Perspectives on the Causes of Mental Disorders
• Psychodynamic
– Results from intrapsychic conflict and ineffective defense mechanisms
• Medical
– Caused by abnormalities of brain & nervous system
• Cognitive-Behavioral
– Due to learning and/or faulty beliefs
• Humanistic
– Being overly sensitive to the expectations & criticisms of others
• Sociocultural
– Mismatch between behavior & expectations of culture
• Diathesis-Stress Model
– Genetic predispositions triggered by stress that exceeds coping ability
Classification of Mental Disorders
• The DSM-IV
• How are diagnoses done?
– The clinical approach: Based upon experience of
therapist
– The actuarial approach: Applying statistical rules
based on research
– Research shows actuarial approach to be superior
Types of Psychological Disorders
• Psychoses
– Severely Disordered Thinking
– Delusional
– Person may be unaware that anything is wrong
• Neuroses
– People are anxious, fearful, unhappy, depressed
– Behavioral/Perceptual Strategies no longer work well
– Person knows that something is wrong
• Mood Disorders
• Miscellaneous Disorders
Psychoses (Schizophrenia)
• Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
– Thought Disorders
• Loose associations; word salads; clang associations
• Excessively concrete thinking
– Hallucinations (Usually auditory)
– Delusions
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Persecution
Grandeur
Somatic
Control
Reference
• Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia
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Flattened, blunted emotions; apathetic
Poverty of speech
Social Withdrawal
Lack of Initiative
Inability to experience pleasure
Classification of Schizophrenia
• Catatonic
– Catatonic postures; Waxy Flexibility
– Alternates with repetitive activity
• Paranoid
– Delusions of persecution & grandeur
• Disorganized
– Progressive, irreversible disturbances of thought
• Undifferentiated
– Pattern of symptoms change; a little bit of
everything
Causes of Schizophrenia
• There have been a variety of different theoretical
explanations over time, but it has a clear
biological basis
• A Biological predisposition activated by stress
– Positive symptoms seem to be the result of the
overproduction of Dopamine (Can be treated by
Chlorpromazine [brand name = Thorazine])
– Negative symptoms appear to be due to an actual loss
of brain tissue
• Evidence indicates a genetic link
• Neurodevelopmental hypothesis:
– Nervous system impairments that develop around the
time of birth (not necessarily genetic)
• (e.g., People in North born in winter are at greater risk)
Neuroses
• Anxiety Disorders
– Generalized Anxiety Disorder
– Panic Disorder
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Attacks of terror (may last seconds or hours)
Often afraid that they are dying or going crazy
Hyperventilation
More common in women
– Phobic Disorders
• Agoraphobia
• Social Phobias
• Specific Phobias
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
• Somatoform Disorders
• Dissociative Disorders
Neuroses
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
– Obsession (thought) leads to compulsion (behavior)
– Obsessions center on doubts/uncertainty or fear of doing something
prohibited
– Common categories: counting, checking, cleaning, avoidance
• Somatoform Disorders
– Physical symptoms without apparent cause
– Somatization Disorder: Pain, heart symptoms, gastrointestinal
symptoms
– Conversion Disorder: Blindness, deafness, loss of felling, paralysis.
– Often occurs in response to an event
• Dissociative Disorders
– Dissociative Amnesia
– Dissociative Fugue State (Fugue State)
– Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (Multiple personality Disorder)
Mood Disorders
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
– Overeating, oversleeping, lethargy
• Bipolar Disorder
– Alternating Mania & Depression
• Severe Depression
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Sad, apathetic mood
Feelings of worthlessness/hopelessness
Social Withdrawal
Sleeplessness, loss of appetite & sexual desire
Change in activity level
In extreme cases there may be delusions
CAUSES: Faulty cognitions; internal attributions for negative things;
genetic predisposition
– TREATMENT: ECS; Lithium Carbonate (Bipolar); Anti-depressants;
Cognitive Therapy
Miscellaneous Disorders
• Substance Abuse Disorders (More common in men)
• Impulse Control Disorders
– Intense drive; behaviors reduce tension
– Gambling, Pyromania, Kleptomania
• Psychosexual Disorders
– Gender Identity Issues (Transexualism, Transvestism)
– Paraphilias
– Sexual Dysfunction
• Personality Disorders
– Narcissism
– Anti-Social Personality (Psychopath, Sociopath)
Types of Psychotherapy
• Insight Therapies
– Psychoanalysis
– Person-Centered Therapy (Humanistic)
– Existential Therapy
• Gestalt Therapy
• Behavior Therapies
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Systematic Desensitization
Aversion Therapy
Implosive Therapy/Flooding
Behavior Modification
• Cognitive-Behavior Therapies
– Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET)
– Beck’s Cognitive Therapy for Depression
– Cognitive-Behavior Therapy
Types of Psychotherapy
• Somatic/Biological Therapy
– Psychosurgery
– Electroconvulsive Therapy
– Psychopharmacology
• Group Therapy
Does Psychotherapy Work?
Professionals Involved in Therapy
A History of Treating Mental Disorders