Mental Disorders

1
Mental Disorders 
2
Definition

• Mental disorders disturbances of an
  individuals behavioral or psychological
  functioning that are not culturally accepted and
  that lead to psychological distress, behavioral
  disability, and/or impaired overall functioning.
• Mental disorders- THEN AND NOW
•  

3
MODELS OF MENTAL DISORDER

• PSYCHOLOGICAL MODEL
• SOCIOLOGICAL MODEL
• DIATHESIS- STRESS MODEL

4

• Psychological model emphasizes psychological
  factors in the development of mental disorders
  learning i.e. phobias, cognition irrational
  beliefs i.e. depression, and unconscious
  forces.
• Sociological factors emphasizes external
  factors such as negative environments poverty,
  homelessness, unemployment, inferior education,
  and prejudice.
•  
• Diathesis-stress model mental disorders result
  from a predisposition for a given disorder
  (diathesis) and stressors in an individuals
  environment that tend to activate or stimulate
  the predisposition. (Example genetic factors,
  early traumatic experiences, personality traits
  predisposed an individual whether the
  individual experiences the disorder depends on
  their environment i.e. antisocial aggressive
  gene exposed to tumultuous environment
  inner-city, domestic abuse, etc).

5
Assessment and Diagnosis of Mental Disorders
DSM-IV Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorder IV
6

• It is the official diagnostic tool used by
  psychologist.This manual help psychologist to
  describe and classify mental disorders. Major
  Diagnostic Categories page 539.
• The book describes diagnostic features- symptoms
  that must be present. It looks at variations in
  age, gender, culturally related features, some
  things that are normal in one culture are not
  abnormal in others (eg. incest African tribes).
  
• Disorders are classified along five axes Axis I
  clinical disorder, Axis II personality
  disorder/mental retardation, Axis III medical
  conditions, Axis IV- psychosocial or
  environmental conditions, and Axis V- GAF
  global assessment functioning.
•  
•  

7
Limitation of the DSM-IV

• The manual is mainly descriptive doesnt
  attempt to explain.
• The manual also attaches labels to people and the
  person may then be perceived in terms of that
  label certain stigma associated.

8
CATEGORIES OF MENTAL DISORDERS
9
Disruptive Disorder

• Divided into two categories
• 1. Oppositional defiant disorder
• 2. Conduct disorder.
• The essential feature of ODD- a recurrent
  pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient,
  and hostile behavior toward authority figures
  that persists for at least 6 months.
• Usually start when children are young (ages 3 to
  7) and can lead to more serious disorder
  conduct disorder which begins somewhat later
  puberty.
•  

10
Conduct disorder

• Involves more serious antisocial behaviors that
  go beyond throwing tantrums or disobeying rules.
  
• Here the child impedes on the basic rights of
  others and violates major age-appropriate
  societal norms or rules.
• Children are seen as being aggressive towards
  people and animals, destroying property, being
  deceitful and engaging in theft, violations of
  rules i.e. running away, staying out at night,
  truant from school.

11
 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD)

• ADHD persistent pattern of inattention and/or
  hyperactivity that is more frequent and severe
  than is typically observed in individuals at a
  comparable level of development.
• Causes are both biological and psychological.
  Low birth weight, oxygen deprivation at birth,
  and alcohol or drug consumption. Psychological
  factors include parental intrusiveness or over
  stimulation parents who just cant seem to
  leave their infants alone.
• Treated with drugs Ritalin

12

Feeding and Eating Disorders

• Disturbances in eating behavior that involve
  maladaptive and unhealthy efforts to control body
  weight.
• a. Anorexia Nervosa
• Excessive and intense fear of gaining weight
  coupled with refusal to maintain a normal body
  weight.
• More common in women than in men. Why?
  Sociological factors women feel pressure to
  live up to the images of beauty shown in the
  media. Psychological control family pressures

13

• b. Bulimia
• Persons engage in recurrent episodes of binge
  eating eating huge amounts of food within short
  periods of time and then engage in some activity
  that will prevent them from gaining weight.
•  
• Usually women, and unlike anorexics, bulimics are
  of normal weight so it is harder to detect that
  something is wrong with them.
• Seem to have same sociological causes wanting
  to be thin as defined by society.

14
  Autism Pervasive Developmental Disorder

• Involve lifelong impairment in mental or physical
  functioning.
• The essential features of autism are the presence
  of
• abnormal or impaired development in social
  interaction dont use nonverbal behaviors such
  as eye contact and communication and
• a restricted repertoire of activity or interest
  repetitive pattern of behaviors.
• Children with this disorder seem to be
  preoccupied with themselves and to live in a
  private world.

15
Mood Disorders

• Demonstration of swings in mood from very
  elated to very dejected. Although we have all
  felt some level of sadness or happiness persons
  suffering from a mood disorder have swings that
  are extreme, prolonged and impair daily
  functioning.
•  

16
What constitute the diagnosis of depression?

• Major Depressive Episode
• Persons suffering from depression should have
  five or more symptoms for at least 2 consecutive
  weeks.
• Symptoms include profound unhappiness most of the
  day, nearly every day diminished interest or
  pleasure in all, or almost all activities
  eating, sports, sex significant weight loss when
  not dieting or weight gain insomnia or
  hypersomnia fatigue or loss of energy
  psychomotor agitation or retardation (feeling of
  restlessness or being slowed down) recurrent
  thoughts of death, diminished ability to think or
  concentrate.

17

• Bipolar Disorder
• Characterized by wide swings in mood between deep
  depression and mania.
• Causes biological and psychological.
  Depression runs in family this support the
  argument for biological causes.
• Research also shows that there seem to be some
  abnormality in brain biochemistry. It is found
  that levels of norepinephrine and serotonin are
  lower in the brains of those suffering from
  depression.
• They also found that these two neurotransmitters
  were higher in those suffering from mania

18

• Psychological factors learned helplessness
  beliefs that outcomes of events are out of the
  control of the individual. One result in
  feelings of learned helplessness is depression.
•  
• Negative views about oneself also lead to
  feelings of depression. These persons possess
  negative self-schemas that is negative
  conceptions of their own traits, abilities, and
  behavior.

19
Anxiety Disorders
20

• a. Phobias excessive fear that causes intense
  emotional distress and impairs daily functioning.
  
• Most common phobia is social phobia persistent
  fear of social or performance situations in which
  embarrassment may occur.
• Exposure to the social or performance situation
  almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety
  response, such as panic attack.
•  
• Causes Psychological factors learning
  classical conditioning.

21

• b. Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia
• Panic attacks are what lead to a person being
  diagnosed with a panic disorder. Panic attacks
  are characterized by periodic, unexpected attacks
  of intense, terrifying anxiety. Some panic
  attacks occur due to specific situation.
• One such case is panic disorder that is
  associated with agoraphobia, or fear of
  situations from which escape might be difficult
  or in which help may not be available. Take the
  form of intense fear of open spaces, fear of
  being in public, fear of traveling or fear of
  having a panic attack while away from home.
• Claustrophobia fear of enclosed spaces

22

• c. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Recurrent obsessions (thoughts) and compulsions
  (actions) that are severe enough to be time
  consuming or causes marked distress or
  significant impairment.
• Most common fear is those of dirt, germs, or
  touching infected people or objects, disgust over
  body waste or secretions. The compulsive actions
  include repetitive hand washing, checking doors,
  windows, water, and gas counting objects a
  precise number of times or repeating an action a
  specific number of times, and hoarding old mail,
  newspaper and other useless objects.

23

• d. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Disorder in which people persistently
  re-experience a traumatic event in their thoughts
  or dreams.
• Feel as if they are reliving the event from time
  to time.
• Persistently avoid stimuli associated with the
  traumatic event.
• Persistently experience 2 or more of the
  following symptoms of increased arousal such as
  difficulty falling or staying asleep/
  irritability or outbursts of anger, difficulty
  concentrating hypervigilance exaggerated
  startle response.

24
Somatoform Disorders

•  
• Involves experiencing physical symptoms for which
  there is no apparent physical cause.
•  

25

• a. Hypochondriasis
• Fear of having or the idea that one has a serious
  disease based on a misinterpretation of one or
  more bodily signs or symptoms.
• Even after assurance from their doctors they
  continue to worry. Many hypochondriacs are not
  faking they feel the pain and discomfort they
  report.
•  

26

• b. Munchausens syndrome
•  
• These persons are usually faking. Devote their
  lives to seeking and often obtaining costly
  and painful medical procedures they know they
  dont need.
• Why? Maybe to get attention. Persons run up
  medical bills that have to be paid by insurance.

27

• c. Conversion disorder
• Persons actually experience physical problems
  such as motor deficits (paralysis) or sensory
  deficits (blindness). No medical conditions to
  account for deficits.
•  
• Causes Psychological factors focus on inner
  sensations they tend to perceive normal bodily
  sensations as being more intense and disturbing
  than most people. Tend to be highly negativistic
  low self-esteem.
• Sociological factors persons learn that they
  will get more attention and better treatment
  patients are reinforced.

28
 Sexual Disorders

• Sexual dysfunction is characterized by a
  disturbance in the process that characterize the
  sexual response cycle (attain orgasm, erections)
  or by pain associated with sexual intercourse.
• Sexual desire disorder involves a lack of
  interest in sex or active aversion to sexual
  activity. Persons report that they rarely have
  sexual fantasies and that they avoid almost all
  sexual activity and this causes them distress.

29

• Sexual arousal disorder involves the inability to
  attain or maintain an erection (male erectile
  disorder) or the absence of vaginal swelling and
  lubrication (female sexual arousal disorder).
• Orgasm disorder includes the delay or absence of
  orgasms in both sexes (female/male orgasmic
  disorder) and premature ejaculation (reaching
  orgasm too quickly) in males.

30
Sexual pain disorders

• Dyspareunia genital pain that is associated
  with sexual intercourse in either males or
  females. Causes marked distress.
• Vaginismus recurrent or persistent involuntary
  spasm of the musculature of the outer third of
  the vagina that interferes with sexual
  intercourse. Causes marked distress.

31
Paraphilias

• Recurrent and intense sexually arousing
  fantasies, sexual urges or behaviors generally
  involving
• nonhuman objects,
• the suffering or humiliation of oneself or ones
  partner, or
• children or other non-consenting persons that
  occurs over a period of at least 6 months. These
  things are necessary for sexual arousal.

32
Gender Identity Disorders

• These persons feel that they were born with the
  wrong sexual identity.
• Identify with the opposite sex and show
  preference in cross-dressing. Many of these
  people undergo sex-change operations sexual
  organs are altered to resemble the other gender.
  
• People usually undergo years of hormonal therapy
  and counseling before the actual therapy.
•