Understanding and treating mental disorders Flashcards
Define Aetiology
The origin/ cause of a disorder
In Prehistory, what was thought about mental disorders?
The individual was possessed by evil spirits
Who was known as the ‘Father’ of modern Western Medicine?
Hippocrates
What did Hippocrates think mental disorders were like?
Any other disease in the body
Who thought of the Humours Theory of disorders?
Galen
In the 4 humours, what was blood known as?
Sanguine (cheerful, optimistic, insomnia and delirium)
In the 4 humours, what was Phlegm known as?
Phlegmatic (sluggish, apathetic and calm)
In the 4 humours, what was Black bile known as?
Melancholic
In the 4 humours, what was Yellow bile known as?
Choleric
How would one treat an imbalance of the 4 humours?
Change diet, immerse in cold water or bloodletting
In the Middle Ages, what did they recognise would affect illness?
Environmental factors (e.g. emotional shock, grief)
What were some treatments they used in the Middle Ages?
Bleeding, purging and whipping
In what way did the church have an influence on illness?
“madness” was a moral failing, with evidence of sin
In relation to the church in the middle ages, what were some treatments?
Exorcism, fasting and prayer
During what time did the first asylum appear to house the mentally ill?
Middle Ages
During the Renaissance, who were patients in asylums treated like?
Inmates
During the Renaissance, what explanation for mental illness declined?
Supernatural explanations
Who unchained ‘inmates’ at La Bicêtre Hospital and advocated moral guidance and humane techniques?
Pinel (1745-1826)
Who established the York retreat in England and the County Asylums Act of 1845?
William Tuke
Who created the Mental Hygiene Movement?
Dorothea Dix (1802-1887)
Who made the link between General paresis and Syphilis?
von Krafft Ebing (1840-1902)
Who found the importance of brain pathology in psychological disorder and made a system for classifying symptoms into discrete disorders or “syndromes”?
Kraepelin (1856-1926)
What model classifies behaviour as affected by changes in the brain/ nervous system and that mental disorders are viewed in the same way as physical illness?
Medical Model
What are some factors of the Medical Model?
Biological factors are primary in development in disorders and the dichotomy between ‘normal’ and ‘disordered’ states
What is the word for when symptoms are usually co-occuring?
Syndrome
What is one issue with diagnosis and classification and why? (R)
Reliability; boundaries between disorders can be unclear
Why is the role of culture considered when diagnosing mental disorders?
What is considered ‘normal’ in one culture may not be in another (seeing things would be weird in our culture, but may be a sign you’re spiritual in another)
What is one benefit of a diagnosis?
Allows understanding and an explanation for wha’s happening to some- shows that they are not the only ones
What can a diagnosis guide decisions to?
Treatment plans
What study did Rosenhan (1973) conduct?
Being sane in insane places
What happened in Rosenhan’s study?
8 individuals presented with made up hallucinations, the majority admitted with schizophrenia. When in hospital, they stopped reporting their hallucinations and behaved as normal. Some stayed in for 7-52 days.
Why did the participants stay for long in the mental hospital following they admission?
They ‘label’ affected the staff’s perceptions
What is some issues with labelling?
Stigma and the self-fulfilling prophecy
What are some issues with the Medical Model?
Social and psychological factors are also critical (along with biological) and many ‘disordered’ states found to occur in large numbers of ‘normal’ population
What is the Dimensional approach?
Mental disorders exist on a spectrum
According to Bennet (2011), what must an alternative model include?
All of the limitations of the Medical Model and consider non-pharmacological interventions as primary
