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Stress, Coping and Health
Stress and Health
• Leading causes of death in the US in 1900 and 1991
Percentage
U.S.deaths
Percentage
U.S.deaths
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
Tuberculosis
Pneu- Diarrhea/ Heart
monia enteritis disease
1900
Unlike many leading
killers a century ago,
today’s major
killers are more
lifestyle-related
Heart Cancer
disease
Strokes Chronic
lung disease
1991
What is Stress?
• Stress
Stressors
Catastrophes
Life changes
Hassles
Intervening
factors
Appraisal
Perceived control
Personality
Social support
Coping behaviors
Stress
reactions
Physiological
Emotional
Behavioral
– the process by
which we perceive
and respond to
certain events,
called stressors, that
we appraise as
threatening or
challenging
Stressful Life Events
• Catastrophic Events
– earthquakes, combat stress, floods
• Life Changes
– death of a loved one, divorce, loss of job, promotion
• Daily Hassles
– rush hour traffic, long lines, job stress, burnout
• Perceived Control
– loss of control can increase stress hormones
Measuring Life Changes
 Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
–
–
–
–
Outline of 43 life events from most to least stressful
Point value assigned to each event
Negative and positive events both cause stress
Point totals describe impact of stress and chance of illness over a
two-year period
– Score of 150-300: 50% chance of stress-related illness within 2
years
– Score of 300+: 80% chance of stress-related illness within 2 years
– Change in one’s life requires an effort to adapt and then an effort to
regain stability
 Shortcomings of SRRS include:
– Individual’s coping styles not taken into account
– Good coping strategies reduce impact of each stressful event
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Responding to Stress

The General Adaptation Syndrome
– The predictable sequence of reactions (stages) that organisms show in
response to stressors
1. Alarm Stage
 Burst of energy that aids in dealing with the stressful situation
 Adrenal cortex releases hormones called glucocorticoids
 Increased heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels
2. Resistance stage
 Intense physiological efforts to either resist or adapt
 Glucocorticoids continue to be released
 Length of stage based on stressor intensity and ability to adapt
3. Exhaustion stage
 Occurs if an organism fails in its efforts to resist the stressor
 Stores of energy are depleted
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The General Adaptation Syndrome
The Immune System and Stress
 Lymphocytes
– Key components of the immune system in the white
blood cells, including B and T cells
– B cells: produced in the bone marrow
Produce antibody proteins
–Destroy antigens in the bloodstream and
surrounding body tissues
– T cells: produced in the thymus gland
Defeat harmful foreign invaders that reside inside
the body’s cells
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The Immune System and Stress
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The Immune System and Stress
 Periods of high stress are correlated with:
– Oral and genital herpes
– Susceptibility to colds and flu
– Potential reduction in the effectiveness of vaccines
– Decreased levels of B and T cells
– Worsened autoimmune diseases
– Increased illness behaviors (reporting and seeking medical
care)
– Suppressed immune system long after a stressful event is over
Increased academic pressures, poor marital relationships,
severe depression, and sleep deprivation due to suppressed
immune system
Severe bereavement affects physical and mental ailments
up to 2 years following a partner’s death
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Stress and Disease
• Negative emotions and health-related
consequences
Heart
disease
Negative
emotions
Stress
hormones
Immune
suppression
Autonomic nervous
system effects
Unhealthy behaviors
(smoking, drinking,
poor nutrition and sleep)
(headaches,
hypertension)
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Coping Strategies
 Coping
– Efforts through action and thought to deal with demands
that are perceived as taxing or overwhelming
 Problem-focused coping
– Direct response aimed at reducing, modifying, or
eliminating a source of stress
After getting a poor grade, student decides to study
harder or get a tutor
 Emotion-focused coping
– A response involving reappraising of a stressor to reduce
its emotional impact
View loss of a job as a challenge or opportunity not a
tragedy
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Coping Strategies
Defensive coping
• Use of defense mechanisms as protection against the
unpleasant emotions brought on by stress.
• Small illusions may be beneficial, large distortions are
maladaptive.
•
•
•
•
Constructive coping
Confront problems directly
Realistic appraisal of stress and coping resources
Learn to recognize and stop disruptive emotional reactions
Make efforts to protect the body from the damaging effects
of stress
Personal Factors Reducing
The Impact of Stress and Illness
 Optimism
– Cope more effectively with stress
– Reduced risk of illness
– Generally expect good outcomes
– Find positives even in the darkest circumstances
– Generally more stress resistant
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Personal Factors Reducing
The Impact of Stress and Illness
 Hardiness
–
A combination of three psychological qualities shared by
people who can handle high levels of stress and remain
healthy
1. Commitment
 To both work and personal life
2. Control
 Do not see themselves as victims of what life brings
 Believe they have control over consequences and outcomes
3. Challenge
 Act to solve their own problems
 Welcome challenges in life
 View challenges as opportunities for growth and improvement
Personal Factors Reducing
The Impact of Stress and Illness

Social Support
– Tangible and/or emotional support provided in time
of need by family members, friends, and others
– The feeling of being loved, valued, and cared for by
those toward whom we feel a similar obligation
– Has a positive effect on the immune, cardiovascular,
and endocrine systems
– Encourages health-promoting behaviors and reduces
impact of stress
 Less likely to use unhealthy methods of coping
 Relaxation Techniques
Health psychology
– Devoted to understanding the
psychological influences on:
How people stay healthy
Why they become ill
How they respond when they do
get ill
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The Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Stress
 Focuses on health as well as
on illness
 Holds that both are
determined by a
combination of biological,
psychological, and social
factors
 Most health psychologists
endorse this model
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rights reserved.
Psychological Disorders
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Defining Psychological Disorders
Psychological Disorders
– Mental processes and/or behavior patterns that cause:
Emotional distress
Substantial impairment in functioning
What is abnormal?
– Is the behavior considered strange within the person’s own
culture?
 What is normal in some cultures is abnormal in others
– Does the behavior cause personal distress?
 Experiencing considerable emotional distress without any life
experience that seems to be causing it.
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Four Criteria for Abnormal Behavior
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Defining Psychological Disorders
• Abnormal Behavior: patterns of emotion,
thought, & action considered pathological for
one or more of four reasons:
• statistical infrequency
• disability or dysfunction
• personal distress
• violation of norms
Defining Psychological Disorders
• Dysfunction is key to defining a
disorder: An intense fear of
spiders may be deviant, but if it
doesn’t impair your life (ability to
function) it is not a disorder.
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Psychological Disorders
Insanity – legal term applied when
people cannot be held responsible for
their actions or allowed to manage
their own affairs because of mental
illness.
-- Mental health professionals
do not use this term.
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Classifying Psychological Disorders

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th
Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR)
– First published in 1952
– 300 specific disorders listed along with
criteria to make a diagnosis
– Authoritative scheme for classifying
psychological disorders.
– Insurance companies usually require a
DSM-IV-TR diagnosis before they pay
for therapy.
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DSM-IV-TR The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-Text
Revision was revised in 2000 with updated research. Since
then, the lengthy process of assembling DSM-V has begun.
It is a collaborative effort involving several mental health
organizations, including the American Psychiatric
Association and the World Health Organization. One key
goal of DSM-V is to incorporate the multidisciplinary
Research advances in mental health that have occurred
worldwide in recent years. DSM-V is scheduled to be
published in 2012 (Fink & Taylor, 2008).
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Information provided by the DSM-IV-TR
•
•
•
•
•
Diagnostic features
Specific cultural, age and gender features
Prevalence
Course of the disorder
Familial pattern
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Figure 14.1Sample DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria Each of the more than 250 psychological disorders
described in DSM-IV-TR has specific criteria that must be met in order for a person to be diagnosed with that
disorder. Shown above are the DSM-IV-TR criteria for antisocial personality disorder, which is also referred
to as psychopathy, sociopathy, or dyssocial personality disorder. The number 301.7 identifies the specific
disorder according to an international code developed by the World Health Organization. The code helps
researchers make statistical comparisons of the prevalence of mental disorders in different countries
and cultures.
Source: DSM-IV-TR (2000), p. 706.
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Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Disorder: unrealistic, irrational
fear
Major Anxiety Disorders:
1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
2. Panic Disorder
3. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
4. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
5. Phobias
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic,
excessive worry for at least six months or
more.
– Worrying either has no cause or is greatly
exaggerated.
– People feel tense, irritable and have trouble
concentrating and sleeping.
– Twice as common in women than men.
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Panic Disorder
• An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable
minutes-long episodes of intense fear and other
frightening sensations (heart pounding,
shortness of breath, choking sensations,
dizziness)
• Visit doctors and emergency rooms quite frequently
• Person is often left with fear of having another
panic attack
• Can lead to agoraphobia-intense fear of being
in a situation from which no escape is possible
if the person experienced a panic attack.
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
 Anxiety disorder in which a person suffers from
recurrent obsession, compulsions, or both
 Obsession
– Persistent, involuntary thoughts, images, or
impulse that invades consciousness and causes
great distress
Contamination by germs
Whether they performed a specific action
– Turning off the stove or locking the door
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Compulsion
– A persistent, irresistible, and irrational urge to
perform an act or ritual repeatedly
– Individuals know the act is senseless but cannot
resist performing it without experiencing
intolerable anxiety
Anxiety is relieved only by doing the action
– Becomes a psychological problem only if:
The person cannot resist performing it
It is very time-consuming
It interferes with normal activities and
relationships with others
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• Examples of obsessions:
– Concern for order and constancy
– Cleanliness (body or living space)
– Forbidden sexual thoughts
• Examples of compulsions:
– Hand washing
– Checking
– Collecting
– Repeating behaviors (in and out of a door)
– Arranging things
– Cleaning
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Explaining Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(OCD)
 75% of OCD involves cleaning and checking
 2-3% of U.S. population
 Twin and family studies indicate genetic factors
 Genes affecting serotonin are suspected of causing
OCD
 Antidepressant drugs that increase serotonin levels
often helpful
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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Typically occurs after a traumatic event (especially
crimes, war)
– Symptoms include re-experiencing trauma (dreams,
flashbacks), avoidance of anything associated with trauma,
and constant state of jumpy anxiety
– Sense of having no control over the traumatic event
– “the world is a dangerous place”
• Drug abuse is high w/ PTSD
– Negative reinforcement (avoidance of symptoms with use)
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)
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Phobias
• An anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear of
specific situations or objects.
• The individual knows the fear is irrational.
• Common phobias include animals, heights, closed
places, needles
• Social phobias
– An irrational fear and avoidance of any social or
performance situation in which one might
embarrass or humiliate oneself in front of others
Shaking, blushing, sweating, or appearing
clumsy, foolish, or incompetent
– Most common type of anxiety disorder
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Phobias
• Specific phobias- A marked fear of a specific object
or situation.
– Phobic items include (ordered by frequency of
occurrence):
Situational phobias (elevators, airplanes,
enclosed places, tunnels)
Fear of natural environment (storms or water)
Animal phobias (dogs, snakes, insects, or mice)
Blood injection-injury phobia (fear of seeing
blood or receiving an injection
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EXAMPLES OF PHOBIC DISORDERS
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McGraw-Hill Education.
15-46
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Phobias
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPFQM
Rx2l3Y
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44DCW
slbsNM&feature=fvwrel
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Anxiety Disorders
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Dissociative Disorders
Disorders in which, under unbearable stress,
consciousness becomes dissociated from a
person’s identity, her/his memories of important
personal events, or both
• Types of Dissociative Disorders:
– Dissociative Amnesia
– Dissociative Fugue
– Depersonalization Disorder
– Dissociative Identity Disorder
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Dissociative Disorders
 Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
– Two or more distinct, unique personalities occur in the same
person
– Severe memory disruption concerning personal information
about the other personalities
– Change usually occurs suddenly and during stress
– In 80% of cases, host personality doesn’t know alter
personalities
– Alter personalities have varying levels of awareness of each
other
– Lost time – periods with no memory while in alter personality
– 95% have history of severe physical and/or sexual abuse
– Previously known as multiple personality disorder
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Schizophrenia
 Psychosis
• A condition characterized by loss of contact with reality
• Schizophrenia is the chief example of a psychotic disorder.
Schizophrenia
• A severe psychological disorder characterized by loss of
contact with reality, hallucinations, delusions, inappropriate or
flat affect, some disturbance in thinking, social withdrawal,
and/or other bizarre behavior
• Includes a class of disorders
• Prevalence rate—1% of the population
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Symptoms of Schizophrenia
• Delusions and irrational thought
– Delusions are false beliefs that are maintained
even though they are clearly out of touch with
reality.
• Distorted perceptions (Hallucinations)
– Sensory perceptions that occur in the absence of
real stimulus. Usually auditory.
• Disturbed emotions
– Some show a flattening of emotion.
– Some show inappropriate emotional responses.
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Symptoms of Schizophrenia
– Positive symptoms: (known by their presence)
• delusions, hallucinations, abnormal
movements, or thought disorders.
– Negative symptoms: (characterized by absence)
• social withdrawal, lack of affect, and reduced
motivation.
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Types of Schizophrenia
Paranoid Schizophrenia
– Characterized by delusions of grandeur or
persecution and hallucinations.
– Convinced they have an identity other than their
own or that they possess great ability or talent
– Often show exaggerated anger and suspiciousness
– Feel they are being harassed or threatened
– Behavior is not as disturbed as other types
– The chance for recovery is better
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Types of Schizophrenia
 Catatonic schizophrenia
– Complete stillness or stupor
– Great excitement or agitation
– Frequently alternate rapidly between the two
– May assume an unusual posture
Remain in the pose for long periods of time
 Undifferentiated schizophrenia
– Catchall term used when schizophrenic symptoms either:
Do not conform to the criteria of any one type of
schizophrenia or
Conform to more than one type
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Types of Schizophrenia
 Disorganized Schizophrenia
– Most serious type
– Extreme social withdrawal
– Hallucinations and delusions
– Silliness
– Inappropriate laughter
– Grotesque mannerisms
– Flat or inappropriate affect
– Frequently incoherent
– May exhibit obscene behavior
– Results in the most severe disintegration of personality
– Poorest chance of recovery
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Copyright © 2004 Allyn and Bacon
Causes of Schizophrenia
• Genetic vulnerability
– Evidence suggests heredity plays a role
– Identical twins concordance rates-48%
– Offspring of two schizophrenic parents has
about a 46% probability of developing the
condition.
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Genetic Similarity and Probability of
Developing Schizophrenia
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Causes of Schizophrenia
• Effects of Prenatal environment
– Malnutrition
– Prenatal viral infections and birth
complications
• Effects of the family environment
– Results of research shows that a degree of
disorganized communication at home that
does not harm most children may have
damaging effects on those genetically
predisposed to schizophrenia
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Mood Disorders
Mood-A prolonged emotional state that colors
a person’s thoughts and behavior.
Mood Disorder-Characterized by extreme
disturbances in emotion or mood.
DSM-IV identifies two main categories:
Depressive Disorders-prolonged depression
Bipolar Disorders-alternate between extreme
depression and extreme elation (mania)
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Mood Disorders
 Major Depressive Disorder
– Marked by feelings of great sadness, despair, and
hopelessness as well as the loss of the ability to
experience pleasure
– Symptoms
Changes in appetite, weight, or sleep patterns
Loss of energy
Difficulty in thinking or concentrating
Present for at least 2 weeks
Psychomotor disturbances
– Slowed body movements, reaction time, and
speech
– Constant movement, fidgeting, wringing of hands,
and pacing
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Culture, Gender, and Depression




Rate of depression for females twice that for males
Largely due to conflicting roles of wife, mother, lover, friend, etc.
Boys twice as likely before puberty; after, females twice as likely
Women more likely to face negative consequences from depression
Lifetime Risk for Developing Depression in 10 Countries
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder
 A mood disorder in which manic episodes alternate with periods of
depression
 Usually with relatively normal periods in between
 Manic episodes are characterized by
– Excessive euphoria
– Inflated self-esteem
– Wild optimism
– Hyperactivity
– Frequently have delusions of grandeur along with euphoric highs
– May waste large sums of money on get-rich schemes
– Likely become irritable, hostile, enraged, or dangerous if stopped
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKV5slC
DYs8&NR=1
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Causes of Mood Disorders
Neurological Correlates
– Heredity and abnormal brain structure and chemistry
Abnormal levels of serotonin linked to depression and
suicide
Neurotransmitter abnormalities may reflect genetic
variations
Heritability of depressive disorder is 70%, environment
30%
– Twins of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder:
50% of identical twins also diagnosed
7% of fraternal twins also diagnosed
Causes of Mood Disorders
• Psychological factors
– Cognitive distortions
• Maladaptive response to early negative life
events that leads to feelings of
incompetence and unworthiness
– These responses are reactivated whenever a
new situation arises that resembles the
original events
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Suicide
• 19,000 people commit suicide in the U.S.
every year, the 11th leading cause of death
• More women than men attempt suicide,
but more men succeed
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Suicide and Race, Gender, and Age
 Mood disorders, schizophrenia, and substance abuse
are major risk factors for suicide in all age groups
 Suicide rates far lower for white and African American
women than for men
 Older Americans are at far greater risk than young people
 90% of individuals who commit suicide leave clues
– Verbally: “You won’t be seeing me again”
– Behavioral: giving away most valued possessions
– Taking unnecessary risks
– Showing personality changes
– Losing interest in favorite activities
 Warning signs should be taken seriously
 Encourage them to get professional help or call 24-hour
hotline
Personality Disorders
• A long-standing, inflexible, maladaptive
pattern of behaving and relating to others,
which usually begins in early childhood or
adolescence
• Approximately 3% of men and 1% of women
have a personality disorder
• Rate among prisoners is close to 50%
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Personality Disorders
Characteristics of personality disorders
 Extremely difficult to get along with
 Unstable work and social histories
 Know their behavior causes problems, yet seem unable to
change
 Blame other people or situations for their problems
 Treatment options are few
– Most seek treatment by legal authorities or family members
– Seldom engage in self-reflection essential for success
 Psychological and behavioral factors that lead to a personality
disorder diagnosis may be resolved to some degree or become
less severe over time
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Personality Disorders
• Three clusters
– Dramatic, Emotional: Histrionic
Narcissistic
Antisocial
Borderline
– Anxious, Fearful: Avoidant
Dependent
Obsessive-Compulsive
Odd, Eccentric:
Paranoid
Schizoid
Schizotypal
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Personality Disorder
• Antisocial Personality Disorder
– Most troubling and heavily researched
personality disorder
– Disregards rights, feelings; manipulates, etc.
without remorse
– Aggressive, irresponsible, reckless, willing to
break the law
– Breaks the law, lies, cheats, exploits, and fails
to hold jobs
– Typically a male, whose lack of conscience
becomes plain before age 15
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Paranoid Personality Disorder
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Symptoms of Paranoid Personality Disorder
Paranoid personality disorder is characterized by a pervasive distrust and
suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as
malevolent. This usually begins in early adulthood and presents in a variety
of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
Suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or
deceiving him or her
Is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of
friends or associates
Is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the
information will be used maliciously against him or her
Reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or
events
Persistently bears grudges (i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights)
Perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent
to others, and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack
Has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or
sexual partner
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Narcissistic Personality Disorder
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Symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder
In order for a person to be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)
they must meet five or more of the following symptoms:
Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and
talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty,
or ideal love
Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or
should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
Requires excessive admiration
Has a very strong sense of entitlement, e.g., unreasonable expectations
of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or
her expectations
Is exploitative of others, e.g., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own
ends
Lacks empathy, e.g., is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs
of others
Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
Regularly shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
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Somatoform Disorders
 Disorders in which physical symptoms are present due to
psychological causes rather than any known medical condition
 People with somatoform disorders are not faking illness to avoid
work or other activities
 Hypochondriasis
– Persons preoccupied with their health; fear their physical
symptoms are the sign of some serious disease
– Not convinced when medical examination reveals no problem
– Symptoms are not consistent with known physical disorders
– May “doctor shop,” seeking confirmation of their worst fears
– Not easily treated
.
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Somatoform Disorders
 Conversion Disorder
– A person suffers a loss of motor or sensory functioning
in some part of the body
– Loss has no physical cause but solves some
psychological problem
– May become blind, deaf, unable to speak, or paralysis
in some part of the body
– Freud believed it is an unconscious process to help
solve an unconscious sexual or aggressive conflict
.
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Therapies
Psychodynamic therapies
– Attempt to uncover childhood experiences
that are thought to explain a patient’s
current difficulties
Psychoanalysis
–Freud’s first psychodynamic therapy
–Uses free association and dream
analysis
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Psychodynamic Therapies
 Free association
– Technique used to explore the unconscious by
having patients reveal whatever thoughts, feelings,
or images come to mind
Analyst pieces together the free-flowing
associations, explaining their meanings
Helps the patient gain insight into troubling
thoughts and behaviors
 Dream analysis
– Areas of repressed emotional concerns expressed
symbolically in dreams
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Humanistic Therapies
Assume people have the ability and freedom to lead rational lives and
make rational choices
Person-Centered Therapy
– A nondirective, humanistic therapy
 Developed by Carl Rogers
– Therapist creates an accepting climate and shows empathy
 Unconditional positive regard
– Frees clients to be themselves, releasing their natural tendency
toward self-actualization
– Psychological disorders result when a person’s natural tendency
towards self-actualization is blocked by oneself or others
– Therapist empathizes with client’s concerns and emotions
 Reflecting listening used in responses, allowing the client to
control the direction of the sessions
.
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Behavior Therapies
 Based on the idea that abnormal idea is learned
 Applies the principles of operant and classical conditioning, or
observational learning
 Eliminate inappropriate or maladaptive behaviors and replace
them with more adaptive responses
– Doesn’t change the individual’s personality structure or
search for the origin of the problem
 Behavior modification
– Uses learning principles to eliminate inappropriate or
maladaptive behaviors and replace them with more adaptive
responses
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Behavior Therapies
Systematic desensitization
 Used to treat fears by training clients in deep muscle relaxation
 Then they confront a hierarchy of anxiety producing situations
(Real or Imagined)
 Repeated until they remain relaxed even in the most feared
situation
 Highly successfully treatment for eliminating fears and phobias
in a short period of time
Exposure and response prevention
 A behavior therapy that exposes clients with obsessivecompulsive disorder to stimuli that trigger obsessions and
compulsive rituals
 While clients resist performing the compulsive rituals for
progressively longer periods of time
.
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Cognitive Therapies
Assume maladaptive behavior can result from irrational thoughts,
beliefs, and ideas
– Often called cognitive-behavioral approach
– Combine cognitive insight with methodological behavioral
approach
– Therapists seek to change the way clients think
Determine effectiveness by assessing changes in the
client’s behavior
– Effective in treatment of:
Anxiety disorders
Hypochondriasis
Psychological drug dependence
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Cognitive Therapies
 Beck’s cognitive therapy
– Therapist identifies and challenges irrational thoughts
– Sets up a plan and guides the client so life experiences become
evidence to refute false beliefs
– Homework assignments given to track automatic thoughts and
feelings evoked by them; clients write substitute rational thoughts
– Brief, lasting 10-20 sessions
– Extensive research demonstrates high success rate with:
 Mild to moderate depression
 Panic disorder
 Generalized anxiety disorder
 Cocaine addiction, insomnia, and bulimia
 Negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia
 Less likely to relapse than those treated with antidepressant drugs
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Education, Inc. All rights
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Biomedical Therapies
 Therapy based on the assumption that psychological disorders
are symptoms of underlying physical problems
 Includes drug therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and
psychosurgery
 Millions of people take medications for psychological problems
 Drug therapy
– Antipsychotic drugs
Drugs used to control severe psychotic symptoms
– Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and
behavior
Inhibiting dopamine activity
– 50% of patients have a good response
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Biological Therapies
 Antipsychotic drugs
– Atypical neuroleptics (newer drugs)
– Clozapine, Risperidone, Olanzipine
 Target both dopamine and serotonin
 Treat both positive and negative effects of schizophrenia
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Antidepressant Drugs
 Act as mood elevators for severely depressed people
and are also prescribed to treat some anxiety
disorders
 65-75% of patients report significant improvement
 40-50% report complete recovery
– Placebo studies demonstrate almost equal
effectiveness
– Responses to antidepressants a combination of
physiological effects on the brain and the patient’s
confidence in effectiveness of treatment
.
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Antidepressant Drugs
 Second generation antidepressants
– Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Block the reuptake of serotonin increasing
availability at the brain synapses
– Fewer side effects and safer in case of overdose
– Effective in treating:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Social phobia
Panic disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder
.
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Electroconvulsive Therapy
 An electric current is passed through the right hemisphere of the brain
 Usually reserved for severely depressed patients who are suicidal and don’t
respond to other treatments
 Highly effective for major depression
 Unilateral ECT used today instead of bilateral ECT
– Equally effective with milder cognitive side-effects
 Patients are given anesthesia, controlled oxygenation, and a muscle
relaxant
 When effective, ECT:
– Changes the biochemical balance in the brain
– Reduces cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex
 No structural brain damage demonstrated in MRI or CT scans
.
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