Treatment of psychological disorders

Question 1

A clinical psychologist works with

Answer 1

people who have clinically diagnosed mental disorders

Question 2

Psychodynamic therapies rest on two principles:

Answer 2

(i) insight and (ii) therapeutic alliance

Question 3

Insight refers to

Answer 3

an understanding one’s own psychological processes

Question 4

Insight helps address:

Answer 4

(i) maladaptive ways of viewing the self and interpersonal relationships, (ii) unconscious conflicts and compromises among competing wishes and fears and (iii) maladaptive ways of dealing with unpleasant emotions

Question 5

Therapeutic alliance refers to

Answer 5

the relationship between the patient and therapist; if the patient feels comfortable to speak then you will get more disclosures about emotionally significant experiences and therefore aid the therapeutic process

Question 6

There are three techniques psychodynamic therapists often use:

Answer 6

(i) free association, (ii) interpretation and (iii) transference

Question 7

Free association means

Answer 7

to speak freely about anything (e.g. thoughts, feelings, images, fantasies, memories, dreams) without censorship

Question 8

Interpretation is

Answer 8

where the therapist helps the patient understand their symptoms because: (i) they have training, (ii) they have ‘an outsider’s perspective’ so they are not emotionally embroiled in the issues like the client is, and (iii) they can help patients overcome any resistance they have to uncovering their maladaptive patterns of thought and behaviour (which initially developed to avoid the anxiety they would otherwise provoke)

Question 9

Transference occurs

Answer 9

when people transfer the thoughts, feelings, fears, wishes and conflicts that are troubling them from the real source (e.g. father) to the therapist

Question 10

cognitive behavioural therapies:

Answer 10

(i) are more short term, (ii) focus on the client’s current symptoms and behaviour and doesn’t try to uncover any childhood traumas/experiences that may be unconscious and underlying the conflicts and motives of the mental illness, (iii) are more directive (they suggest specific ways patients should change their thinking and behaviors, assign homework and structure sessions with questions and strategies etc., (iv) use behavioral analysis (by examining the stimuli or thoughts that precede or are associated with behavioural symptoms) and (v) address specific psychological processes

Question 11

Two common techniques used in CBT that derive from behaviourism side and so focus on changing dysfunctional behaviours are:

Answer 11

(i) systematic desensitisation and (ii) exposure techniques

Question 12

two common techniques used in CBT that derive from cognitive psychology and so focus on changing dysfunctional thoughts are:

Answer 12

(i) Ellis’ rational-emotive therapy and (ii) Beck’s cognitive therapy

Question 13

In systematic desensitisation,

Answer 13

the patient gradually confronts the stimulus that causes them phobia in their mind while they are in a relaxed state that inhibits emotional anxiety

Question 14

In exposure techniques,

Answer 14

the patient confronts the stimulus so that they cannot avoid or escape it (response prevention)

Question 15

In flooding, the patient

Answer 15

confronts the phobia stimulus all at once, so there is inescapable exposure to the conditioned stimulus which eventually desensitises the patient through extinction

Question 16

In graded exposure, the patient

Answer 16

is gradually exposed to the phobic stimulus instead of all at once

Question 17

In virtual reality exposure therapy, patients

Answer 17

are not exposed to the real stimulus but only virtual images of it, which is helpful if it would be costly and time-consuming otherwise

Question 18

In Ellis’ rational-emotive therapy (RET), Ellis proposes that

Answer 18

clients can rid themselves of most psychological problems by maximising their rational and minimising their irrational thinking

Question 19

A=

Answer 19

Activating conditions, e.g. job loss, triggers, life events

Question 20

B=

Answer 20

Belief systems, e.g. I am not a worthy person unless I am very successful, maladaptive cognitive patterns

Question 21

C=

Answer 21

Emotional consequences

Question 22

In Beck’s cognitive therapy, the

Answer 22

therapist and patient work together to identify, challenge and change maladaptive patterns of thought and behavior/cognitive distortions and errors in thinking

Question 23

the two most common humanistic therapies are:

Answer 23

(i) Gestalt therapy and (ii) Client-centered therapy

Question 24

In Gestalt therapy

Answer 24

there is emphasis on awareness of one’s own true, authentic, unsocialised feelings; that is, a focus on the ‘here and now’

Question 25

In client-centered therapy

Answer 25

there is a focus on everyday problems in living and how they have resulted from a discrepancy between a person’s self- concept (i.e. how they see themselves or how they’d like to see themselves)

Question 26

biological treatments include:

Answer 26

(i) pharmacotherapy (e.g. antipsychotic medication, anti-depressant and mood stabilising medications, antianxiety medications), (ii) electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and (iii) pychosurgery; most biological treatments can only be administered by medical doctors (e.g. psychiatrists)

Question 27

Antipsychotic medications are used to

Answer 27

address psychotic disorders like schizophrenia; they are also known as ‘major tranquillisers’ because they are highly sedating; they work by inhibiting dopamine because this neurotransmitter is implicated in the positive symptoms of schizophrenia (e.g. hallucinations);

Question 28

the most serious side effect of antipsychotic medications is

Answer 28

a movement disorder known as tardive dyskinesia characterised by involuntary twitching including in the tongue, face and neck

Question 29

Antidepressant and mood stabilising medications work by

Answer 29

increasing the amount of norepinephrine and/or serotonin in the synapses

Question 30

3 common types of Antidepressant and mood stabilising medications

Answer 30

(i) tricyclic antidepressants, (ii) MAO (monoamine oxidase) inhibitors and (iii) SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)

Question 31

Tricyclic antidepressants work by

Answer 31

blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin in the presynaptic membrane, so they force the neurotransmitters to stay in the synapse for longer

Question 32

MAO (monoamine oxidase) inhibitors work by

Answer 32

preventing the chemical MAO from breaking down neurotransmitters while they are inside the pre-synaptic neuron

Question 33

SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are the most commonly used first type of medical treatment prescribed because

Answer 33

they have fewer side effects and are better tolerated over longer periods

Question 34

SSRIs work by

Answer 34

preventing the reuptake of serotonin from the synapse back into the presynaptic neuron so they keep the neurotransmitter serotonin active in the synapse for longer

Question 35

Antianxiety medications are

Answer 35

also known as benzodiazepines; they are especially useful for short-term treatment for anxiety and are often used in combination with other types of therapies such as psychotherapy or exposure-based therapies

Question 36

Two types of biological treatments that are used as a last report when pharmacotherapy fails are:

Answer 36

(i) electroconvulsive or electroshock therapy (ECT) and (ii) psychosurgery

Question 37

ECT refers to the

Answer 37

intentional induction of a brain seizure by giving a person an electric shock either to one or both of their hemispheres

Question 38

the main side effect of ECT is

Answer 38

memory loss and another is cognitive impairment (in particular, slowed information-processing)

Question 39

in psychosurgery there is

Answer 39

intentional lesioning or cutting of the brain part thought to be involved in producing the psychological symptoms