Download Ch. 12: Psychological Disorders (page 1)

Causation of Disorders
Ch. 12 Psychological Disorders Page 1
In some cultures—madness is interpreted as being possessed by animal spirits or demons or as
G-d punishing someone for disobeying him.
In our culture—it’s not uncommon for people with psychological disorders to be treated as
criminals, imprisoned.
In the past 200 years—we see psy. disorders through a medical model where we:
Conceptualize psy. disorders as diseases that like a physical disease have biological causes,
defined symptoms and possible cures.
The concern with the medical model is that not every abnormal idea suggests abnormality and
has an underlying disease.
Classification of Disorders
In 1952—first version of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was
published with a revision in 1968 (DSM-II)
Currently we have DMS V
Review page 553 of text: Table for DSM-IV Categories of Mental Disorders
A disorder is manifested in symptoms that involve disturbances in behavior, thoughts or
emotions.
The symptoms are associated with significant personal distress or impairment.
He symptoms stem from an internal dysfunction (biological, psychological or both)
The medical model suggests that each
category of psy. disorder has likely to have a
common prognosis which is atypical course
over time and amenable to treatment and a
cure.
However—the medical model is an oversimiplification and rarely useful to focus on a
single cause that is internal to the person and
suggesting a single cure.
We need an integrated model that incorporate
biological, psychological and environmental
factors to understand psy. disorders.
Biological genetic, biochemical imbalances
and structural abnormalities of the brain.
Psychological  focuses on maladaptive
learning and coping, cognitive biases,
dysfunctional attitudes and interpersonal
problems.
Environmental  factors
like
poor
socialization, stressful life circumstances,
cultural and social inequities.
One can become depressed form biological
causes (genetics, hormones) or because of
psychological reasons ( poor strategies for
coping, loss) or environmental like being
lonely.
Most disorders have a combination of causes:
Psychological disorders exist on a continuum – from normal to abnormal.
Diagnosis includes a global assessment of functioning: 0 to 100 rating
Internal
(biological)
(environmental)
One can suffer from more than one disorder: Someone who is depressed may also have
an anxiety disorder.
The theory that accounts for both causes is
called:
We call this co-occurrence or comorbidity
Diathesis Stress Model:
you maybe
predisposed for a psychological disorder that
remains unexpressed until triggered by stress.
Labeling: Psychiatric labels can have negative consequences like being stigmatized or
stereotyped.
About 70% of people with diagnosable psy. disorders do not seek treatment.
Labeling will affect how someone views themself—and they could become hopeless or
helpless as a result.
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