Treatment of Psychological Disorders— Test 4

Question 1

Categories of treatment

Answer 1

Psychological (psychologist)

Biological (psychiatrist)

Question 2

Psychotherapy

Answer 2

Generally aimed at changing patterns of thought or behavior

Goal of psychoanalysis is to help clients gain insight into their unconscious and how these processes affect daily functioning

Question 3

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Answer 3

Focuses on the way a person’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are connected.

Teaches specific skills, and often involves homework such as logging reactions or behavior to identify patterns and track change

Goal is to teach strategies that will return someone to healthy functioning as quickly and effectively as possible.The treatment typically lasts 6-20 sessions.

CBT is the type of psychotherapy with the strongest
evidence for treating many disorders – especially anxiety and depression; insomnia too!

Question 4

Antidepressants

Answer 4

Used for the treatment of depression.
—Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI)
—Increases serotonin levels by blocking ‘reuptake’

Question 5

Anti-anxiety drugs

Answer 5

Used for the treatment of anxiety
—One popular class of anti-anxiety drugs is benzodiazepines
—Increase the activity of GABA
—Induce drowsiness and are highly addictive

Question 6

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Answer 6

A procedure that involves administering a strong electrical current to the patient’s brain to produce a seizure

The general public has a very negative view of ECT

ECT now generally occurs under anesthesia, with powerful muscle relaxants to eliminate motor convulsions and confine the seizure to the brain

Question 7

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

Answer 7

Electrodes are surgically implanted deep within the brain & mild electricity is then used to stimulate the brain at an optimal frequency and intensity

DBS has been tremendously successful in treating Parkinson’s disease

DBS is being tested for treating other disorders, including mental disorders such as severe OCD and depression

Question 8

Unsupported therapies

Answer 8

Unfortunately, many available therapies have no scientific basis (think Freud):
—Scaring adolescents away from committing crimes
—Having police officers run drug education programs such as DARE
—Using hypnosis to recover painful memories
—Encouraging people to describe their experiences following major trauma

These methods not only lack adequate evidence but also may produce results opposite to those intended

Question 9

Randomized Control Trials (RCT)

Answer 9

The gold standard for studying a treatment of any disorder used in both psychology and medicine.

Studies that can establish whether a particular treatment is effective. The only way to know whether a treatment is valid is to conduct empirical research that compares the treatment with a control condition

Psychotherapy controls: either education about the disorder and suggestions for healthy habits or a “wait-list” condition

Biological controls: sugar pill/placebo; surgery is more difficult

Question 10

Anxiety Treatment

Answer 10

Mixed Success
—Psychoanalytic theory did not prove useful for treating anxiety disorders
—Evidence suggests that cognitive-behavioral therapy works best to treat most adult anxiety disorders
—Anxiety-reducing drugs are also beneficial in some cases

Question 11

Phobia Treatment

Answer 11

Most phobias develop in the absence of any particular precipitating event

Behavioral techniques are the treatment of choice:
—One method used is systematic desensitization
—To expose clients without putting them in danger, practitioners may use virtual environments

Question 12

Panic Disorder Treatment

Answer 12

In the treatment of panic attacks, cognitive-behavioral therapy appears to be as effective as or more effective than medication

Methods Include:
Cognitive restructuring:
—Addresses ways of reacting to the symptoms of a panic attack. Helps clients recognize the irrationality of their fears

Exposure treatment:
—Breaking the connection between the trigger symptom and the resulting panic through exposure

Question 13

OCD Treatment

Answer 13

Many anti-anxiety drugs are ineffective for OCD:

The drug of choice for OCD is clomipramine, a tricylcic antidepressant, some success with SSRIs as well

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is also very effective for OCD

Question 14

Depression Treatment

Answer 14

There is no “best” way to treat depression

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) are effective treatments for those who are severely depressed and do not respond to conventional treatments

Question 15

Bipolar Disorder Treatment

Answer 15

One of the few mental disorders for which there is a clear optimal treatment: the mood stabilizer, Lithium

Although the precise biological mechanisms remain unknown, lithium seems to modulate neurotransmitter levels, increasing serotonin production

Unpleasant side effects include thirst, hand tremors, excessive urination, and memory problems.

Question 16

Schizophrenia Treatment

Answer 16

Modern antipsychotics such as Clozapine, Risperdol, and Zyprexa are quite effective at treating symptoms of schizophrenia.

These drugs typically affect a host of neurotransmitters, but one of the big factors is decreasing dopamine levels.

Question 17

Personality Disorder Treatment

Answer 17

Notoriously difficult to treat

Patients often see the environment rather than their own behavior as the cause of their problems, which makes them very difficult to engage in therapy