Chapter Seven: Psychological Disorders and Treatment Techniques

CHAPTER SEVEN
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS AND TREATMENT

TECHNIQUES
Brainstorming Questions
Dear students, discuss over the following points.
•  Have you observed a behavior of a person who behaves di

fferently from others in your locality? What kind of name
they are given? Why?
•  Do people who behave differently are all the same in th

eir personality?
•  Do you think behavioral problems can be curable?

7.1 Nature of Psychological Disorder
s
Criteria of determining Person with psychological problems/disorders
There are three criteria that are used to identify peoples’ psychol
ogical problems.
These are:-
1. Abnormality
2. Maladaptiveness, and
3. Personal distress
Abnormality
Abnormal behavior is a behavior that deviates from the behavior

of the ‘typical‘ person; the norm.
Maladaptiveness
Maladaptive behavior in one way or another creates a social, pe
rsonal and occupational problem on those who exhibit the behavio
rs.
These behaviors seriously disrupt the day-to-day activities of

individuals that can increase the problem more.
Personal Distress
Our subjective feelings of

anxiety,
stress,
tension and other unpleasant emotions
 All the above criteria are not sufficient to determine individ

ual has psychological problem or disorder but behavior that is
abnormal, maladaptive, or personally distressing might indicate
that a person has a psychological disorder.
7.2. Causes of Psychological Disorders (Based on Perspectiv
es)
7.2.1 The Biological Perspective
Abnormalities in the working of chemicals in the brain, called

neurotransmitters, may contribute to many psychological disorde
rs.
For example, over activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine, per

haps caused by an overabundance of certain dopamine receptors in
the brain, has been linked to the bizarre symptoms of schizophre
nia.
7.2.2 Psychological Perspectives
1. Psychoanalytic perspective
2. Learning perspectives, and
3. Cognitive behavioral perspectives.

Psychoanalytic perspective
• Sigmund Freud, believed that the human mind consists of three in
teracting forces:
the id
the ego
the superego
Abnormal behavior, in Freud’s view, is caused by the ego’s inab

ility to manage the conflict between the opposing demands of the
id and the superego.
Learning perspective
• People acquire abnormal behaviors through the various kinds of
learning.
Cognitive perspective
The main theme of this perspective is that self-defeating though

ts lead to the development of negative emotions and self-destruc
tive behaviors.
7.3. Types of Psychological Disorder
s
A psychological disorder is a condition characterized by:
 abnormal thoughts,
 feelings, and
behaviors.
Psychopathology is the study of psychological disorders, in
cluding:
Symptoms
etiology (causes), and
 treatment.
1) Mood Disorders
Mood disorders are characterized by a serious change in mood from de
pressed to elevated feelings causing disruption to life activities.
The disorders include
• Major Depression,
• Dysthymic Disorder,
• Bipolar Disorder, and
• Cyclothymia.
A) Major Depression
characterized by:
• depressed mood,
• diminished interest in activities previously enjoyed,
• weight disturbance,
• sleep disturbance,
• loss of energy,
• difficulty concentrating,
• feelings of hopelessness and
• thoughts of suicide.
B) Dysthymia
• often considered a lesser, but more persistent form of depre
ssion.
• Many of the symptoms are similar except to a lesser degree.

C) Bipolar Disorder
characterized by periods of
• extreme highs (mania) and extreme lows as in Major Depress
ion.
• It is subtyped either I (extreme or hypermanic episodes) o
r II (moderate or hypomanic episodes).
D) Cyclothymia:
Like Dysthymia and Major Depression, Cyclothymia is consider
ed a lesser form of Bipolar Disorder.
2) Anxiety Disorders
• Anxiety disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness or
anxiousness, and involve excessive fear.
• Anxiety disorders can cause people into trying to avoid situatio

ns that trigger or worsen their symptoms. Job performance, schoo
l work and personal relationships can be affected.
• In general, for a person to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, the fear or anxi
ety must:
 Be out of proportion to the situation or age inappropriate
 Hinder your ability to function normally

Types of Anxiety Disorder
a) Panic Disorder: is characterized by a series of panic attacks
. A panic attack is an inappropriate intense feeling of fear
or discomfort including many of the following symptoms:
heart palpitations,
trembling,
shortness of breath,
chest pain,
dizziness.
b) Agoraphobia: literally means fear of the marketplace.
It refers to a series of symptoms where the person fears, and

often avoids, situations where escape or help might not be av
ailable, such as shopping centers, grocery stores, or other p
ublic place.
c) Specific or Simple Phobia and Social Phobia: represent an

intense fear and often an avoidance of a specific situation,
person, place, or thing.
To be diagnosed with a phobia, the person must have suffered

significant negative consequences because of this fear and it
must be disruptive to their everyday life.
d) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by obses
sions (thoughts which seem uncontrollable) and compulsions (beha
viors which act to reduce the obsession).
Most people think of compulsive hand washers or people with an i

ntense fear of dirt or of being infected.
These obsessions and compulsions are disruptive to the person's

everyday life, with sometimes hours being spent each day repeati
ng things, which were completed successfully already such as che
cking, counting, cleaning, or bathing.
e) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): occurs only after a per
son is exposed to a traumatic event where their life or someone e
lse's life is threatened.
The most common examples are war, natural disasters, major accide
nts, and severe child abuse.
f) Generalized Anxiety Disorder is diagnosed when a person has ex

treme anxiety in nearly every part of their life.
It is not associated with just open places (as in agoraphobia), s

pecific situations (as in specific phobia), or a traumatic event
(as in PTSD).
3) Personality Disorders
• A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which yo

u have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning a
nd behaving.
• Personality Disorders are characterized by an enduring pattern

of thinking, feeling, and behaving which is significantly diffe
rent from the person's culture and results in negative conseque
nces.
Types of Personality Disorder
1) Paranoid (includes a pattern of distrust and suspiciousness).
2) Schizoid (pattern of detachment from social norms and a restriction o

f emotions).
3) Schizotypal (pattern of discomfort in close relationships and eccentr

ic thoughts and behaviors).
4) Antisocial (pattern of disregard for the rights of others, including

violation of these rights and the failure to feel empathy).
5) Borderline (pattern of instability in personal relationships, including fre
quent bouts of clinginess and affection and anger and resentment, often cyclin
g between these two extremes rapidly).
6) Histrionic (pattern of excessive emotional behavior and attention seeking).
7) Narcissistic (pattern of grandiosity, exaggerated self-worth, and need for

admiration).
8) Avoidant (pattern of feelings of social inadequacies, low self-esteem, and

hypersensitivity to criticism).
9) Obsessive-Compulsive (pattern of obsessive cleanliness, perfection, and con

trol).
7.4 Treatment Techniques
• Treatment of mental illnesses can take various forms.
• They can include medication, talk-therapy, a combination

of both, and can last only one session or take many year
s to complete.
• There are many different types of treatment are availabl

e, but most agree that the core components of psychother
apy remain the same.
Psychotherapy consists of the follow
ing
1. A positive, healthy relationship between a client or p
atient and a trained psychotherapist
2. Recognizable mental health issues, whether diagnosable

or not
3. Agreement on the basic goals of treatment
4. Working together as a team to achieve these goals

Treatment Approaches
• Providing psychological treatment to individuals with some kind o
f psychological problems is psychotherapy. When providing psychot
herapy, there are several issues to be considered.
First and foremost is empathy.

Second, being non-judgmental is vital if the relationship and tre
atment are going to work.
The three main branches (Approaches) include:
Cognitive:
Behavioral, and
Dynamic.
Treatment Modalities
Individual Therapy
Group Therapy

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CHAPTER SEVEN

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS AND TREATMENT

•  Have you observed a behavior of a person who behaves di

•  Do people who behave differently are all the same in th

•  Do you think behavioral problems can be curable?

Abnormal behavior is a behavior that deviates from the behavior

These behaviors seriously disrupt the day-to-day activities of

Our subjective feelings of

 All the above criteria are not sufficient to determine individ

7.2.1 The Biological Perspective

Abnormalities in the working of chemicals in the brain, called

For example, over activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine, per

2. Learning perspectives, and

3. Cognitive behavioral perspectives.

Abnormal behavior, in Freud’s view, is caused by the ego’s inab

The main theme of this perspective is that self-defeating though

etiology (causes), and

The disorders include

• Many of the symptoms are similar except to a lesser degree.

• Anxiety disorders can cause people into trying to avoid situatio

 Hinder your ability to function normally

It refers to a series of symptoms where the person fears, and

c) Specific or Simple Phobia and Social Phobia: represent an

To be diagnosed with a phobia, the person must have suffered

Most people think of compulsive hand washers or people with an i

These obsessions and compulsions are disruptive to the person's

f) Generalized Anxiety Disorder is diagnosed when a person has ex

It is not associated with just open places (as in agoraphobia), s

• A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which yo

• Personality Disorders are characterized by an enduring pattern

2) Schizoid (pattern of detachment from social norms and a restriction o

3) Schizotypal (pattern of discomfort in close relationships and eccentr

4) Antisocial (pattern of disregard for the rights of others, including

6) Histrionic (pattern of excessive emotional behavior and attention seeking).

7) Narcissistic (pattern of grandiosity, exaggerated self-worth, and need for

8) Avoidant (pattern of feelings of social inadequacies, low self-esteem, and

9) Obsessive-Compulsive (pattern of obsessive cleanliness, perfection, and con

• They can include medication, talk-therapy, a combination

• There are many different types of treatment are availabl

2. Recognizable mental health issues, whether diagnosable

3. Agreement on the basic goals of treatment

4. Working together as a team to achieve these goals

First and foremost is empathy.

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