Psychological Disorders

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1 Psychological Disorders On the post-it note(s) provided, write about your experience with mental illness. How has your life been affected by mental illness? 1

2 Defining Psychological Disorders Complete the activity with your group. 2

3 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY A.K.A. PSYCHOLOGICAL A harmful dysfunction in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive and unjustifiable.

4 People are fascinated with the abnormal The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so, but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitos and silly people. Ralph Waldo Emerson

5 WHY? At various moments, all of us feel, think, or act the way disturbed people do much of the time. Many of us have felt, either personally or through friends or family, the bewilderment and pain of a psychological disorder. As members of the human family, most of us will at some point encounter a person with a psychological disorder. The World Health Organization reports that 450 million people suffer from mental or behavior disorders. Depression and schizophrenia are consistent worldwide.

6 DEFINING PSYCHOLOGICAL Mental health workers view psychological disorders as syndromes marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior. Disturbed, or dysfunctional, behaviors are maladaptive they interfere with normal day-to-day life. Distress often accompanies dysfunctional behaviors. 6

7 DEFINING PSYCHOLOGICAL Over time, definitions of what makes for a significant disturbance have varied : homosexuality was classified as a mental illness ADHD: normal high energy or disordered behavior? 7

8 DEFINING PSYCHOLOGICAL Each culture may view the other s behavior as abnormal. Normal vs. Abnormal: It Carol Beckwith depends on your culture, the time period, the environmental conditions & the individual person. In the Wodaabe tribe men wear costumes to attract women. In Western society this would be considered abnormal. 8

being beaten, burned, castrated, mutilated, or transfused with animal s

9 UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGICAL Ancient Treatments of psychological disorders include trephination, exorcism, being caged like animals, being beaten, burned, castrated, mutilated, or transfused with animal s blood. John W. Verano Trephination (boring holes in the skull to remove evil forces) 9

10 UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGICAL Patients were put in asylums that were nothing more than barbaric prisons The patients were chained and locked away. Some hospitals even charged admission for the public to see the crazies, just like a zoo.

MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) from

11 MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE Philippe Pinel ( ) from France, insisted that madness was not due to demonic possession, but an ailment of the mind. Pinel said take the chains off and declare that these people are sick a cure must be found!!! George Wesley Bellows, Dancer in a Madhouse, The Art Institute of Chicago Dance in the madhouse.

12 MEDICAL MODEL When physicians discovered that syphilis led to mental disorders, further reforms led to the use of the medical model. A mental illness (aka psychopathology) has physical causes that need to be diagnosed on the basis of its symptoms and treated through therapy, which may include time in a psychiatric hospital. Presumes that a person is mentally ill and attributes their condition to a sickness that must be identified and cured. Today s psychologists instead use a biopsychosocial approach based on the interaction of nature and nurture.

13 BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE Assumes that biological, socio-cultural, and psychological factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders. Recognizes that they mind and body are inseparable. 13

CLASSIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL The American Psychiatric Association rendered a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to classify, and describe psychological symptoms of the disorders.

14 CLASSIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL The American Psychiatric Association rendered a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to classify, and describe psychological symptoms of the disorders. It does not explain causes or possible cures. The most recent edition, DSM-V (2013), describes over 300 psychological disorders compared to 60 in the 1950s. It provides a common language for clinicians to communicate about their patients and establishes consistent and reliable diagnoses that can be used in the research of mental disorders. It also provides a common language for researchers to study the criteria for potential future revisions and to aid in the development of medications and other interventions.

15 CLASSIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL

(Francis, 2012) Brings almost any kind of behavior within the compass of psychiatry (Eysenck et

16 CRITICISMS OF DSM 5 Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder for children Will it turn temper tantrums into a mental disorder and lead to overmedication? (Francis, 2012) Brings almost any kind of behavior within the compass of psychiatry (Eysenck et al., 1983) Will extend the pathologizing of everyday life Critics of the DSM have always argued that labels may stigmatize individuals.

17 LABELING PSYCHOLOGICAL Critics argue that labels create preconceptions that guide our perceptions and our interpretations. David Rosenhan (1973) studied the biasing power of labels. Being Sane in Insane Places 17

18 LABELING PSYCHOLOGICAL Critics argue that labels create preconceptions that guide our perceptions and our interpretations. David Rosentan (1973) studied the biasing power of labels. Being Sane in Insane Places Average hospitalization: 19 days All released with schizophrenia in remission even though they had no symptoms beyond the first day

19 LABELING PSYCHOLOGICAL A label can have a life and in influence of its own (Rosenhan 1973) In videotaped interviews, those believing the interviewee was a psychiatric or cancer patient perceived them as different from most people. But if told the interviewee was simply that, a job applicant, they perceived the person as normal. Getting a job or finding a place to rent can be a challenge for those known to be just released from prison or a mental hospital.

20 LABELING PSYCHOLOGICAL Hollywood Portrayals Further stigmatize mental disorders because Hollywood s goals are not to inform necessarily, but to entertain. Often, the most sensational characteristics of a disorder are exaggerated on the movie screen to produce emotion in the viewer. People with disorders are portrayed as objects of humor or ridicule, as homicidal maniacs, or freaks. As Good As It Gets Trailer

21 LABELING PSYCHOLOGICAL Positives Labels can be beneficial in allowing health professionals to communicate about cases, comprehend underlying causes, and to discern effective treatment programs. They also inform patient self-understandings and are useful in research that explores the causes and treatments of disordered behavior.

22 LABELING PSYCHOLOGICAL Insanity Pleas Elaine Thompson/ AP Photo Raise moral and ethical questions about how society should treat people who have disorders and have committed crimes. Theodore Kaczynski (Unabomber) 22

23 RATES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL Results of structured interviews with representative samples of thousands of citizens throughout the world U.S. National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 26% of adult Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. WHO estimated the number of prior-year mental disorders in 20 countries Lowest = Shanghai Highest = United States Immigrants to the U.S. have better mental health than their native counterparts (immigrant paradox)

24 RATES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL Who is most vulnerable? POVERTY: crosses ethnic and gender lines Does poverty cause disorders or do disorders cause poverty? BOTH The incidence of serious psychological disorders has been doubly high among those below the poverty line.

26 PEOPLE WITH BRILLIANT CAREERS WHILE ENDURING PSYCHOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES

27 CRASH COURSE PSYCH Crash Course: Psychological Disorders 27

Psychological Disorders Unit 12

Abnormal Psychology Psychological Disorders Unit 12 1 Psychological Disorders Patterns of thoughts, feelings, or actions that are deviant, distressful, and maladaptive. What is deviant, distressful, and