Psychological Disorders: An Introduction

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Psychological DisordersAn Introduction
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Defining Disorder
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Psychological Disorders

• Psychopathologyscientific study of the origins,
  symptoms, and development of psychological
  disorders
• Psychological disorder - a pattern of behavioral
  and psychological symptoms that causes
  significant personal distress, impairs the
  ability to function in one or more important
  areas of daily life, or both

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Psychological Disorder

• A harmful dysfunction in which behaviors are
  maladaptive, unjustifiable, disturbing, and
  atypical

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MUDA

• A mnemonic device used to remember the four
  attributes of a psychological disorder
• Maladaptive
• Unjustifiable
• Disturbing
• Atypical

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Maladaptive

• An exaggeration of normal, acceptable behaviors
• Destructive to oneself or others

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Unjustifiable

• A behavior which does not have a rational basis

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Disturbing

• A behavior which is troublesome to other people

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Atypical

• A behavior so different from other peoples
  behavior that it violates a norm
• Norms vary from culture to culture

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Understanding Disorders
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Early Views of Mental Illness

• In ancient times, mental illness was usually
  explained through a supernatural model the
  person was possessed or a sinner
• During the Middle Ages treatment methods were
  inhumane and cruel

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Philippe Pinel (1745-1826)

• French physician who worked to reform the
  treatment of people with mental disorders
• Encouraged more humane treatment

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Understanding DisordersThe Medical Model
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The Medical Model

• Diseases have physical causes that can be
  diagnosed, treated, and in most cases, cured.
• Psychological disorders can be diagnosed based on
  their symptoms and treated or cured through
  therapy.
• Psychological disorders are similar to a physical
  illness.

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Understanding DisordersThe Bio-Psycho-Social
Model
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Bio-Psycho-Social Model

• Perspective of mental illness which assumes that
  biological, psychological, and sociocultural
  factors combine and interact to produce
  psychological disorders

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Bio-Psycho-Social Perspective
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Classifying Disorders
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DSM-IV

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
  Disorders Fourth Edition
• Published by the American Psychiatric Association
• The text of the DSM-IV revised, hence TR (text
  revision) at the end
• Lists and describes all the currently accepted
  specific symptoms and diagnostic guidelines for
  250 specific psychological disorders
• DSM 5 is set to be released in May 22, 2013

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Diagnosis

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
  Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)describes specific symptoms
  and diagnostic guidelines for psychological
  disorders
• Provides a common language to label mental
  disorders
• Comprehensive guidelines to help diagnose mental
  disorders

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DSM-IV-TR

• Divides mental disorders into 17 major categories
• Includes the symptoms but not the causes of each
  disease
• Has changed significantly since the first edition

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Labeling Stigmas

• Studies show a clear bias against people
  diagnosed with mental disorders.
• Rosenhan Study normal people pretended to
  hear voices and checked into a mental health
  facility then acted normally. Their normal
  actions taken to be abnormal once they were
  labeled schizophrenic.

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Prevalence

• Approximately 48 of adults experienced symptoms
  at least once in their lives
• Approximately 80 who experienced symptoms in the
  last year did NOT seek treatment
• Many people who could benefit from mental health
  treatment do not seek it.
• Most people seem to deal with symptoms without
  complete debilitation
• Women have higher prevalence of depression and
  anxiety
• Men have higher prevalence of substance abuse and
  antisocial personality disorder

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Gender Differences for Disorders
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Prevalence of Mental Disorders Worldwide
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Americans with disorders
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Are People with a Mental Illness as Violent as
the Media Portrays Them?

• People with mental disorders are often depicted
  on TV as helpless victims or evil villains who
  are unpredictable, dangerous, and violent.
• One study indicated that, overall, former mental
  patients did not have a higher rate of violence
  than a matched comparison group.
• People with severe mental disorders who are
  experiencing bizarre delusional ideas and
  hallucinated voices do have a slightly higher
  level of violent and illegal behavior than do
  normal people.