Intro to Psychopathology

1. Intro to Psychopathology Dr. Kayj Nash Okine

2. Fact or Myth ? • How much do you know about the field of psychopathology? Read the following statements and specify whether each is true or false. • Creative people are usually psychologically disturbed. • Psychologically disturbed persons are dangerous. • Inkblot tests are bogus. • Freud’s theory was all about sex. • Behaviorists have no interest in thoughts or feelings. • Criminals are born “bad.” • People who make a big deal out a traumatic experience are just looking for an easy way out.

3. Fact or Myth ? (continued) • Asthma is caused by emotional problems. • Most of the people who sexually abuse children are gay men. • Suicidal individuals keep their intentions to themselves. • People with schizophrenia have multiple personalities. • Kids become hyperactive from eating too much sugar. • Most older people are “senile.” • It’s easy to spot a drug addict. • People with eating disorders are uninterested in food.

4. What Is Abnormal? • Read the following statements and put a check mark next to the behaviors you regard as abnormal. • Kissing another person of the same sex. • Slapping one’s child. • Driving a nail through one’s hand. • Refusing to eat for several days. • Barking like a dog and crawling on the floor on one’s hands and knees. • Building a shrine to one’s dead spouse in the corner of one’s living room and leaving food and gifts for him/her at the alter.

5. What Is Abnormal? (Continued) • Finding a “lucky” seat in an exam. • Being unable to sleep, eat, study, or talk to anyone for days after a lover says “it’s over.” • Breaking into a cold sweat at the thought of being trapped in an elevator. • Hyperventilating after hearing upsetting news. • Having to engage in a thorough hand-washing after coming home from a ride on the bus. • Believing the government has agents who are listening in on telephone conversations. • Drinking a six pack in order to be sociable with friends.

6. Myths & Misconceptions About Abnormal Behavior • There is no single definition of abnormality. • There is no single definition of normality. • Those who are mentally ill are assumed to be lazy, crazy, dumb, weak in character, a danger to self or others.

7. Whether A Particular Behavior Is Viewed As Normal Depends On Context Need to consider: • Time • Place • Tradition • Culture • Purpose of the behavior • Gender & gender roles • Age

8. Criteria for Defining Abnormality • Various Criteria • Cultural Relativism • Unusualness • Subjective Distress or Discomfort • Mental Illness • Maladaptive or dysfunctional • Evaluating the Criteria for Abnormality: • Advantages & disadvantages, strengths & weaknesses • Inclusion & exclusion • Practicality & usefulness

9. Characteristics of Maladaptive or Dysfunctional Behavior • Risk of or damage to self or others • Subjective distress • Impairment in functioning • Loss of touch with reality • Lack of controllability

10. Clinical Terminology • Presenting problem – the identified reason for coming to treatment. • Prevalence – the # of people in a population who have a disorder. • Incidence – the # of new cases of a disorder occurring during a specific period of time, e.g. a year. • Course – the pattern of the disorder in time: chronic, episodic, time-limited; related to prognosis. • Onset – acute or insidious. • Etiology – causal factors; include psychological, social, and biological dimensions. • Treatment – psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, ECT, etc. • Outcome – the effect of treatment