Week 11 - Psychological Disorder PDF

WEEK 11 – PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER Define psychopathology and explain its cultural context Define mental health, mental health problems and disorders Differentiate between contemporary approaches to psychopathology Understand the classification and diagnostic categories outlined in the DSM Outline the...

WEEK 11 – PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER Define psychopathology and explain its cultural context Define mental health, mental health problems and disorders Differentiate between contemporary approaches to psychopathology Understand the classification and diagnostic categories outlined in the DSM Outline the key symptoms of the major psychopathological syndomes Describe the key principles of psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural, humanistic, group and family therapies Discuss research that has evaluated pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in terms of effectiveness and efficiency Psychopathology – patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that are maladaptive, disruptive or uncomfortable for those who are affected or for those with whom they come into contact Sociocultural context Sociocultural perspective – a way of looking at mental disorders in relation to gener, age, ethinicty and other social and cultural factors Sociocultural factors – social identity and other background factors such as gender, culture and social class. Sociocultural factors influence the form that abnormality takes Abnormal – deviance, distress, dysfunction Biopsychosocial approach – a view of mental disorders as caused by a combination of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors Medical model (neurobiological model – psychological disorders reflect disturbances in the anatomy and chemisty of the brain and other biological processes Psychological processes – a view in which mental disorder is seen as arising from psychological processes Diathesis-stress model – the notion that psychological disorders arise when a predisposition for a disorder combines with sufficient amounts of stress to trigger symptoms Psychoanalysis – a method of psychotherapy that seeks to help clients gain insight by recognising and understanding unconcious thoughts and emotions Humanistic psychologists – people are capable of consciously controlling their own actions and taking responsibility for their own decisions. Most humanistic therapists believe that human behaviour is not motivated by inner conflicts but by an innate drive toward growth Cognitive behaviour therapy – learning based treatment methods that help clients change the way they think as well as the way they behave QUESTIONS In understanding behavior, researchers and practitioners think of the three D's: deviance, distress, and dysfunction DSM stands for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders