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Chapter 13
Therapies for
Psychological Disorders
What is Therapy?

Therapy: General term for any
treatment process

In psychology and psychiatry - a variety of
psychological and biomedical techniques
aimed at dealing with mental disorders or
coping with problems of living
Contemporary Approaches to
Therapy

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Psychological therapies: Based on psychological principles (rather than biomedical
approach)
Often collectively called psychotherapy
Contemporary Approaches to
Therapy

Biomedical therapies: Focus on altering the
brain
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Drugs
Psychosurgery
Electroconvulsive therapy
How Do Psychologists
Treat Mental Disorders?
Psychologists employ two
main forms of treatment:
the insight therapies
and the behavioral therapies
Insight Therapies
Insight therapies (talk therapies): Psychotherapies in
which the therapist helps others understand (gain
insight) their problems (emotions, thoughts)

Humanistic – focus on positive growth & self
actualization (may be blocked by unhealthy
environment)
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Client-centered therapy: Emphasizes healthy
psychological growth through self-actualization (Rogers)
Active Listening: Paraphrasing client’s words to capture
the emotional tone expressed
Unconditional positive regard: nonjudgmental and
respect for client
Insight Therapies

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Psychodynamic – uncover unconscious conflicts
through dream interpretation, free association,
transference…
 Analyzing and interpreting the patient’s relationship
with the therapist
Cognitive therapy - Emphasizes rational thinking as
the key to treating mental disorder

Cognitive therapy for depression (Aaron
Beck)

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Confront destructive thoughts that support it
Can be at least as effective as medication
Behavioral Therapy

Classical Conditioning:

Systematic desensitization: Anxiety is
extinguished by gradually exposing the patient to
an anxiety-provoking stimulus

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Exposure therapy: patient directly confronts the
anxiety-provoking stimulus (as opposed to imagining it)
Aversion therapy: Present an attractive stimulus
with unpleasant stimulation in order to condition a
repulsive reaction
Operant Conditioning:

Token economies: distribution of “tokens”
contingent on desired behaviors
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy:
A Synthesis

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

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


Modify irrational thoughts
Set attainable behavioral goals
Develop realistic strategies to attain goals
Evaluate results
Rational-emotive behavior therapy: irrational
thoughts and behaviors are the cause of mental
disorders (REBT)


Albert Ellis – strong approach, no acceptance of
irrational thoughts, may be a heated interaction
Not the events in our lives; it’s the beliefs that we hold
that cause us to become depressed, anxious,
enraged, etc.
How Is the Biomedical Approach Used to
Treat Mental Disorders?
Biomedical therapies seek to
treat mental disorders by
changing the brain’s
chemistry with drugs, its
circuitry with surgery, or its
patterns of activity with pulses
of electricity or powerful
magnetic fields
Drug Therapy


Psychopharmacology: The prescribed use of drugs
to help treat symptoms of mental illness to ensure
that individuals are more receptive to talk therapies
Antipsychotic drugs



Include chlorpromazine, haloperidol, and clozapine
Usually affect dopamine pathways (reduce it)
May have side effects
 Tardive dyskinesia: Incurable disorder of motor control
resulting from long-term use of antipsychotic drugs
 Video clip
Drug Therapy

Antidepressants and mood stabilizers

Usually increase serotonin/norepinephrine

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(MAO) inhibitors – increase norepinephrine
Tryicyclics – inhibit reuptake
SSRIs – Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor
(Prozac)
Lithium carbonate – treats bipolar (can be toxic)
Highly controversial – suicide, using just when
uneasy
Drug Therapy

Antianxiety drugs:

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Barbiturates – relax central nervous system
Benzodiazepines – decrease activity in anxiety regions of
brain (Valium, Xanax)
Do not

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Use to relieve ordinary anxieties of everyday life
Take for more than a few days at a time
Combine with alcohol
Stimulants: suppress activity level

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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Side effects – growth, sleep, later use
Other Biomedical Methods

Psychosurgery: The general term for surgical
intervention in the brain to treat psychological
disorders

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Electroconvulsive (ECT) therapy: used for
treatment of severe depression


The infamous prefrontal lobotomy is no longer performed
Severing the corpus callosum, however, can reduce lifethreatening seizures
Side effect – memory disruption
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): a
possible alternative to ECT, less memory loss treatment of depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar
Hospitalization and
the Alternatives
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Therapeutic community: Program of treating
mental disorder by making the institutional
environment supportive and humane for
patients
Deinstitutionalization: Policy of removing
patients, whenever possible, from mental
hospitals
Community mental health movement: Effort to
deinstitutionalize mental patients and to
provide therapy from outpatient clinics
Evaluating the Psychological
Therapies
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Eysenck proposed that people with nonpsychotic problems recover just as well
with or without therapy
Reviews of evidence have shown:
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That therapy is better than no therapy
It appears advantageous to match specific
therapies with specific conditions
Mental “First Aid”

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If someone asks you for help, keep in mind
that serious problems (especially those
involving suicide or threats) require
immediate professional treatment
Otherwise, your best tools may involve
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Listening
Acceptance
Exploring alternatives