Download Introduction to Psychological Disorders

Module 27
INTRODUCTION TO
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Standards
 *SSPVB3: The student will identify abnormal behavior and
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treatment.
a. Identify criteria that distinguish normal from disordered
behavior; include the criteria of distress, deviance, and
dysfunction.
b. Describe methods used to diagnose and assess abnormal
behavior; include the current version of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual, the MMPI, and projective tests.
c. Compare anxiety disorders, mood disorders, personality
disorders, and schizophrenia and describe appropriate
treatments for these disorders.
d. Analyze the challenges associated with labeling psychological
disorders and the impact of diagnosis on patients.
e. Compare the biomedical, psychoanalytical, cognitive, and
behavioral approaches to the treatment of psychological
disorders.
Essential Question
 How has the labeling and diagnosis of
psychological disorders changed over time?
Defining Disorder
 What criteria do psychologists use to
diagnose psychological disorders?
 Maladaptive or destructive behavior
 Unjustifiable without a rational basis
 Disturbing; troubling to other people
 Atypical; so different that they violate a norm
Understanding Disorders
 Throughout history, different
cultures have viewed
psychological disorders
differently.
 Usually viewed as demonic
possession or punishment for
sin.
 Many patients were treated
inhumanely as a result of their
disorders.
 Philippe Pinel – French
physician (1745 – 1826) who
worked to eliminate
institutionalized brutality.
The Medical Model
 The concept that
diseases have physical
causes that can be
diagnosed, treated and
even cured.
 Assumes that mental
illnesses can be
diagnosed on the basis
of their symptoms.
 Through therapy
(medical or
psychological) these
illnesses can be cured.
The Bio-Psycho-Social Model
 A contemporary
perspective which
assumes that
biological,
psychological and
sociocultural factors
all interact to
produce
psychological
disorders
Classifying Disorders
 In order to create a sense of order within the
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discipline, psychologists classifying disorders
according to their symptoms in order to:
1. describe the disorder
2. predict the future course of the disorder
3. treat the disorder properly
4. provide a springboard for research into the
causes of the disorder.
Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders
 DSM-IV-TR – Most accepted
and widely used
classification system for
psychological disorders.
 Currently in its 4th edition.
 Classifies disorders into 17
major categories.
 Anorexia has been added as
disorder; homosexuality has
been dropped as disorder
Labeling Disorders
 What are the drawbacks and advantages in
labeling psychological disorders?
 Questions to consider:
 1. How does the labeling affect the individual?
 2. How is the labeling viewed by society?
 3. Is a psychological disorder the same as any
other physical disorder?
Classes of Disorders
 Anxiety Disorders – generalized anxiety disorder,
panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder,
obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias
 Mood Disorders – major depressive disorder,
bipolar disorder
 Dissociative Disorders – dissociative amnesia,
dissociative fugue, dissociative identify disorder
 Schizophrenia Disorders – (types of
schizophrenia) paranoid, catatonic, disorganized
and undifferentiated