Understanding Psychological Disorders: Classification, Treatment & Perspectives

1. Chapter 13: Psychological Disorders

2. What is the definition of Mental Illness? People with a psychological disorder behave in a way that is atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable Definitions vary by culture There have also been changes to what we think of as mental illness over time

3. Perspectives of Mental Illness Medical perspective Bio-psycho-social perspective

4. How are Psychological Disorders Classified? • Diagnostic and Statistically Manual (DSM-IV) • Other countries use the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) • The DSM lists typical symptoms of a given disorder

5. Controversy about Diagnosis • While the DSM is the principle way we diagnose mental disorders, it is plagued by controversy in the field • Broad categories • Misdiagnosis • Stigma

6. How Common are Psychological Disorders? Recent data indicates that 1 in 6 Americans will suffer from a period of mental illness during their lifetime There are gender and ethnicity differences

7. Anxiety Disorders This group of disorders includes those that are characterized by persistent anxious feelings or maladaptive behaviors to reduce that anxiety

8. Generalized Anxiety and Panic People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) feel extremely nervous, jittery, and worried all the time People with panic disorder feel normal most of the time, but suddenly, with no warning feel overcome with intense fear, like they are going to die

9. Phobias • These are basically panic attacks brought on by exposure to a specific stimulus • Irrational fears that disrupt behavior • Common phobias • People suffering from phobias live otherwise normal lives

10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD is characterized by excessive, repetitive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and actions (compulsions) The compulsive behavior is usually a maladaptive way to control the obsessive thoughts/anxiety

11. Why/How do Anxiety Disorders Happen? • Learning perspective • Fear conditioning • Observational learning • Biological perspective

12. Treatment for Anxiety Disorders • Drug therapy is widely used • Tranquilizers • Anti-depressant medications • Therapy can be very effective • Desensitization therapy

13. Dissociative Disorders These are disorders where conscious awareness becomes separated from prior memories/thoughts/feelings Dissociative identity disorder (a.k.a. multiple personality disorder)

14. Personality Disorders • These are enduring patters of behavior that get in the way of normal social functioning • Avoidant • Schizoid • Histrionic • Narcissistic • Borderline • Antisocial

15. Treatment for Dissociative and Personality Disorders Treatment for these disorders is most commonly intense therapy for many years Antidepressants may be prescribed as well, but therapy is the main approach

16. Major Depression Major depression is a disorder of mood where a person feels depressed for at least two weeks at a time Episodes can occur just once in a lifetime or can recur, some last for just 2 weeks, others years

17. Bipolar Disorder • This mood disorder is when a person swings between depression and mania • The depressed phase is just like major depression • The manic phase can be euphoric or irritable

18. Seasonal Affective Disorder • SAD is a disorder where people become increasingly depressed as the daylight hours become shorter in the winter • All the regular symptoms of depression during the winter months • People feel better in the spring and summer • Occurs for more than one season in a row • Crave carbs/starches

19. Why/How do Mood Disorders Happen? • Just like anxiety disorders the Biological perspective is very popular • Genetic predisposition – mood disorders do run in families • Physiological basis – there are significant brain activity changes (frontal lobe) in depressed people • Social-Cognitive perspective • Cycle of negative moods and negative thoughts goes both ways • Pessimistic thinking is related to depression – college student study

20. Treatments for Mood Disorders • Drug therapy (antidepressants & mood stabilizers) are very common these days • Antidepressants are the #1 prescribed medications in the country • 30% people who take them will not feel relief • Therapy also works well, especially on drug-resistant depression • For people with SAD – sitting in front of a light box for about an hour each morning can help

21. Schizophrenia • Symptoms are classified as either negative or positive and include: • Disorganized thinking • Disturbed perception • Inappropriate emotion/action

22. 5 General Types of Schizophrenia Paranoid Disorganized Catatonic Undifferentiated Residual