Treatment of Psychological Disorders II

Question 1

Psychopharmocology

Answer 1

Study of drug effects on psychological states and symptoms

Question 2

Antipsychotic medications

Answer 2

Treat schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders

Question 3

How do antipsychotics work?

Answer 3

• Block dopamine receptors in the mesolimbic pathway area
• Work well for positive symptoms b/c of dopamine overactivity, but do not work for negative symptoms b/c of dopamine underactivity
• Atypical (new) drugs target serotonin and dopamine systems
• Risk of side effects; need to take drugs for side effects

Question 4

Antianxiety medication

Answer 4

Drugs to reduce a person’s experience of fear or anxiety

Question 5

More about antianxiety medication

Answer 5

• Common type = benzodiazepines; facilitates the
  action of GABA = calming effect
  – Potential for drug abuse! = higher quantities are
  required over time (tolerance) and significant
  withdrawal symptoms
  – Side effects may make people stop treatment (i.e.,
  drowsiness, impaired memory etc.)
  – Need to take medication to help deal with side
  effects

Question 6

Antidepressants

Answer 6

Class of drugs that help lift people’s moods. Includes monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Take up to a month before they have an effect on mood but not recommended for bipolar disorder.

Question 7

MAOIs

Answer 7

• Prevents enzyme monoamine oxidase from breaking down neurotransmitters such as NE, serotonin, and dopamine
  – Lots of side effects and drug interactions

Question 8

Tricyclic antidepressants

Answer 8

• Block reuptake of NE and serotonin by increasing the
  amount of neurotransmitter in the space btwn the neurons
  – Lots of side effects and drug interactions

Question 9

SSRIs

Answer 9

• Block the reuptake of serotonin in the brain making more available in the space between neurons
  – More serotonin in the space means that the neuron can recognize it and send the right signal to the brain
  – Most common!

Question 10

SNRIs

Answer 10

• Acts on both serotonin and NE or NE and dopamine
  – Fewer side effects than traditional MAOIs and tricyclic
  antidepressants

Question 11

Mood stabilizers

Answer 11

Treatment for bipolar disorder
– Suppress swings between mania and depression
– Patient specific – need to be monitored and adjusted
based on how a patient responds

Question 12

Why use herbal and natural products?

Answer 12

– Available over the counter
– Less expensive
– Natural alternatives to synthetic drugs

Question 13

Are herbal and natural products effective?

Answer 13

• Complex issue!
  – Not regulated by FDA so effectiveness isn’t measured
  – Worth exploring, but use caution (interactions w/
  other meds, side effects, dosages, effectiveness)

Question 14

Combining medication and psychotherapy?

Answer 14

• Depends on the disorder

– Issue of cooperation btwn psychologists and psychiatrists

Question 15

Biological treatments beyond medication?

Answer 15

• Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
• Phototherapy
• Psychosurgery
• Deep brain stimulation (DMS)

Question 16

Electroconvulsive therapy

Answer 16

Shock therapy; involves inducing a brief seizure by delivering an electric shock to the brain

Question 17

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Answer 17

Involves placing a powerful pulsed magnet over a person’s scalp which alters neuronal activity in the brain

Question 18

Phototherapy

Answer 18

Repeated exposure to bright light

Question 19

Psychosurgery

Answer 19

The destruction of specific brain areas

Question 20

Deep brain stimulation

Answer 20

Psychosurgery with electric current

Question 21

Natural improvement

Answer 21

Tendency of symptoms to return to their mean or average level; would get better regardless of
treatment
– Most people go to therapy when symptoms are at their worst, so treatment seems like it is working as symptoms get better
– Use of interventions to test treatment effectiveness

Question 22

Placebo effects

Answer 22

Inert substance or procedure that has been applied with the expectation that a healing response will be produced; believe in the effectiveness of drug improves chances it will work
– Recovery is produced by nonspecific treatment
effects
– Maybe person is getting better just because of the
client-patient relationship

Question 23

Reconstructive memory

Answer 23

Mistakenly believing your symptoms before treatment were worse than they were
– Misremembering that your symptoms were worse
before treatment than they actually were
– Client w/ strong expectations of success in therapy
might attribute great success to even a poor
treatment

Question 24

Treat outcome studies

Answer 24

Designed to evaluate a particular treatment compared to other treatments or controls

Question 25

Double-blind experiments

Answer 25

Participant and researcher/therapist are uninformed about which treatment the participant is receiving
– Only really effective for drug studies

Question 26

Psychotherapy clients are better off than untreated clients; but… how to know which treatment will work?

Answer 26

• Look for well-established (evidence from experimental
  trials) and probably efficacious (those w/ preliminary
  evidence) treatments
• Obvious dangers of medication, but be careful of
  psychotherapies as well

Question 27

Iatrogenic illness

Answer 27

Disorder or symptom that occurs as a result of a medical or psychotherapeutic treatment itself

Question 28

Ethical principles of treatment

Answer 28

• Respect for dignity of persons
• Responsible caring
• Integrity in relationships
• Responsibility to society

Question 29

Respect for dignity of persons

Answer 29

• Protecting well-being of vulnerable people

– Seeking fairness in treatments/avoiding biases

Question 30

Responsible caring

Answer 30

Striving to benefit clients; do no harm

Question 31

Integrity in relationships

Answer 31

Accuracy, truthfulness in treatments

Question 32

Responsibility to society

Answer 32

Use psychological knowledge to inform social policies