Abnormal Psychology

1. Abnormal Psychology Unit 12 Introduction

2. DO NOT DIAGNOSE!! • At various moments, all of us feel, think or act the way disturbed people do. We, too, get anxious, depressed, withdrawn, suspicious, or deluded, just less intensely and more briefly. • We are NOT psychologists or psychiatrists • DO NOT attempt to diagnose yourself or people you know!

3. Psychological Disorders • Some 450 million people world wide suffer psychological disorders. • No culture known to man is without some form of psychological disorders.

4. Psychopathology • Formerly known as mental illness or mental disorder • Some feel “mental illness” puts the basis for the illness on biology, even though psychologists have shown that environment is often the cause of the disorder. • Psychopathology is any pattern of emotions, behavior, or thoughts inappropriate to the situation and leading to personal distress or the inability to achieve important goals.

5. Prevalence of Psychopathology • In America, mental illness is far more common than most people realize. • Over 15% of the population currently suffers from diagnosable mental health problems. • Another study found that during any given year, the behaviors of over 56 million Americans meet the criteria for a diagnosable psychological disorder • Over the lifespan, as many as 32% of Americans suffer from some psychological disorder

6. What constitutes Abnormal? • 4 Criteria to characterize as abnormal • Unjustifiable (irrational) : can't justify/doesn’t make sense • Maladaptive: Harmful / disturbing to the individual • Atypical (unusual): not shared by members of population • Disturbing (irrational): Disturbing to others • All not required to be diagnosed OR….. • “Deviant, Distressful, Dysfunctional”

7. 3 Classical Symptoms of Severe Mental Illness • The more extreme a disorder is, the more easily it is detected. When trying to diagnose a patient, doctors look for three classic symptoms of severe psychopathology: • Hallucinations-false sensory experiences. • Delusions-extreme disorders that involve persistent false beliefs. • Affect (emotion)-characteristically depressed, anxious, manic, or no emotional response.

8. Psychological Disorders as a Continuum *Disorders are exaggerations of normal behavior and responses.*

9. Perspectives on Causes… • Psychoanalytic theorists • Unconscious conflicts (traumatic events during psychosexual stages) • Behaviorists • History of reinforcement • Cognitive theorists • Maladaptive ways of thinking • Humanistic theorists • A person’s feelings, self-esteem, self-concept • Biological theorists: • Hormonal / neurotransmitter imbalances, brain structure, genetic abnormalities

10. Early Theories • Music or singing was often used to chase away spirits. • In some cases trephening was used: • Cutting a hole in the head of the afflicted to let out the evil spirit.

11. Hippocrates • In 400 B.C. the Greek physician Hippocrates took the first step toward a scientific view of mental illness when he said that abnormal behavior had physical causes. • He taught his disciples to interpret the symptoms of psychopathology as an imbalance among our body fluids called “humors.”

12. The Medical Model • In the late 18th century, the “disease view” reemerged. • The result was the medical model, a view that mental disorders are diseases of the mind that, like ordinary physical diseases, have objective causes and require specific treatment. **

13. Medical Model in Practice • The medical model led to mental hospitals or “asylums.” In this supportive atmosphere, many patients actually improved, even thrived, on rest, contemplation and simple but useful work.

14. Institutionalization • 1930s: Crowded, minimal treatment, no productivity • “Sent away”

15. Deinstitutionalizing America • 1940s/1950s • Effects today? High percentage of jail populations diagnosed with psychological disorder • Some reports claim as high as 73% of female and 55% of male inmates • “Prisons are woefully ill-equipped for their current role as the nation’s primary mental health facilities.”

16. Problems with the Medical Model • Despite some success, modern psychologists find fault with relying solely on the medical model. • They suggest that treating the disorder as a “disease” leads to a doctor-knows-best approach in which the therapist takes all the responsibility for diagnosing and correcting the problem. • In this model, the patient becomes a passive recipient of medication and advice. • 2011 estimates said 1 in 5 American adults took some type of psychiatric medication • Xanax (anxiety medication) = 47,792,000 prescriptions • Celexa (depression, anxiety) = 37,728,000 prescriptions • Zoloft (depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD) = 37,208,000

17. Psychologists vs. Psychiatrists • The other problem psychologists have with the medical model (doctor-knows-best), is that it takes responsibility away from psychologists and gives it to psychiatrists. • According to our authors, it assigns psychologists to second-class professional status.

18. The Bio-psycho-social Model • Modern bio-psychology assumes that some mental disturbances involve the brain or nervous system in some way. • Subtle changes in the brain’s tissue or its chemical messengers- the neurotransmitters- can profoundly alter thoughts and behaviors. • Genetic factors, brain injury, infection, and learning are some of the factors that can tip the balance towards psychopathology.

19. Biological (Evolution, individual genes, brain structures and chemistry) Psychological (Stress, trauma, learned helplessness, mood-related perceptions and memories) Sociocultural (Roles, expectations, definition of normality and disorder) Bio-psycho-social Model • In short, biological, socio-cultural and psychological factors contribute to psychological disorders