29

give some strengths of DSM

Answer 29

access to services, resources, and legal considerations. can help people understand that they need not suffer and can be help. acknowledges biopsychsocial factors. some recognition of different seventies and impairment levels

Question 30

give some weaknesses of DSM

Answer 30

reliability (evidence not perfect). identifies symptoms, not causes. medical model assumed. too many disorders (comorbidity). stigma. categories vs dimensions