MONSTER
treatments session!
Treatments from the 4 approaches to
abnormality…
Behaviourist Treatments
• NAME and EXPLAIN the treatment…
• NAME: Systematic Desensitization (its on the
spec!)
 If maladaptive behaviours have been learnt
by classical or operant conditioning it
should be possible to change them.
 ‘SD’ takes a practical problem-solving
approach based upon classical conditioning.
 It uses reverse conditioning to replace a
maladaptive response to a stimulus with an
adaptive response.
AO1: The Procedure of Systematic Desensitization (MUST)
•Taught to use muscle relaxing
techniques.
•Client imagines a Sgraded
series of anxiety provoking
produces
situations,
from those causing
After therapist
theintervention
least anxiety upto
S the
highest.
Original situation
•Relaxation & anxiety cannot
exist together.
•Treatment ends when client is
desensitized.
•Can
be applied
through
imagination (in Vitro) and
moved towards real life (in
Vivo).
R1
R2
Relaxation
Hierarchy of anxiety
provoking situations
Reciprocal inhibition
Complete treatment
In vivo & In vitro
AO1: You ‘could’ then apply the treatment
to a case study…
You could apply the procedure to real
life disorders.
Find a case study of an abnormality e.g.
anxiety disorder.
Be prepared to explain how this
treatment could be applied.
AO2: Evaluating Systematic Desensitization
✔ Positive: It is effective. There is research
support for a range of anxiety disorders.
McGrath et al (1990) suggest that 75% of
people with phobias respond to this
treatment
✘Criticism: There are quicker alternatives, such
as ‘Flooding’
✘Criticism: There are problems with using ‘InVitro’ as not everyone can imagine a situation.
‘In-Vivo’ is more effective and long-lasting.
Biological Treatments
• NAME and EXPLAIN the treatment…
• NAME: Drug treatments and ECT (they
are on the spec!)
Drug Treatments: Anti-anxiety; Antidepressant; Anti-Psychotic
ECT: Electro-convulsive therapy –
procedure and it’s use (mainly used to
treat severe depression)
AO1: Drug Treatments (explain)
• Anti-anxiety: Tranquilizers called Benzodiazepines
(BZ’s) such as “Valium” calm the nervous system
and muscles, and increases GABA which calms
the brain activity
• Anti-depressant: SSRIs improve mood by
increasing levels of serotonin.
• Anti-Psychotic: Major tranquilizers like
‘phenothiazines’ sedate symptoms of
hallucinations and delusions for people with
psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. They block
the dopamine receptor
AO1: The Procedure of ECT (MUST)
• Patient lies on the bed in loose clothing and
receives an anaesthetic and muscle relaxant drug
• Electrodes are fixed to their head on the
temples, usually just one electrode on the nondominant hemisphere (usually the right hand side)
• An electric current of 70-130 volts is passed
through the brain for 30 seconds
• This induces a convulsion (a seizure similar to an
epileptic fit) that lasts for about a minute
• Once the patient comes around from the
anaesthetic, they usually remember nothing
about the procedure
AO2: Evaluating Drug Treatment
✘Drugs may have side-effects
✘Drug treatments are not effective for all
people
✘There are ethical problems with the use of
drugs
✘Only focuses on treatment of symptoms
 Effective in short-term
AO2: Evaluating ECT
 It is a quick form of treatment compared to
drugs or psychological treatments
✘It is unclear how it actually works
✘There are still some side-effects of ECT
✘Ethical issues as it has historically been used
more as punishment or control in mental
hospitals of the past
Cognitive Treatments
• NAME and EXPLAIN the treatment…
• NAME: CBT: it’s aims, procedures and
examples
 Each session has a ‘cognitive’ element AND a
‘behavioural’ element
Examples include REBT and Beck’s Cognitive
Therapy
AO1: The Procedure of CBT
• Cognitive element: direct questioning and
diagrams used with client to find out their beliefs
about their anxiety or depression etc
• Behavioural element: Client and therapist decide
together how the beliefs can be tested through
role-play and homework assignments, so that the
client can recognise their faulty-thoughts and
beliefs. Client is set new goals in graded stages of
difficulty so that they can build on their own
success
AO2: Evaluating CBT
 Diverse applications: CBT is very popular in the NHS as
it is economic and short-term. Can be used for stress
management as well as family, marital and educational
problems
 It is appealing to people who don’t like the idea of
other treatments…
 It is ethical, as the client and the therapist work
together on the problem, making joint decisions about
treatment
✘ BUT, clients can become dependant on their therapist
✘ It is less effective than drugs at treating depression
Psychoanalysis Treatment
• NAME and EXPLAIN the treatment…
• NAME: Psychoanalysis and it’s different methods
 It aims to bring repressed impulses and
traumatic experiences into conscious awareness
to be dealt with, and cure neurotic symptoms
like phobia and anxiety, while gaining an insight
into conflicts and anxieties that underlie
abnormal behaviour
 Methods: Dream Analysis; Free Association;
Transference
AO2: Evaluating Psychoanalysis
✘It can be expensive and time-consuming
compared to other treatments.
✘Difficult to measure effectiveness
 Most appropriate for treating neurotic
disorders like anxiety, and actually treats the
cause, not just the symptoms