Treatment for abornmality Flashcards
Describe the biological approach.
The view that behaviour can all be explained in terms of biological mechanisms such as hormones, neurotransmitters, brain activity and influences inherited via genes.
Describe the psychodynamic approach.
Literally an approach that explains the dynamics of behaviour- what motivates a person.
Describe the behavioural approach.
(learning theory) All behaviour is learned through experience as a result of classical and operant conditioning. The behaviour is picked up.
Describe the cognitive approach.
The key influence on behaviour is how an individual thinks about the situation. Faulty information processing.
What are dopamine/ serotonin?
Dopamine and serotonin are both neurotransmitters which have been associated with a number of behaviours. Dopamine is linked to schizophrenia. low levels of serotonin are related to depression and high levels have been linked to anxiety.
Describe ECT?
The administration of a controlled electrical current through electrodes placed on the scalp, that includes a convulsive seizure which can be effective in relieving an episode of major depression.
What is systematic desensitisation?
A form of cognitive behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other behaviour problems involving anxiety. Client is gradually exposed to (or imagines) the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished.
What is REBT?
A cognitive behavioural treatment that helps people change dysfunctional emotions and behaviours by making them aware of self-defeating beliefs.
What is psychoanalysis?
A form of psychotherapy, originally developed by Sigmund Freud, that is intended to help patients become aware of long-repressed unconscious feelings and issues by using such techniques as free association.
SIT
Stress Inoculation Therapy
1.Conceptualisation:
Teaching the client to think of the perceived threats differently. To think of them as problems to be solved rather than threats to worry about.
- Skills Acquisition:
Development and practise of skills in secure environment and then in real life situations. Skills such as positive self talk, negative thought stopping, relaxation techniques etc - Application and follow through:
Using the new skills in increasingly stressful situations using role play, imagery and maybe teaching the skills to to others.
what are the strengths of the biological approach?
Strengths of the biological approach
• There is a scientific and experimental basis for the claims of this approach and technology to support investigation. Therefore the medical model offers a reliable explanation of psychopathology
- The scientific basis of investigation has allowed for the development of effective physiological treatments. As drugs work to alleviate the symptoms of mental illness, neuro - chemical explanations must have credibility.
- Abnormality is explained through physical causes and is thought of as illness so ‘a no blame approach’ is taken to the person, allowing for sympathetic and humane treatment.
what are the weaknesses of the biological approach?
Limitations of the biological approach
• If there was a wholly genetic explanation for psychological abnormality, there should be 100% concordance rate for identical twins diagnosed with disorders. There is not and this suggests other factors are involved in psychopathology.
- Changes in biochemistry maybe a consequence of the disorder not its cause. Cause and effect relationships are difficult to establish in this respect as changes have already presented themselves for the individual to gain diagnosis.
- Critics dispute that abnormality has a biological basis and point to it’s medicalisation as another form of social power. People are labelled with their illness, stereotyped and marginalised in society.
what are the strengths of the psychodynamic approach?
Strengths of the psychodynamic approach
• Freud’s was the first systematic explanation that focused on psychological factors as the cause of mental illness. Before, all explanations of psychopathology were in terms of physical causes or ideas such as possession by evil spirits.
- Psychoanalysis paved the way for later psychological models. It has had an enormous influence on our understanding of normal and abnormal behaviour. Much of this understanding has been absorbed into our culture so we are not aware of it.
- It identified traumatic childhood experiences as a factor in the development of adult disorders, an assumption for which there is good evidence (Barlow & Durand, 1995). Although early trauma may not emerge in adulthood as psychological problems, research indicates many people with psychopathology do recollect having experienced emotional trauma in childhood.
what are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?
Limitations of the psychodynamic approach • Freud's explanation emerged from interactions with patients in therapy. Clinical case studies are low on reliability, they rely on retrospective recall and the analysts interpretation. They maybe biased and another individual may draw different conclusions from the same evidence. Freud’s case studies were largely of few middle-class Viennese women, so it is a major leap to make generalizations to other cultures from this sample.
- The model claims that abnormal behaviour results from unconscious conflict related to innate, biological drives. The theory is deterministic for this reason. Individuals have very little conscious involvement in their own personality development.
- The model emphasises early experience and there is a lack of interest in the current problems faced by individuals. The behaviourist approach has demonstrated how critical life events in adulthood such as divorce and redundancy lead to a significant reduction in positive reinforcement and mental health.
- In practice, the psychodynamic model has had limited application to patients suffering from anxiety disorders or depression rather than disorders such as schizophrenia.
what are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?
Limitations of the psychodynamic approach • Freud's explanation emerged from interactions with patients in therapy. Clinical case studies are low on reliability, they rely on retrospective recall and the analysts interpretation. They maybe biased and another individual may draw different conclusions from the same evidence. Freud’s case studies were largely of few middle-class Viennese women, so it is a major leap to make generalizations to other cultures from this sample.
- The model claims that abnormal behaviour results from unconscious conflict related to innate, biological drives. The theory is deterministic for this reason. Individuals have very little conscious involvement in their own personality development.
- The model emphasises early experience and there is a lack of interest in the current problems faced by individuals. The behaviourist approach has demonstrated how critical life events in adulthood such as divorce and redundancy lead to a significant reduction in positive reinforcement and mental health.
- In practice, the psychodynamic model has had limited application to patients suffering from anxiety disorders or depression rather than disorders such as schizophrenia.
