week 3 Flashcards
DSM
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the Mental Disorders
worldwide, strange/abnormal/disturbed/pathological behaviour is classified in the DSM
20 categories
The DSM is highly controversial
depression according to the DSM V
- depressed mood most of the day
- less interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day
- significant weight loss or weight gain, or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day
- feelings of worthlessness
- recurrent thoughts of death,
criticisms of the DSM:
- describes problems, but does not explain anything
- labels clients
- uses circular reasoning
- culturally biased
- is unjustly influenced (and funded) by pharmaceutical industry
- creates a self-fulfilling prophecy
- offers diagnoses where there is no problem - 45% of the general public classifies for some mental disorder
- diagnoses are arbitrary (once upon a time, homosexuality was a disorder)
every so many years a new edition of the DSM is being published- each edition is bigger than the last, apparently we are developing more pathology
circular reasoning
“mr johnson drinks too much because he is an alcoholic”
“he does not stop drinking because he is not motivated”
“that is not surprising, because it fits his personality”
abnormal behaviour often has benefits, examples:
- psychopaths are the best soldiers
- autistic people are meticulous and conscientious to detail
- schizophrenia often goes with creativity or intellect
- people with ADHD are good multi-taskers
alternative perspective to the DSM
“most abnormal behaviour is learned, and is functional”
as you know, the brain helps you adjust to the environment, by responding quickly; through learning, emotions and some (but not much) logical thinking
-extreme circumstances lead to extreme behaviour
are never the source of psychological problems, but do contribute
Environmental factors
note- problems may have multiple causes
much more interesting questions:
- what problems does a person(or society) experience?
- how was this behaviour learned in the past?
- what consequences reinforce this behaviour in the present?
- how can we help this person?
- what does this person want?
- how can we reach these goals? - change in lifestyle. learning new skills, self regulation, acceptance, giving meaning, creating a sense of togetherness
Bio-psycho-social model:
disorder develops through an interaction between biological, psychological and social factors
Diathesis-stress model:
1. diathesis - inherited vulnerability for developing the disorder
- stressors in environment - sexual abuse / family conflicts / significant events
- development of disorder - the more diathesis, the less stress is necessary to develop disorder.
relevant activities
- detecting psychological problems ( cool-uncool)
- making an analysis (cause and effect)
- identifying multiple problems (comorbidity, double diagnosis)
- looking for benefits of the ‘pathology’ (its ‘function’)
- improving things
- referring clients to another agency
Treatment of depression
- education
- running therapy
- cognitive behaviour theory
- relapse prevention plan
- medication
What can you do as a social worker?
- support medical treatment
- activate and support social network
- talk about feelings
- encourage healthy behaviours (sports, eating habits, accepting professional help.)
- rest, rhythm, regularity
