Treatment for Psychological DisordersChapter 16

5-7% of the AP Exam

Psychological TreatmentWhen a psychological disorder

becomes serious enough to cause problems in everyday functioning, the client may seek to have the disorder treated.

Psychotherapy – An OverviewThe treatment of psychological

disorders through psychological methodsClients

Inpatients Outpatients

Treatment from Psychiatrists Psychologists Counselor Medical Doctor

Basic goal = to help people change their way of thinking, feeling, or behavior

Psychodynamic PsychotherapyPsychoanalysis – understanding unconscious

conflictsFreud’s one-on-one method Aims to help clients gain insight into and work

through problems

Other psychoanalytic therapiesAll seek to

understand the patient’s past to help understand the future

“Talk” therapyHelp client

function in everyday lifeCarl JungKaren Horney

Contemporary Psychoanalysis = less emphasis on Freud’s “unconscious impulses”

Object-Relations Therapy most problems stem from the need for human

contact and support focus on relationships, interpersonal life events

Psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapymore flexibility and conversation between patient

and therapist patient focuses on more concrete goals

Supportive-expressive therapy short-term treatment therapist looks for a core conflict that occurs

repeatedly in a variety of relationships

Humanistic PsychotherapyEmphasize the way in which

people interpret the events in their lives

behavior = motivated by an innate drive toward growth

Clients (not patient) will improve on their own, given the right conditionsPatients must feel equal,

accepted, and supportedEmphasis on free-will of client

Humanistic Client-Centered TherapyCarl Rogers – nondirective

therapy allowed clients to decide what to

talk about and when, without judgment or direction – now referred to as client-centered therapyGenuineness- completely honest

and openUnconditional Positive Regard-

fully accepting the worth of the client

Empathy- emotional understanding

Gestalt TherapyFritz and Laura PerlsDeveloped therapy from the

perspective that people create their own understanding of the world and continue to grow as long as they have insight into their feelings

Help clients see inconsistencies between how clients see themselves and how they act in the world

“You cannot achieve happiness. Happiness happens and is a transitory stage. Imagine how happy I felt when I got relief from bladder pressure. How long did that happiness last?” (Fritz Perls)“Lose your mind and

come to your senses.” (Fritz Perls)

Other humanistic therapiesGroup and Family therapies

emphasis placed on growth of the individual Group Therapy – simultaneous treatment of several clients – no

single theoretical approach used allows interaction clients feel less alone boost each other’s confidence more willing to share

Family & Couples Therapy – treatment of two or more from same family system – goal is to create harmony and balance

disorders are rooted in family conflicts

Behavior TherapyClients see their problems as learned behaviors

that can be changed (without searching for hidden meanings or unconscious causes)

Based on the work of Watson, Pavlov, & SkinnerFeatures:

Development of a productive therapist-client relationship

Careful listing of the behaviors and thoughts to be changed – assessment and establishment of goals

Learning-based treatments – giving “homework”Continuous monitoring and evaluation of treatment

Behavior Therapy (con’t)Behavior Therapy – classical conditioningBehavior Modification – operant conditioningCognitive-behavior therapy – altering both

thinking patterns and behavior

Techniques for Modifying BehaviorSystematic Desensitization (John Wolpe)

Visualization then progressive relaxationModeling

Assertiveness and social skills trainingPositive reinforcement

Token economy—desirable behaviors are positively reinforced

ExtinctionFlooding-continuous exposure to feared stimuli

Aversive Conditioningassociate behavior with negative experience

Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) Albert Ellis

People engage in self-talk that is false

If they can change their beliefs, this will produce a change in emotion

Therapist confront irrational (illogical, maladaptive) beliefs and teaches client to create a realistic perspective

Beck’s Cognitive Therapy (for depression)

Aaron BeckWidely used for depressionCognitive schemas, methods

for organizing the way we view the world, have evolved into a distorted perception

Therapist draws attention to faulty reasoning, challenges validity of statements

Helps change way of thinking using assignments to see cognitive schema

Biological TreatmentsElectroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) –

“shock treatment” Early use – physicians passed electric

currents through brains of people with schizophrenia

Modern use – shock is applied to one side of the brain at a time – used to treat patients with severe depression, who do not respond well to medication

Still controversialPsychosurgery – destruction of brain

tissue for treating mental disordersPrefrontal lobotomy—cut connections

from prefrontal cortex to rest of brain

Biological TreatmentsPsychoactive Drugs

Neuroleptics (Antipsychotics)– reduce psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, & disordered thinking

Biological TreatmentsPsychoactive Drugs (con’t)

Antidepressants – help relieve symptoms of depression – immediate effect on neurotransmitters (usually increasing serotonin or norepinephrine)

Lithium – mineral salt found to reduce frequency and intensity of manic and depressive phases of bipolar patients

Anxiolytics (tranquilizers) – treats anxiety – most widely prescribed and used of all legal drugs

Evaluating Psychoactive Drug TreatmentsLimitations –

Drugs may cover up the problem without permanently curing it

Relieve symptoms without addressing underlying causes

Drug abuse – physical and psychological dependence

Side effects

Effectiveness of Treatmenthttp://

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