Psychological Disorders
Marina Sangkavichai
Table of Contents
Exit

As a counselor/psychologist, how would you
help someone overcome their fear of public
speaking? If you have this fear, how would
you take steps to become a polished and
effective speaker?
Table of Contents
Exit



Psychopathology: Scientific study of
mental, emotional, and behavioral
disorders
Subjective Discomfort: Feelings of
anxiety, depression, or emotional
distress
Social Nonconformity: Disobeying
societal standards for normal conduct;
usually leads to destructive or selfdestructive behavior
Table of Contents
Exit

Situational Context: Social situation,
behavioral setting, or general circumstances
in which an action takes place
◦ Is it normal to walk around strangers naked? If you
are in a locker room and in the shower area, yes!

Cultural Relativity: Judgments are made
relative to the values of one’s culture
Table of Contents
Exit
Table of Contents
© Scott Camazine/Photo Researchers
Exit


Maladaptive Behavior: Behavior that makes
it difficult to function, to adapt to the
environment, and to meet everyday
demands
Those with mental illness lose the ability to
adequately control thoughts, behaviors, or
feelings
Table of Contents
Exit

Psychotic Disorder: Severe psychiatric
disorder characterized by hallucinations
and delusions, social withdrawal, and a
move away from reality/For example,
schizophrenia, bipolar disorders may have
features of psychosis
Table of Contents
Exit


Mood Disorder: Disturbances in mood or
emotions, like depression or mania
Anxiety Disorder: Feelings of fear,
apprehension, anxiety, and behavior
distortions
Table of Contents
Exit




Social Conditions: Poverty, homelessness,
overcrowding, stressful living conditions, lack of
social support, social isolation
Family Factors: marital or relationship problems
Psychological Factors:, stress, traumatic
experiences
Biological Factors: Genetic defects or inherited
vulnerabilities; poor prenatal care, head injuries,
exposure to toxins, chronic physical illness, or
disability
Table of Contents
Exit





Biolological: it is a physical disorder caused by a structural or
biochemical abnormality in the brain, by genetic inheritance, or by
infection.
Biopsychosocial: it is a combination of biological, psychological, and
social causes
Psychodynamic: stems from early childhood experiences and
unresolved, unconscious sexual or aggressive conflicts
Learning: abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are learned
and sustained like any other behaviors or there is a failure to learn
appropriate behaviors
Cognitive: faulty thinking or distorted perceptions can cause
psychological disorders
Table of Contents
Exit

Definition: A legal term; refers to an inability to
manage one’s affairs or to be aware of the
consequences of one’s actions
◦ Those judged insane (by a court of law) are not held
legally accountable for their actions
◦ Can be involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital
◦ Some movements today are trying to abolish the insanity
plea and defense; desire to make everyone accountable
for their actions
◦ How accurate is the judgment of insanity?

Expert Witness: Person recognized by a court of
law as being qualified to give expert testimony
on a specific topic
◦ May be psychologist, psychiatrist, and so on
Table of Contents
Exit

Definition: A person who lacks a conscience
(superego?); typically emotionally shallow,
impulsive, selfish, and manipulative toward
others
◦ Oftentimes called psychopaths or sociopaths



Many are delinquents or criminals, but many are
NOT crazed murderers displayed on television
Create a good first impression and are often
charming/entertainers, politicians, cheat their
way through life!
Cheat their way through life
Table of Contents
Exit

Possible Causes:
◦ Childhood history of emotional deprivation,
neglect, and physical abuse
◦ Underarousal of the brain
◦ Many murderers have antisocial personality
disorder, lack or remorse, tortured animals

Very difficult to effectively treat; will likely
lie, charm, and manipulate their way
through therapy
Table of Contents
Exit
© Robert Hare
Table of Contents
Exit

Anxiety: Feelings of apprehension, dread, or
uneasiness
◦ Usually suffer sleep disturbances, irritability, and
depression
◦ Examples: Grief reactions, lengthy physical illness,
unemployment, panic attacks, phobias
Table of Contents
Exit


Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Duration
of at least six months of chronic, unrealistic,
or excessive anxiety
Free-Floating Anxiety: Anxiety that is very
general and persuasive
Table of Contents
Exit

Panic Disorder (without Agoraphobia): A
chronic state of anxiety with brief
moments of sudden, intense, unexpected
panic (panic attack)
◦ Panic Attack: Feels like one is having a heart
attack, going to die, or is going insane
◦ Symptoms include vertigo, chest pain,
choking, fear of losing control

Panic Disorder (with Agoraphobia): Panic
attacks and sudden anxiety still occur,
but with agoraphobia
Table of Contents
Exit

Agoraphobia (with Panic Disorder):
Intense, irrational fear that a panic attack
will occur in a public place or in an
unfamiliar situation
◦ Intense fear of leaving the house or entering unfamiliar
situations
◦ Can be very crippling
◦ Literally means fear of open places or market (agora)

Agoraphobia (without Panic Disorder): Fear
that something extremely embarrassing
will happen away from home or in an
unfamiliar situation
Table of Contents
Exit


Irrational, persistent fears, anxiety, and
avoidance that focus on specific objects,
activities, or situations
People with phobias realize that their fears
are unreasonable and excessive, but they
cannot control them
Table of Contents
Exit

Intense, irrational fear of being observed,
evaluated, humiliated, or embarrassed by
others (e.g., shyness, eating, or speaking in
public)
Table of Contents
Exit


Extreme preoccupation with certain thoughts and
compulsive performance of certain behaviors
Obsession: Recurring images or thoughts that a
person cannot prevent
◦ Cause anxiety and extreme discomfort
◦ Enter into consciousness against the person’s will
◦ Most common: Being dirty, wondering if you performed an
action (turned off the stove), or violence (hit by a car)

Compulsion: Irrational acts that person feels
compelled to repeat against his/her will
◦ Help to control anxiety created by obsessions
◦ Checkers and cleaners
Table of Contents
Exit

Person has two or more distinct, separate
identities or personality states; previously
known as Multiple Personality Disorder
◦ Often begins with horrific childhood experiences
(e.g., abuse, molestation, etc.)
◦ Goal: Integrate and fuse identities into single,
stable personality
Table of Contents
Exit



Schizophrenia: disorganized and
delusional thinking, disturbed
perceptions, and inappropriate emotions
and actions.
Delusions: false beliefs, often of
persecution or granduer
Person with schizophrenia is out of touch
with what’s going on in his/her
environment
Table of Contents
Exit


This morning when I was at Hillside
Hospital I was making a movie. I was
surrounded by movie starts. The X-ray
technician was Peter Lawford. The security
guard was Don Knotts. That Indian doctor
in Building 40 was Lou Costello. I’m Mary
Poppins. Is this room painted blue to get
me upset? My grandmother died four weeks
after my eighteenth birthday.
Breakdown in selective attention/can’t focus
on one idea for very long
Table of Contents
Exit




Emotions of schizophrenia are often utterly
inappropirate.
Laugh after recalling grandmothers death or
become angry for no reason
Flat affect: some individuals with
schizophrenia feel no emotion at all!
Hallucinations: a person with schizophrenia
may perceive things that are not
there/usually auditory. Hearing voices that
insult them or tell them to harm
themselves.
Table of Contents
Exit
© Bruce Ely/Getty Images
Table of Contents
Exit
Table of Contents
Exit
© Dennis Brack/Stockphoto.com76
Table of Contents
Exit





Major disturbances in emotion, such as
depression or mania
Mania can be characterized by elevated
mood, euphoria, going on shopping
sprees, feeling invincible
Depressive Disorders: Sadness or
despondency are prolonged,
exaggerated, or unreasonable
Bipolar Disorders: Involve both
depression and mania or hypomania use
to be called manic depression
End of lecture
Table of Contents
Exit