therapies

Question 1

major distinction first

Answer 1

• Psychotherapy – a non-medical process that helps people with disorders recognize their disorders and overcome them.
• Biological therapies – treatments that reduce or eliminate symptoms of psychological disorder by altering aspects of body functioning

Question 2

psychotherapy

Answer 2

-does it work?
>that is WAY too simple a Q
>there are different therapies and different conditions
-thats like asking, “does medication work?”
>WHICH medicine, and for which condition??

Question 3

Many psychotherapies have been studied in carefully controlled studies (just as we would with medicine), and have been found to be highly effective.

Answer 3

true, many are more effective than medication, but then many are less

Question 4

effective therapies

Answer 4

-therapies that are effective are generally much more action oriented than insight oriented

Question 5

action oriented

Answer 5

specific skills are taught, specific techniques are used that actively target the problems

Question 6

insight oriented

Answer 6

therapies where the primary goal is to help the client understand their problem (under the mistaken assumption that understanding will produce improvement)

Question 7

insight oriented therapies

Answer 7

-therapies that generally do not work, or don't work well 
>Psychoanalysis,
>Existential therapies, 
>Humanistic therapies
>Play therapy
>Art therapy
>Music therapy
>And on and on and on…

Question 8

behavioral therapy

Answer 8

treatments that are based on behavioral or cognitive principles

Question 9

exposure therapy

Answer 9

> Very frequently used with anxiety disorders (in fact, the most effective therapy here)
Individuals confront their fears under safe conditions, staying in the feared situation until anxiety decreases
This help the individual “unlearn” that the focus of their fears is actually threatening.
-the text goes into “systematic sensitization” which is an outdate version of this

Question 10

token economies

Answer 10

• Interventions (typically used with children) wherein the individual earns ‘tokens’ for good behaviors, and loses ‘tokens’ for bad behaviors.
• Play appropriately with other children, earn 10 points
• Call another child a name, and lose 20 points

Question 11

behavioral therapies examples

Answer 11

• behavioral therapy
• exposure therapy
• token economies

Question 12

cognitive therapies

Answer 12

-These focus on cognitions (thoughts) that are the source of the problem. The goal is to change thinking or beliefs
>Cognitive therapy for depression remains the single most well-studied and validated therapy for depression
>Many direct techniques are used, showing people how to identify and dispute maladaptive thoughts.

Question 13

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Answer 13

-Simply put, this is combining the two types of therapy, borrowing techniques from both.
>These are among the most widely used therapies

Question 14

drug therapies

Answer 14

Antianxiety drugs: reduce anxiety, tend to be fast-acting, but many can be addicting, and these medications have no effect once they wear off (the problem is still there).
-But can be used effectively for short-term use

Question 15

antidepressants

Answer 15

-these are drugs that help people regulate their mood
>contrary to the term, these have no specifically for depression, and can help with anxiety, eating disorders, ect.
-generally have no effect in the short term; take 2-3 weeks before they begin to have an effect
>But the effect is more lasting, and these are generally not habit-forming
>Though unfortunately, they’re only moderately effective.

Question 16

antipsychotic medication

Answer 16

• These are effective at reducing hallucinations and delusions (positive symptoms)
• The book is wrong about whether they help with social behavior. That is not true. Sadly, these medications have been shown to have just about no effect on the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. (no current treatment helps the negative symptoms)

Question 17

biological therapies

Answer 17

• drug therapies
• antipsychotic medication
• antidepressants

Question 18

electroconvulsive therapy

Answer 18

• “shock therapy” – but it’s not what you have seen on TV (not anymore)
• Has been shown to help people with severe depression.
• There is, though, a significant risk of long-term memory loss, so this is infrequently used.

Question 19

other therapies

Answer 19

-Of course, there are many different therapies out there (easily over 600 when different psychotherapies and medications are included)
>Group therapy
>Couples therapy
>Family therapy
>Self-help groups