Lecture 11 - Transdiagnostic Approaches Flashcards
What is a Transdiagnostic approach?
Focuses on understanding and treating disorders by identifying and targeting processes that cut across multiple diagnostic categories - shared features and commonalities among disorders
What are limitations of disorder based therapies?
30-80% people have comorbid disorders
What is Perceptual Control Theory?
Individuals driven by a motivation to maintain and achieve desired states, monitoring and adjusting perceptions.
Individuals are continuously engaged in a process of perceiving, comparing, acting and receiving feedback in order to maintain their desired states.
What are the 4 components of PCT?
- Reference signal (the desired state or goal someone wants to achieve)
- Comparator (compares reference signal with current perception and detect any differences or errors)
- Output (output of control system = individuals actions and behaviours intended to bring the perception closer to the desired reference signal)
- Feedback (info about effectiveness of the actions, positive = actions bringing the perception closer to the reference, negative = deviation from desired state)
What is the negative feedback loop?
Reference -> compare -> act -> controlled variable -> perceive disturbances in environment (act against to not lose control)
What is control? PCT
Fundamental to life - control of our experiences (confidence, honesty, grade)
What are hierarchies? PCT
Control is organised into a hierarchy where long term goals and principles are implemented by setting goals for lower levels
What is conflict? PCT
When a person tries to control the same experience in opposing directions, conflict occurs
What is reorganisation? PCT
Properties of control systems are changed through trial and error - learning process to reduce conflict and optimise control (balancing)
What is Method Of Levels?
A transdiagnostic therapy formed from PCT
- Therapists encouraged to ask open questions
What are the 2 goals of MOL?
1 = help the client talk about the problem
2 = ask about present moment disruptions
Focuses on processes of control of perception
Catches conflicts
Identifies higher level goals
What maintains goal conflict?
- Controlling an experience without regard to, or awareness of, the important goals that it interferes with
- It isn’t always a form of avoidance
- It is interference with peoples goals that leads to chronic disruptions in functioning
What is the core process?
Lack of awareness of goal conflict
Person controls an experience despite the conflict it causes with control of higher level experiences - hard not to feel anxious at work so avoid meetings and missing work
How can MOL change goal conflict?
- Shift awareness to long term goals and values
- Realise that a good working life is more important than not feeling anxious all the time (EXPOSE SELF TO ANXIETY)
- Exploring the conflict
What are the 3 important principles of MOL?
- CONTROL - normal everyday functioning, control things important to us and our environment, control how we say things to certain people
- CONFLICT - explains how control gets disrupted, when people try control two incompatible things at the same time . PCT is a conflict model to explain psychological distress
- REORGANISATION - learning mechanism that we inherit, solving problems, when control is unable to occur, reorganisation happens (random change) - form of learning
