Psychopathology Flashcards

Question

How does flooding work?

Answer 1

Without the option of avoidance behaviour, the patient quickly learns the phobic stimulus is harmless.

Answer 2

P - Suitable for diverse range of patients. E - SD alternatives like flooding are not well suited to some patients. E - People with learning difficulties and anxiety disorders find it hard to understand what is happening during flooding. L - For these patients SD is most appropriate treatment

Answer 3

P - Cost-effective E - Studies shows that flooding is highly effective and quicker than alternatives L - This quick effect means that patients are free of their symptoms as soon as possible

Answer 4

P - Less effective on complex phobias like social phobias E - Social phobias have cognitive aspects E - Social phobia does not simply experience an anxiety response but thinks unpleasant thoughts L - Complex phobias may benefit from cognitive therapies

Answer 5

P - Flooding is a highly traumatic experience E - Patients often unwilling to see it through to the end L - This is a limitation as time and money are sometimes wasted on preparing patients that refuse to complete treatment

Answer 6

Beck's cognitive theory of depressions Eliis's ABC model

Answer 7

Faulty information processing - attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives Negative self schemas - interpreting all information about ourselves in a negative way The negative triad - negative view of the world, negative view of the future and negative view of the self

Answer 8

ABC model explains how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state. A - Activating event (experiencing negative events) B - Beliefs (Irrational beliefs) C - Consequences (emotional and behavioural consequences)

Answer 9

P - There is a range of evidence to support E - Grazioli and Terry accessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth. E - Women judged with higher cog vulnerability were more likely to suffer post natal depression. L - Therefore this supports Beck's theory. + - Lacks generalisbilty as only done on pregnant women

Answer 10

P - Forms the basis of a cognitive behaviour therapy E - All cognitive aspects of depression can be challenged in CBT E - This means a therapist can challenge them and encourage the patient to test whether they are true. L - Strength as it translates well into a successful therapy

Answer 11

P - Neck only explains the basic symptoms of depression E - Beck cannot explain why some patients are deeply angry E - Some depressed patients suffer Cotard syndrome, the delusion that they are zombies L - Therefore this is a strength as Beck cannot easily explain these cases This is also a limitations for Ellis

Answer 12

P - Only a partial explanation E - Depression following events is known as reactive depression and is different from the kind that arises without an obvious cause L - This means Ellis' model only applies to some kinds of depression

Answer 13

P - Has real life applications E - Led to a successful therapy E - Challenging irrational beliefs reducing depression has supporting evidence (Lipsky et al). L - This supports the theory as it suggests t hat irrational beliefs had some role in depression

Answer 14

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Answer 15

Cognitive behaviour therapy is the most common psychological treatment for depression. CBT begins with an assessment where the patient and therapist work together to clarify the patients problems. They identify goals and put together a plan to achieve them

Answer 16

In CBT they try to identify automatic thoughts about the world, the self and the future, this is the negative triad. The therapists job is to prove the patients negative statements incorrect. They might be set homework such as recording when they had enjoyed an event

Answer 17

The simple ABC model is extended to ABCDE where D stands for dispute and E for effect. This challenges the patients irrational belief through arguing over it with them.

Answer 18

P - Supporting evidence E - March et al compared CBT and drugs with 327 adolescents with depression E - Both groups saw 81% improvement with both getting 86% L - Therefore this shows CBT is just as effective as medication

Answer 19

P - Some cases patients can't motivate themselves to engage with CBT E - In this case antidepressents are better L - This means CBT can't be used as the sole treatment for depression

Answer 20

P - Differences between CBT and SD are small E - All CBT has one thing in common, the therapist E - It may be the quality of the therapist-patient relationship rather than the therapy L - This supports the view that simply talking to someone could be what matters most

Answer 21

Candidate genes - researchers have identified genes which create vulnerability to OCD. Some involve the regulation of seratonin like 5HT1-D beta OCD is polygenic - OCD is not caused by one gene but several genes. Taylor found evidence of 230 genes that may be involved in OCD Different types of OCD - One group of genes may cause OCD in one person but another group of genes may cause it in another

Answer 22

The role of seratonin - if a person has low levels of seratonin then normal transmission of mood relevant information does not take place and mental processes are affected Decision-making systems - Hoarding disorder is associated with impaired decision making

Answer 23

P - Supporting evidence E - Twins studies E - Nestadt found that 68% of identical twins shared OCD opposed to 31% of non-identical twins. L - This strongly suggests a genetic influence on OCD

Answer 24

P - Environmental factors can also trigger or increase the risk of developing OCD E - Cromer found that over half of his OCD patients had experienced a traumatic event. E - Also OCD was more sever in those with more than one trauma L - This shows that OCD cannot be completely genetic, at least not in all cases

Answer 25

P - Supporting evidence E - Some anti-depressants work purely on the seratonin system E - These drugs are affective in reducing OCD symptoms. L - Therefore this shows that the seraotonin system is involved in OCD

Answer 26

P - Many people with OCD become depressed E - Having two disorders is called comorbidity E - This creates a problem when it comes to serotonin as a possible basis for OCD. L - It could be that serotonin system is disrupted because they have depression aswell

Answer 27

Drug therapy

Answer 28

SSRI's - A drug to prevent the re-absorption of serotonin to increase it levels in the synapse. A typical daily dose of Fluoxetine Alternatives to SSRI's - Tricyclics - very similar to SSRI's but have more severe side effects so only used for people who do not respond to SSRI's SNRI's - a second line of defence after SSRI's. It increases levels of serotonin and noradrenaline

Answer 29

P - Evidence to show effectiveness E - Soomro meta-analysis comparing SSRI's to placebos. E - He concluded that all 17 studies reviewed showed better results in SSRI's L - Therefore this shows that drugs are an efffective treatment for OCD

Answer 30

P - Although drugs are often helpful to some people they have no benefit E - Some suffer side-effects like indigestion, blurred vision and loss of sex drive E - When taking Clomipramine, side effects are more common and can be more serious L - Such factors reduce effectiveness because people stop taking the medication

Answer 31

P - Drugs are cheap compared to psycho treatment E - Using drugs to treat OCD is therefore good for the public health system E - You don't have to do the hard work of CBT with drugs L - Many doctors and patients like drug treatments for these reasons

Answer 32

Statistical infrequency Deviation from social norms Failure to function adequately Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 33

Defining abnormality by the rarity of behaviours or traits within a population. E.G. Only 2% of people have an IQ score below 70

Answer 34

Exhibiting behaviours, traits or beliefs that depart from the accepted standards or behaviour E.G. Antisocial personality disorder

Answer 35

No longer being able to cope with the demands of everyday life. E.G. Maintaining eye contact or when a persons behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves

Answer 36

Refers to the characteristics essential for psychological well-being. Jahoda created a list for ideal mental health

Answer 37

P - Real life application E - Therefore there is a place for SI in thinking about what a normal and abnormal behaviours L - Therefore SI is a useful part of clinical assessment

Answer 38

P - Unusual characteristics can be positive E - IQ over 130 are just as unusual as those below 70. But this unusual characteristic should not need treatment L - This means SI cannot be used alone to make a diagnosis

Answer 39

P - Tremendously different social norms between different communities E - One person from one cultural group may label someone from another culture as behaving abnormally according to their standards E - Hearing voices is socially acceptable in some cultures but would be seen as a sign of mental abnormality in the UK. L - This creates problems for people from one culture living within another group

Answer 40

P - Too much reliance on DFSM can lead to abuse of human rights E - Historic examples of DFSM were there to maintain control over minority ethnic groups and women E - These classifications appear ridiculous now but only because social norms have changed L - Some people believe that some modern categories of mental disorders are really abuse of human rights to be different

Psychopathology Flashcards

(66 cards)