Clinical psychology Flashcards
(41 cards)
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)
Catalogues all mental disorders in standardized language, changes regularly made
psychological (or mental) disorder
a clinically significant disturbance in an individuals’ cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour that is usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational, or other important activities
what is not a psychological disorder?
‘weird’ or abnormal behaviour need not indicate a psychological disorder (ex. superstitions)
lifetime prevalence
% in population with disorder at some point in their lives
clinical assessment
a procedure for gathering information that is needed to evaluate an individual’s psychological functioning and to determine whether a diagnosis is warranted
clinical interview
may be structured or unstructured. After collecting information from the client, the clinician may have an idea of whether the client is managing a psychological disorder
self-report measures
reliable tools that can indicate the severity of a client’s symptoms, results must be interpreted keeping in mind the client’s history
projective tests
allow a client to impose structure on an ambiguous image, and the clinician can glean hidden thoughts and motivations (not reliable)
pros of labels
provide a reason, accommodations, specific treatments
Cons of labels
feeling limited, perceived negatively by others, stigmatized, clinicians view as permanent and multiple diagnoses as unrelated
Co-occuring disorders
Different mental disorders are often highly related, many mental disorders are marked by common symptoms.
It is not uncommon for a person with one mental disorder diagnosis to have others
Trephination
surgical procedure in which a hole is drilled into the skull, often to reduce pressure within the skull (thought of as driving out demons)
Philippe Pinel
pressured the French government to stop barbaric practices in Paris hospitals and developed a more humane method (moral treatment) of providing therapy to psychiatric patients
Dorothea Dix
championed the cause of mistreated people with mental illness
Sigmund Freud
founder of the talking cure, as he observed that verbalizing a traumatic event and related emotions seemed to help his clients
Psychological therapies
Provided by psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, child and youth counsellors
Biological therapies
A family doctor or a psychiatrist can prescribe medications as part of a treatment plan
Principles for health professionals
Do no harm; establish relationships of trust; promote accuracy, honest, truthfulness
What predicts a successful therapist?
Not predicted by qualifications, years of experience, but more interpersonal skills and how well treatment fits client’s needs
cost of mental disorders
one estimate is that anxiety and depression alone are estimated to cost at least $1 trillion each year
subsyndromal disorders
individuals who encounter significant problems despite their symptoms not meeting the threshold for an official diagnosis
Why do people not seek therapy?
Men and non-White individuals less likely to seek therapy, people with low incomes less likely to afford therapy, remaining stigma can prevent some from seeking
How effective is therapy?
Therapy is about as effective for men as for women, for people from different ethnic groups, and for people with different incomes.
One study demonstrated that 5-10% of people get worse after therapy
Behavioural approaches
We learn behaviours that are maladaptive
Treatment example: exposure therapies to treat a phobia response
