Understanding Treatment of Psychological Disorders

Chapter SixteenTreatment of Psychological Disorders

Question • What is the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist? • A psychologist practices psychoanalytic treatment, whereas a psychiatrist practices group psychotherapy. • A psychologist has a Ph.D. degree, whereas a psychiatrist has an M.D. degree. • A psychologist offers medications, whereas a psychiatrist offers talk psychotherapy. • A psychologist always practices group psychotherapy, whereas a psychiatrist practices individual psychotherapy.

Answer • Choice b is correct. • A psychologist has usually completed a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree in clinical or counseling psychology. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (M.D.) with training in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. (Chapter 16, Basic Features of Treatment section)

Question • Classic psychoanalytic treatment techniques included all of the following EXCEPT • free association. • dream analysis. • analysis of transference. • electroconvulsive therapy.

Answer • Choice d is correct. • Freudian psychoanalytic treatment techniques did NOT include the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), but they did involve free association, dream analysis, and the analysis of transference (the client’s reactions to the therapist). (Chapter 16, Classical Psychoanalysis section)

Question • A central goal of Freudian psychoanalysis was • to help the patient learn new behaviors. • to help the patient gain insight into their problems by recognizing unconscious thoughts and emotions. • to enable the patient to reach the goal of self-actualization. • to change the patient’s negative thoughts and maladaptive beliefs.

Answer • Choice b is correct. • Freudian psychoanalysis utilized a variety of techniques all aimed at one central goal – insight. The analyst employed such techniques to make unconscious material conscious. (Chapter 16, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy section)

Question • Reflection is a technique used by client-centered therapists. It involves restating or paraphrasing what a client has said. Reflection is often used by the therapist to develop ____________, an appreciation of how the world looks from the client’s perspective. • unconditional positive regard • empathy • congruence • transference

Answer • Choice b is correct. • Empathy is often developed via communication techniques utilized by the client-centered therapist. One such technique is reflection, which involves paraphrasing what the client said. (Chapter 16, Client-Centered Therapy section)

Question • You walk into a room and encounter a therapist who is gradually progressing through a hierarchy of increasingly fear-provoking situations related to dogs. The treatment taking place in the room is known as ____________ and is used in the treatment of ____________. • psychoanalysis; panic disorder • modeling; obsessive-compulsive disorder • systematic desensitization; phobias • token economy; post-traumatic stress disorder

Answer • Choice c is correct. • Systematic desensitization is an effective treatment for phobias. It involves having the client visualize a graduated series of increasingly anxiety-provoking stimuli while maintaining a relaxed state. (Chapter 16, Techniques for Modifying Behavior section)

Question • Which of the following is an example of a token economy system? • Students receive “A” grades when they get 90% or more of their math questions right. • A dog is given a treat when he rolls over. • An aggressive child is sprayed with a powerful hose any time he engages in violent behavior. • Students receive stars next to their names on the board and can later exchange the stars for a special treat at lunch.

Answer • Choice d is correct. • A token economy is a system for increasing the frequency of a desired behavior by rewarding the behavior with tokens (stars, chips, points, etc.) that can be exchanged for various rewards. (Chapter 16, Techniques for Modifying Behavior section)

Question • A cognitive-behavioral therapist might say which of the following to a patient suffering from symptoms of depression? • “Negative thoughts are maintaining your negative mood state and when you feel that bad emotionally, you tend to stop doing fun things that you used to enjoy.” • “Your depressive symptoms are just a surface-level manifestation of a much deeper problem.” • “So what I hear you saying is that you are in a lot of emotional pain right now.” • “You are engaging in a show of depressive symptoms in order to get attention from people who have been ignoring you.”

Answer • Choice a is correct. • Cognitive-behavior therapy is an approach that assumes that symptoms of depression are related to negative thinking (cognitive) and reduced rates of pleasant, rewarding activities or behaviors (behavior). By changing thinking and engaging in such activities, the client can become less depressed, according to cognitive-behavioral models of depression. (Chapter 16, Cognitive-Behavior Therapy section)

Question • Analyses of the effectiveness of psychotherapy indicate that which of the following statements is a fair summary of the effectiveness of psychotherapy? • “Psychotherapy is relatively ineffective, except for the most minor forms of psychopathology.” • “Psychotherapy works well. In fact, 90% of patients are symptom-free up to 18 months after treatment.” • “Psychotherapy is effective. In fact, the average person who receives treatment is better off after treatment than are 80% of people who needed treatment but did not get it.” • “Psychotherapy is more effective than any other form of treatment that we have studied. It is rare to find a patient who doesn’t benefit from psychotherapy.”

Answer • Choice c is correct. • Meta-analytic studies of the effectiveness of psychotherapy have repeatedly arrived at the 80% finding – meaning that the average treated patient is doing better at post-treatment than are 80% of the untreated (control group) patients who were similarly troubled. (Chapter 16, Evaluating Psychotherapy section)

Question • ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) is a treatment option for which of the following individuals? • Lucy, who has severe epilepsy • John, who has a debilitating case of panic disorder • Ron, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia • Pam, who suffers from severe, treatment-resistant depression

Answer • Choice d is correct. • ECT is a treatment approach that involves the use of a brief electric shock administered to the patient’s brain. It is usually reserved for severe, chronic depression that has not responded to various forms of antidepressant medication treatment. (Chapter 16, Electroconvulsive Therapy section)

Question • Neuroleptics, or antipsychotics, are medications such as Thorazine, Clozaril, and Risperdal that are used to treat ____________. • schizophrenia • bipolar disorder • major depressive disorder • attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Answer • Choice a is correct. • Neuroleptics are drugs that relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia. They are also called antipsychotics. Thorazine was a first-generation phenothiazine medication for the treatment of schizophrenia. Clozaril and Risperdal, along with several others, are referred to as atypical neuroleptics. (Chapter 16, Psychoactive Drugs section)

Question • Prozac is a widely prescribed medication used to treat ____________. • autism • bipolar disorder • major depressive disorder • schizophrenia

Answer • Choice c is correct. • Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). It alleviates symptoms of depression by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. (Chapter 16, Linkages: Biological Aspects of Psychology and the Treatment of Psychological Disorders section)

Understanding Treatment of Psychological Disorders