Psychopathology Flashcards

Question

Emotional characteristics of OCD?

Answer 1

Anxiety and distress - feelings of anxiety and stress Shame/Disgust - sufferers are aware that their behaviour is excessive and this causes feelings of embarrassment and shame. Additionally irrational levels of disgust are felt over germs, dirt/mess.

Answer 2

Obsessions - persistent, recurring internal thoughts that often drive anxious feelings Awareness of excessive anxiety - the person is aware that their obsessions and compulsions are irrational

Answer 3

The belief that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning. A phobia is acquired through the association of a stimulus with a response

Answer 4

Practical applications - Systematic desensitisation is a successful behavioural therapy for unlearning phobias. McGrath et Al found 75% of patients with phobias showed an improvement in symptoms after treatment. The success of these treatments strengthens the validity of the behaviourist explanation of phobias

Answer 5

Fails to explain the role of evolution - Seligman found we are innately predisposed to fear such things we haven’t ever experienced or encountered, therefore the two-process model may be be too simplistic, as this suggests there is more to acquiring a phobia than simply conditioning Fails to explain cognitive aspects - A person in a lift may think ‘I could become trapped in here and suffocate ‘. This irrational thought creates extreme anxiety and may trigger a phobia. This is a weakness as the behavioural explanation is failing to explain a vital component of the disorder

Answer 6

A new response to the phobic stimulus being learned

Answer 7

Anxiety hierarchy - A phobic patient works with a therapist to develop an anxiety hierarchy (most fearful at the top) Relaxation - It is impossible to be relaxed and afraid at the same time as one prevents the other, this is called reciprocal inhibition. Therefore teaching relaxation techniques is a vital part of SD Exposure - over several sessions, the patient gradually moves their way up the hierarchy having to be fully relaxed at that stage before they can move up.

Answer 8

Proven to be effective - McGrath et al found 75% of phobic patients had an improvement in symptoms after SD Preferred method - sufferers tend to prefer SD to the alternative of ‘flooding’. This is largely because it doesn’t cause the same degree of trauma. This is supported by the fact that SD has low attrition rates (dropout rates).

Answer 9

Time/money - SD can be much more time consuming and expensive than flooding as it takes may sessions with a therapist as opposed to just one

Answer 10

Clients are immediately exposed to a very frightening situation. Usually one long session is used in which the experiences their phobia at it’s worst, while at the same time practising relaxation. The session continues until the patient is fully relaxed.

Answer 11

Cost effective - research has shown flooding is just as effective at treating phobias as SD, however it is significantly faster due to only being one session. This is a strength as patients are free of their symptoms as soon as possible.

Answer 12

Highly traumatic - patients are often unwilling to see it through until the end. This is a weakness of flooding as time and money are sometimes wasted preparing patients only for them to refuse to start or complete treatment Can have adverse effects - patients symptoms could worsen as they are put into a traumatic phobic situation. This is a weakness of flooding as it means patients could get worse rather than better

Answer 13

The self - ‘I am boring’ The world - ‘Everything is against me’ The future - ‘I’ll always be alone’ Such thoughts reduce hopefulness and enhance depression. Beck argues this triad of negative thoughts creates a ‘cognitive vulnerability’ that may then lead to depression

Answer 14

Depressed individuals feel the way they do because they have a biased interpretation of the world. Schemas are packets of information about the world developed through experience. Those with depression have developed negative self-schemas during childhood caused by parental/peer rejection which Leeds to cognitive biases. These biases maintain the ‘negative triad’.

Answer 15

Supporting evidence - Grazioli and Terry assessed 65 pregnant women before and after birth. They found that those who had a high number of cognitive biases were more likely to suffer post-natal depression. Importantly, these cognitive biases were present BEFORE the depression developed. This evidence suggests that becks theory is a valid explanation of depression.

Answer 16

The key to mental disorders such as depression, lies in irrational beliefs. In the ABC model: A - ‘Activating event’. B - Belief, may be irrational or rational. The source of irrational beliefs lies in mustabatory thinking. This is the belief that we must always succeed or achieve perfection C - Consequences, irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotions including depression

Answer 17

The ABC model can’t explain all types of depression because not all cases are triggered by an activating event. This means that the ABC explanation only applies to some kinds of depression and is therefore an invalid explanation of depression

Answer 18

The aim of CBT is to replace irrational, negative thoughts experienced by depressed patients with more rational, positive ones

Answer 19

Initial assessment - identify the patients depressive symptoms and agree on a set of goals Challenge negative thoughts - undertake homework e.g record when you enjoyed an event This homework and evidence gathering helps the patient ‘test the reality’ of these negative beliefs (patient as scientist)

Answer 20

Supporting evidence - March et al compared CBT with drug therapy, after 36 weeks they found 81% of patients showed improvements in both groups. This is a strength because it shows that CBT is just as effective as drug therapy at treating depression but without the unpleasant side effects that most people experience while taking anti-depressants

Answer 21

REBT extends the ABC model to an ABCDE model D - disrupting irrational beliefs E - effects of disrupting the beliefs

Answer 22

REBT focuses on challenging or disrupting the irrational beliefs and replacing them with effective, rational ones: Logical disputing - ‘does thinking like this make sense?’ Empirical Disputing - ‘Where is the proof that this belief is accurate?’ Pragmatic disputing - ‘How is this belief likely to help me?’ The effect of challenging these irrational thoughts is that the patient will develop more rational beliefs. This in turn helps the client become less depressed, leading to constructive behaviours.

Answer 23

Not suitable for all sufferers - CBT requires patients to commit to attending regular sessions with a therapist, completing homework and putting into practise the techniques learnt. This is more disruptive to patients lives than just taking medication. Additionally, many patients lack the motivation to engage successfully in these programmes. This is especially true for those who are severely depressed, suggesting that this method of treating depression is not suitable for all sufferers

Answer 24

In most people with OCD, the COMT gene mutates, preventing the COMT enzyme from regulating dopamine levels. This in turn, causes the high levels of dopamine seen in many patients with OCD. In people with OCD the SERT gene mutates, causing lower levels of serotonin. It appears that OCD is polygenic. This means that OCD is not caused by one single gene but several are involved.

Answer 25

Supporting evidence - Nestadt et al found that people with a first degree relative with OCD were 5x more likely to develop the illness themselves, compared to the general population. Additionally twin studies found 68% concordance for OCD in MZ twins compared to only 31% for DZ twins, supporting the link between genetics and OCD. However it should be noted that concordance rates are not 100%, which means that it is not just genetics that are involved so environmental factors must also play a part

Answer 26

Low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin have been linked to depression and anxiety disorders, such as OCD. High levels of dopamine being associated with compulsive behaviours, such as hand washing. Abnormal brain structures have been linked to OCD. When the caudate nucleus is damaged, it fails to suppress minor or unimportant ‘worry signals’. Thus, unnecessary thoughts and impulses are allowed to alert the thalamus, these signals are then sent back to the OFC, reinforcing the belief that these unnecessary thoughts and impulses are a major concern that need an immediate and powerful response.

Answer 27

Supporting evidence - supports the role of the OFC in OCD. Menzies found that OCD patients and their immediate close family members had reduced grey matter in the OFC, supporting the view that differences in this brain region are inherited and may be contributing to the disorder. Anti-depressant drugs work by increasing the levels of neurotransmitter serotonin. These drugs are effective in reducing the symptoms of OCD therefore providing support for a neural explanation of OCD.

Answer 28

Drug therapy Low levels of neurotransmitter serotonin has been linked to causing OCD therefore drugs to treat symptoms of OCD work by increasing serotonin levels. SSRIs work by preventing the reabsorption after synaptic transmission. This results in more serotonin staying in the synapse for longer. This allows the serotonin to stimulate the past-synaptic neuron for longer, compensating for the deficiency in the serotonin system. Benzodiazepines are also used to treat OCD are commonly used to treat anxiety. Benzodiazepines work by increasing the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA. GABA has a quietening effect on neurons in the brain and therefore, helps to slow down brain activity. GABA is a neurotransmitter released into the synapse by the presynaptic neuron. It locks onto receptors in the postsynaptic neuron. This opens a channel that increases the flow of chloride ions into the neuron. Chloride ions make it harder for the neuron to be stimulated by other neurotransmitters, thus slowing down its activity and making the person feel more relaxed.

Answer 29

Supporting evidence - Soomro et al reviewed studies comparing SSRIs to placebos in the treatment of OCD. They found that SSRIs were significantly more effective than placebos in treating OCD. Additionally, Kahn et al compared placebos and Benzodiazepines (BZs) in 250 patients. They found that BZs were significantly superior to placebos in treating anxiety. This is a strength because drug therapy enables sufferers to cope with their symptoms, such as anxiety, thereby improving the quality of their lives.

Answer 30

Side effects - SSRIs side effects include blurred vision, indigestion and loss of sex drive, some patients also experience more serious side effects like hallucinations, erection problems and raised blood pressure. This leads to some people stopping taking the medication. BZs are renowned for being highly addictive and can also cause increased aggression and long term memory impairments. As a result, BZs are usually only prescribed for short term treatment. Consequently, these side effects diminish the effectiveness of drug treatments, as patients will often stop taking medication if they experience these side effects

Psychopathology Flashcards

(54 cards)