Ch. 16 - Psychological
Disorders
Psychological disorders
How do we classify disorders?
 Types of disorders
 Labeling
 What are:

 Anxiety
disorders?
 Mood disorders?
 Dissociation disorders?
 Schizophrenic disorders
 Personality disorders?
How do we classify
psychological disorders?
 DSM-IV-TR
 PDM
 Psychodynamic
 New
in 2007
Diagnostic Manual
DSM-IV-TR

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders
 (4th.

Ed. Text revision(TR)
Used to identify psychological disorders
Types of disorders

Neurotic disorders
 Disorders
that allow you to think & function
socially
 Older term - Vague - used minimally

Psychotic disorders
 Irrational
thoughts
 Debilitating
What is the effect of labeling
psychological disorders?
It biases your perception of the patient’s
behavior
 After you know the diagnosis (label) even
normal behavior is seen as a symptom of
that diagnosis.

What are anxiety disorders?
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Vague expectation that something bad will
happen.
 Unfocused, out-of-control negative
feelings.

Panic Disorder
Panic attack
 Agoraphobia - fear of situations you can
not escape if a panic attack occurs.

Phobias

An irrational fear of something
 E.g.
Arachnophobia - fear of spiders
 Social phobia - fear of social situations
 (Shyness
taken to an extreme)
Obsessive - compulsive
disorders

Obsessive = thoughts
 Thoughts

that won’t go away
Compulsive = behavior
 Checking
a locked door
 Straightening books or fringe on a carpet
 Hand washing
 Flashing
Post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD)

Causes:




Trauma
War
Rape
Effects (symptoms)

Nightmares
 Flashbacks
 Social withdrawal
 Anxiety
 Insomnia (trouble sleeping)
What are mood disorders?

Depression



The “common cold” of psychological disorders
Main reason people seek mental health services
Dysthymic disorder



Between “feeling down” and clinical depression
Chronic “down-in-the-dumps” feeling for two years or
more
Symptoms



Low energy
Low self-esteem
Never happy
Bipolar Disorder

Depression to manic episodes
 Alternating
between hopelessness and
unrestrained optimism.
Dissociation and multiple
personalities
Dissociative disorders

Conscious awareness becomes separated
(dissociated) from previous memories,
thoughts and feelings.
Dissociative identity disorder
(Multiple personalities)
Two or more distinct identities that control
their behavior.
 Each person has its own voice and
mannerisms.
 One personality is usually unaware of the
others.

Schizophrenia
“Split mind”
 Disorganized thinking
 Inappropriate emotions & actions
 Hallucinations (see or hear things)
 Delusions (“I am God”)
 False beliefs (Someone is poisoning me)

Types of Schizophrenia

Paranoid
 Delusions
or hallucinations
 Themes of persecution
 “The

Russians are after me.”
Disorganized
 Disorganized
speech or behavior
 Flight of ideas
 Inappropriate emotion
Types of schizophrenia (cont.)

Catatonic
 Motionless
- for long periods of time
 Parrotlike repeating of another’s speech
Undifferentiated

Many different symptoms as discussed
before.
What are Personality
Disorders?

Antisocial personality disorder
 Formally
called sociopath or psychopath
 No conscience - (e.g. serial killer)