Psychological Disorders
When is behavior likely to be labeled as disordered?
Why is the DSM IV considered reliable? Why does the DSM IV focus on clinician’ reports of observable
behavior?
What is a fundamental problem with the diagnostic labeling of psychological disorders? How might
diagnostic labels create bias?
Recognized definitions/descriptions/characteristics of the following:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Panic Disorder
Social Phobia
Agoraphobia
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Mania
Bi-polar disorder
Dissociative disorders
Schizophrenia
Personality disorders
Avoidant Personality disorder
Narcissistic Personality disorder
Borderline Personality disorder
Antisocial Personality disorder
Somatoform disorder
What role do obsessive thoughts play in anxiety? What role do compulsive behaviors play in anxiety?
Why are some people more vulnerable to PTSD?
How does knowing that there is a relationship between temperament and long term phobias illustrate
the role of genetic predispositions in the development of phobias?
What are positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
What are delusions?
What kind of schizophrenia is dominated by delusions of persecution?
What is the dopamine hypothesis?
Is it true that among schizophrenic patients, the fluid filled areas of the brain are abnormally large and
the thalamus is abnormally small?
Does research suggests that there is a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia?
What relationship is there between depression and serotonin?
What are some cognitive changes that contribute to depression?
When is the risk of suicide highest in individuals with depression?
Therapy
What are the goals of the psychoanalytic approach to therapy?
What is the focus of interpersonal therapy?
What is the role of the therapist in client centered therapy?
Which therapeutic approach is more interested in removing specific troubling symptoms than with
providing special insights?
What is systematic desensitization? Describe.
What is behavior modification?
What is the focus of cognitive therapy?
What is the role of the therapist working from the cognitive approach to therapy?
How does a cognitive-behavioral therapist differ from a behavioral therapist?
How does family therapy differ from other forms of psychotherapy?
What does outcome research reveal about the effectiveness of different psychotherapies?
What are three benefits that can be attributed to all psychotherapies?
What is psychopharmacology?
Which disorder has been treated with antipsychotic drugs?
Which drugs are designed to depress central nervous system activity?
Which classification of drugs elevate arousal and mood?
Which disorder is treated with lithium?
What is electroconvulsive therapy? When is it likely to be used?
What is a lobotomy?
How might each component of the Biopsychosocial approach contribute to the recovery process of an
individual?