Individual Differences Pack 3
Unit 2 – Individual Differences (Psychopathology)
Biological Therapies
Section B – Treating Abnormality
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Biological therapies, including Drugs and ECT
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Psychological therapies, including Psychoanalysis, Systematic Desensitisation and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Eye on the exam: Expect questions on a general theme (Discuss the use of
psychological therapies to treat abnormality) or more specific questions (outline
key features of the use of drugs to treat abnormality) Scenario questions asking for appropriate therapies are possible (Jemima
has a phobia of spiders, outline an appropriate treatment). Benefits and Limitations of each therapy may be required (evaluate
one or more biological treatment to abnormality).
Types of Biological Treatments: Drug Therapies
We will also study drug therapy when looking at ways of controlling the symptoms of stress (BZs and BetaBlockers) Two other types of drugs that can be used are anti-depressants (reduce the symptoms of some
mood disorders, such as depression) and anti-psychotic drugs (reduce some of the symptoms for severe
disorders such as schizophrenia).
Drugs work through readdressing biochemical imbalances in the brain – they therefore take effect on
neurotransmitters.
TASK 1: Anti-depressant drugs: Turn to page 237 and answer the following questions.
1. State the full title of MAOIs:
2. State the full title of SSRIs:
3. State which neurotransmitter they influence:
4. Explain how MAOIs work:
5. Explain how SSRIs work: SSRIs increase the activity of serotonin by blocking the re-uptake of serotonin by the
sending neuron, thus making more of the neurotransmitter available in the synapse.
6. State the effect that they should have on the sufferer’s mood.
TASK 2: Anti-psychotic drugs: Turn to page 237 and answer the following questions.
1. Name a drug that can be used to treat schizophrenia:
2. State which neurotransmitter they influence:
3. Explain how they influence it:
4. What symptoms of schizophrenia does it reduce?
ASSESSMENT 12: Adapted from June 2009
Describe the use of drugs (chemotherapy) in treating abnormality. (4 marks)
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TASK 3: Before we look at the strengths and limitations of using drugs to treat
psychological disorders, see if you can guess, without looking in the textbook, what some of
the pros and cons might be..
Strengths:
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Limitations:
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ASSESSMENT 13: Taken and adapted from June 2011
Total for this question: 6 marks
Two different drug therapies were tested on a group of patients. All the patients suffered with the same anxiety
disorder. Half the patients were given Therapy A and the other half were given Therapy B. Improvement was
assessed on a scale from 0 – 25, where 0 = no improvement.
The table below shows the improvement made between the start and the end of the treatment.
Average and range of improvement scores
Therapy A
Therapy B
Mean Average
6.5
6.4
Range
2-19
4-9
a) Explain what these findings suggest about the different therapies? (4 marks)
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b) Identify one other measure of central tendency which could be appropriate to represent the scores on
the anxiety improvement scale (1 mark)
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c) Identify one of measure of dispersion which could be appropriate to represent the scores on the anxiety
improvement scale (1 mark)
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Strengths and Limitations of Drug Therapies
TASK 4: Turn to page 237-238 and complete the table below on the strengths and limitations of drug
therapies:
Strengths
Efficacy:
Limitations
Side effects and dependency/addiction:
Treating the symptoms and not the causes:
Ethical issues with drug use:
TASK 5: Using the information you have gathered in the table above, write a sentence summing up the
pros and cons of drug therapies and how useful you think they are..
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ASSESSMENT 14 – adapted from January 2012
Jemima has a phobia of heights. Because of this phobia, she has difficulty getting to and from work as she has to cross a
number of bridges. She can only work on the ground floor of a 6 storey office block, so people have to come to her
for meetings. Her doctor suggests a biological therapy might be the solution and prescribes a short course of drugs.
a) What advice should the doctor give concerning the disadvantages of this type of drug therapy?
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Types of Biological Treatments: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
If drugs fail, ECT may be used, although its use is now rare.
It is most commonly used to treat severe depression, where
anti-depressants have been ineffective. A course of
treatments (6-12) are given. The patient lies on a bed and is
given an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant. A current of 70130 volts is passed through their brain through the use of
electrodes. Usually the current is only passed through one
half of the brain – the non-dominant hemisphere – to reduce
memory loss from the dominant hemisphere. The current
causes a seizure that last for about 1-2 minutes. It is thought
to be the seizure that is the therapeutic part of ECT. It is
believed that it may re-set the brain chemistry, although it is
not clear exactly how and why ECT works.
Strengths and Limitations of ECT
Does ECT work?
It has been suggested that ECT works not because of the fit, but because of all the other things – like the
extra attention and support and the anaesthetic – that happen to someone having it.
Several studies have compared standard ECT with "sham" or placebo ECT. In placebo ECT, the patient has
exactly the same things done to them – including going to the ECT rooms and having the anaesthetic and
muscle relaxant – but no electrical current is passed and there is no fit. In these studies, those patients who
had standard ECT were much more likely to recover, and did so more quickly than those who had the
placebo treatment. Those who didn't have adequate fits did less well than those who did.
What does this suggest about the effectiveness of ECT?
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Interestingly, a number of the patients having "sham" treatment recovered too, even though they were very
unwell; it's clear that the extra support does have a benefit as might be expected. However, ECT has been
shown to have an extra effect in severe depression – it seems, in the short term, to be more helpful than
medication
In what circumstances might it be justified to use ECT?
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Look back at task 4. Are there any limitations of drug therapy that could also apply to ECT?
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Strengths and Limitations of ECT continued..
Side Effects
Short-term: Many people complain of a headache immediately after ECT and of aching in their muscles.
They may feel muzzy-headed and generally out of sorts, or even a bit
sick. Some become distressed after the treatment and may be tearful or
frightened during recovery. For most people, however, these effects
settle within a few hours, particularly with help and support from
nursing staff, simple pain killers and some light refreshment
Long-term: The greater concern is that of the long-term side effects,
particularly memory problems. Surveys conducted by scientists
and clinical staff usually find a low level of severe side-effects,
maybe around 1 in 10. User-led surveys have found much more,
maybe in half of those having ECT. Some difficulties with
memory are probably present in everyone receiving ECT. Most
people find these memories return when the course of ECT has
finished and a few weeks have passed. However, some people
do complain that their memory has been permanently affected,
that their memories never come back. It is not clear how much
of this is due to the ECT and how much is due to the depressive
illness or other factors.
TASK 6: In your own words, outline the strengths and weakness of ECT (6 marks)
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Mark scheme
Assessment 12
The outline can include the types of drugs used to treat different disorders, for example MAOIs and
depression, Phenothiazines for schizophrenia. Details about how the drugs should be included; for example,
MAOIs block the action of an enzyme that breaks down serotonin, elevating mood in depressives.
Phenothiazines block the D2 receptor sites for dopamine reducing symptoms such as hallucinations
Assessment 13
AO3 = 4 marks Interpretation of data
a) The two averages are very similar, suggesting that both therapies are as good as each other.
The range of each group is very different. This suggests that for some people Therapy A was very beneficial,
but for others it had little benefit. For Therapy B, there was a much smaller range, suggesting that it has a
similar effect on improvement for all the patients.
b) Median or Mode
c) Standard Deviation (or variance or inter-quartile range)
Assessment 14
Disadvantages could include:
addictive properties
do not treat the cause only the symptoms
side effects.
Examiners should be aware there is a depth versus breadth trade off. One disadvantage in detail or a few in
less detail.