Test 2 Flashcards
What are the symptoms/characteristics of GAD (generalized anxiety disorder)
- excessive anxiety - worrying about everything but there is no apparent danger
- general anxiety that is hard to get rid of
- has to be present for at least 3 months to be diagnosed
- Restlessness
- muscle tension
- Insomnia
- easily fatigued
- irritability
What do psychoanalytic therapists believe causes GAD
- high anxiety and poor défense mechanisms
- believed all kids have anxiety but are able to use défense mechanisms so no défense =GAD
What are psychoanalytic treatments for GAD?
- controlling the ID through free-association
- Teaching patient that the thoughts are just thoughts
- controlling impulsivity
What do psychodynamic therapists believe causes GAD
Poor-parents child relationships
What are the psychodynamic treatments for GAD
- corrective emotional experiences (therapist replaces the person having caused bad experiences and makes client relieve it in a positive way)
What are the biological causes of GAD?
- problem with neurotransmitters called GABA
- biological relative thats close can pass it down
What are biological treatments for GAD?
- anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines - Valium, Ativan, Xanax)
- work similarly to GABA since they’re inhibitory and can calm the brain down
- now we use antidepressants and antipsychotics instead because they aren’t addicting
- relaxation techniques like meditation and mindfulness
What is the treatment(s) that work best for GAD
CBT + antidepressants/ biological treatments
What is a specific phobia?
Persistent and reoccurring fear of a specific object or situation. Mainly animals, blood, injury, places, storms.
What is agoraphobia?
Fear of being in a situation where it will be difficult to escape and that people will see if panic is experiences.
What are the behavioural causes of phobias
That it is developed through classical conditioning and modeling.
- it is maintained through avoidance (not facing fears)
What is the treatment for specific phobias
- systematic desensitization
- learning relaxation skills
- creating a fear hierarchy (listing most stressful to least stressful thing)
- confronting each of the feared situations systematically
- taught skills that are incompatible wth fear like relaxation
What are the 3 types of ways to do systematic desensitization
- In vivo desensitization (direct, live exposure to feared object/thing)
- Covert desensitization (imagining the situation because live replication is not possible)
- Virtual reality (when live situation is hard to duplicate, like: planes, heights, etc)
What is flooding?
Forced non-gradual exposure to feared object or situation
What is modelling?
Therapist confronts the thing the client fears and the patient watched
What are the 2 treatments for agoraphobia?
- Exposure: therapist helps the client go farther and farther from their homes while doing relaxation exercises
- Support groups
What are the characteristics and symptoms of social anxiety disorder?
- social situations that the person feels anxious about
- severe, persistent fear of being judged
- sees themselves as bad performers
- negative thoughts about self
- embarrassment
- physical reactions like:
- sweating
- blushing
- palpitations
- tendency to seek avoidance of the situation through a SAFETY BEHAVIOUR (behaviour done to suppress fear if fear can’t be avoided)
What are the causes for social anxiety disorder according to cognitive theory?
- self-defeating beliefs
- believes they are true (ex: unattractive and socially unskilled)
- convinces the self thats true than seeks to perform safety behaviours
What is the cognitive treatments for social anxiety disorder?
- changing the believes (ex: homework assignment to go out and watch to see no one is watching) through exposure
- social sills assertiveness training (providing reassurance and feedback
- antidepressants are often used but therapy is = effective and less relapse
- combination works best
What are the characteristics and symptoms of panic disorders?
- unpredictable periodic attacks and never knowing when they will occur
- worry about when the next will occur or worry about having another one
- fears of going crazy, dying, losing control, etc
- extreme physical sensations
- nausea
- hyperventilation
- sweating
- shaking
- dizziness
- heart palpitations
What is the biological perspective of panic disorders?
- accidental realization that antidepressants or better led to theory that irregular norepinephrine activity in the locus coeruleus.
- diathesis-stress is another possibility
What are the biological treatments for panic disorders?
- antidepressants and benzodiazepines are 80% effective if patient remains on them
- can break the panic - fear - anticipation cycle of panic attacks
- combination is best because most dont want to be o medication for rest of life
What are the cognitive theory of causes of panic disorders?
- overly sensitive to certain bodily sensations (ANXIETY SENSITIVITY)
- misinterprets signs of medical catastrophes
What are the cognitive treatments for panic disorders
- teaching accurate interpretations of feelings i the body
- educating o panic attacks and body sensitivity
- intéroceptive exposure. (Biological challenge procedure - exposure to unpleasant situations)