Week 23

Question 1

Assessment

Answer 1

Individual’s who may have a psychological disorder begin with an assessment designed to elicit their personal history and presenting symptoms

Question 2

How to assess

Answer 2

Assess clients background/severity of symptoms
Gather measurements via observations/interviews/medical images
Can be done before and after treatment to assess the effectiveness

Question 3

Clinical interviews

Answer 3

Typically part of any assessment. Thorough interviews conducted by trained professionals designed to elicit information on the client’s history and presenting system. Usually use a predetermined set of questions

Question 4

Self-report questionnaires

Answer 4

Made up of a series of questions asking directly about symptoms or behaviours. They often use a rating scale on which clients endorse the degree or frequency to which they are experiencing symptoms or have engages in certain behaviours in a set period of time. They measure typical behaviour and are usually transparent, particularly vulnerable to bias.

Question 5

Psychological tests

Answer 5

An instrument designed to measure unobserved/underlying constructs, such intelligence or personality traits. Less transparent and less susceptible to faking

Question 6

Behavioural monitering

Answer 6

Involves recording specific behaviours and the circumstances around those behaviours. The purpose is to learn about the frequency of target behaviours/precursor and the reinforcers that help maintain behaviours

Question 7

Drug therapy

Answer 7

Use of medication to treat psychological disorders; most drug therapies for psychological disorders focus on medications that affect the neurotransmitters that convey information between nerve cells in the brain and body

Question 8

Major neurotransmitters

Answer 8

Dopamine
Norepinephrine
Serotonin
GABA

Question 9

Dopamine

Answer 9

Motor control/memory/attention/reward system which attaches emotional value to external events. Excess is associated with schizo

Question 10

Norepinephrine

Answer 10

Associated with alertness and arousal. Too little is associated with depression too much with schizo

Question 11

GABA

Answer 11

Inhibits excitation and anxiety and induces relaxation, TOo little is associated w anxiety and mood disorders

Question 12

Antipsychotic drug

Answer 12

A medication used primarily to treat psychotic disorders

Question 13

Tardive Dyskinea

Answer 13

The voluntary and random movement of the facial arm/leg muscles seen in clients who have taken first generation psychotics for a long time

Question 14

Main antidepressants

Answer 14

Tricycles
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors which inhibit the enzyme oxidase that breaks down dopamine and norepinephrine
Selective serotonin uptake inhibitors which prevent the reuptake of serotonin in the brain

Question 15

Tricycles

Answer 15

Block the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin

Question 16

Anti-manic drugs

Answer 16

Any medication used to treat bipolar disorder and manic symptoms. The most effective is the lithium carbonate. One problem is client compliance is that many people with bipolar disorder enjoy manic episodes and may stop taking the medicine to feel it

Question 17

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Answer 17

Used as treatment for depression and involves passing a magnetic coil over a client’s head which induces an electrical current in the neurons directly underneath it. When applied daily for 3/5 weeks it has been found to decrease depression in some

Question 18

Electroconvulsive therapy

Answer 18

Method used to treat resistant mental health disorders by passing an electric current through electrodes placed on a client’s head in an effort to prompt a seizure and release additional GABA

Question 19

Deep brain stimulation

Answer 19

Used to treat severe cases of OCD and depression. Electrical current is delivered via an electrode inserted into the brain to disrupt activity in specific region. Used for severe OCD and depression

Question 20

Psychoanalytical

Answer 20

That our behaviour can be explained by unconscious forces or desires, that are the result of internal conflicts and we have to become aware of them to be cured. The process can take years and effects and outcomes are hard to measure

Question 21

Humanist

Answer 21

Believes that psychological problems result from individuals being thwarted in their ability to realize their full potential. Therapists hep the client understand his/her real wishes and how to deal with perceived judgements that block that

Question 22

Gestalt

Answer 22

Focus on the present moment and aim to help clients recognize what they’re thinking/feeling/doing at the moment

Question 23

Systematic desensitization

Answer 23

Very effective type of exposure therapy especially for phobias. It involves gradually exposing clients to the feared stimulus to habutate and eventually extinguish the fear reaction. Clients are first taught relaxation techniques and then exposed to a very mild version of their phobia. As long as they’re able to return to a relaxed state, they are exposed to more and more

Question 24

Flooding

Answer 24

Form of exposure therapy where the client is exposed to the object of their fear directly and full but w/o actual harm and kept there until his/her panic reactions go away.

Question 25

Aversion therapy

Answer 25

Involves pairing an undesirable behaviour and an aversion stimulus so that the individual will develop a less favourable emotional association with the undesirable behaviour and its reward value will decrease

Question 26

Imaginal exposure

Answer 26

Where the client imagine the feared stimulus rather than actually experiencing exposure, used for severe anxiety

Question 27

Behaviour modification

Answer 27

Designed to alter behaviour using operant conditioning techniques

Question 28

Token economis

Answer 28

A form of operant conditioning in which desired behaviours are reinforced with tokens that can be exchanged for some form of reward

Question 29

Cognitive therapy

Answer 29

Uses a variety of therapeutic techniques to help clients identify their thoughts and to examine the logic behind those thoughts. Once clients begin to realize that their thoughts are not accurate, they can begin to form more accurate rational thoughts

Question 30

Rational emotive therapy

Answer 30

Form of cognitive behavioural therapy that proposes the driving force behind psychological problems is the thought process behind them. Our thoughts determine our mood. It is based on Ellis’ ABC theory

Question 31

ABC Theory

Answer 31

Theory of emotions which posits to an external event or antecedent (A) results in a specific emotion or consequence (C) because of a persons thoughts about the event (B) not because of the actual belief itself

Question 32

Advantages of group therapy

Answer 32

Targets individuals who have certain characteristics in common. Psychoeducational interventions

Question 33

Community psychology

Answer 33

Concerned with relationships between social systems and individual well being, especially those who are marginalized. Doesn’t focus on changing individual, but changing the community

Question 34

Assertive community treatment

Answer 34

Delivered by a team who work w mentally ill clients wherever they are in the community