Psychological Disorder- a condition in which behavior is judged

• Atypical-not enough in itself
• Disturbing- varied with time and culture
• Maladaptive- harmful
• Unjustifiable- sometimes there's a good reason

Historical Perspective

• Perceived Causes- movements of sun or moon; evil spirits
• Ancient Treatments- exorcism, caged like animals, beaten, burned, castrated, mutilated, blood replaced with animals blood

Psychological Disorders

• Medical Model
• Concept that diseases have physical causes
• Can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases, cured
• Assumes that these "mental" illnesses can be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms and cured through therapy in a psychiatric hospital
• Bio-psycho-social Perspective- assumes that biological, sociocultural, and psychological factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders

Etiology

• DSM-IV
• American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
• A widely used system for classifying psychological disorders
• Neurotic disorder
• Usually distressing but that allows one to think rationally and function socially
• Freud saw the neurotic disorders as ways of dealing with anxiety
• Psychotic disorder
• Person loses contact with reality
• Experiences irrational ideas and distorted perceptions

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety Disorders- distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder- client is tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
• Phobia- persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder- characterizes by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
• Panic Disorder- marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensation

Dissociative Disorders

• Dissociative Disorders- conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings
• Dissociative Amnesia- selective memory loss often brought on by extreme stress
• Dissociative Fugue- flight from one's home and identity accompanies amnesia
• Dissociative Identity Disorder- rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities; also known as multiple personality disorder

Mood Disorders

• Mood Disorders- characterized by emotional extremes
• Major Depressive Disorder- a mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities
• Mania- a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
• Bipolar Disorder- a mood disorder in which the person alternated between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania; formerly called manic-depressive disorder

Schizophrenia

• Schizophrenia
• Literal translation "split mind"
• A group of severe psychotic disorders characterized by:
• Disorganized and delusional thinking
• Disturbed perceptions
• Inappropriate emotions and actions
• Delusions- false beliefs, often on persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders
• Hallucinations- false sensory experiences such as seeing something without any external visual stimulus

Subtypes of Schizophrenia

• Paranoid - Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations
• Disorganizes - Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion
• Catatonic - Immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement), extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike repeating of another's speech or movements
• Undifferentiated or residual - Schizophrenia symptoms without fitting one of the above types

Personality Disorders

• Personality Disorders
• Disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
• Usually without anxiety, depression, or delusions
• Antisocial Personality Disorder- disorder in which the person (usually male) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998