key issues in clinical psychology Flashcards
what is Korsakoff’s syndrome
- Disturbance in memory caused by alcohol
-Ability to learn new information is impaired
issues with physical diagnosis of mental disorders
- Not always physical differences
-No firm evidence mental distress caused by biochemical imbalances, genes, or the brain
typical problems with using the DSM
- Overreliance on a ‘medical’ model
-Categories not dimensions
-overlap in common disorders
what happens as a result of categorical diagnosis
people often get more than one diagnosis
what overlaps can occur in diagnostic categories
disorder symptoms that may exist in everyday life e.g loss/grief
what is comorbidity
an overlap in symptoms
when may comorbidity become an issue
the ‘root cause’ of a disorder is difficult to establish - people may receive the wrong treatment
What did Friedman find in field trials of the DSM
Two clinicians interviewed the same patient
found most common disorders had unacceptable agreement
Arguments for using diagnostic categories
- Fundamental part of clinical psychology
- Helps identify useful interventions
Validates the patient’s experiences
How do diagnoses help people
- Can help people make sense of their experiences
- Feel less alone and guilty
Feel hopeful/ worthy of treatment and recovery
Downsides of diagnosis
- Some see diagnosis as a barrier to recovery
- May make people feel different - more isolated
May not capture full experiences e.g. childhood trauma
Which disorders have been rejected from the DSM
- Attenuated psychosis syndrome
- Mixed anxiety-depressive disorder
- Internet gaming disorder
Revised disorders in DSM
- Bereavement exclusion
Autism spectrum disorder
How did Allen Frances oppose new changes
will mislabel normal people, promote diagnostic inflation, encourage inappropriate medication use
