Psychopathology

• Identify at least one bhv, emo, and cog characteristic of phobias


  Behavioural:

  - panic

  - avoidance

  - endurance

  Emotional:

  - anxiety

  - emotional response is unreasonable

  Cognitive:

  - selective attention

  - irrational beliefs

  - cognitive distortions
• Identify at least one behavioural, emotional, and cognitive characteristic of depression


  Behavioural:

  - activity levels

  - disruption to sleep/eating

  - aggression/self-harm

  Emotional:

  - lowered mood

  - anger

  - lowered self esteem

  Cognitive:

  - poor concentration

  - attending to + dwelling on the negative

  - absolutist thinking
• Identify at least one bhv, emo, and cog characteristic of OCD


  Behavioural:

  - compulsions

  - avoidance

  Emotional:

  - anxiety + distress

  - accompanying depression

  - guilt and disgust

  Cognitive:

  - obsessive thoughts

  - cognitive strategies to deal w/ obsessions

  - insight into excessive anxiety
• Outline Beck's cognitive therapy


  - identifies negative thoughts and challenges them

  - clients given homework to test their irrational thoughts against reality, used as evidence to prove their future statements as incorrect
• Outline Ellis's REBT


  REBT = identifies and disputes the patient's irrational thoughts:

  D - dispute thoughts, E- effect + F - feelings

  vigorous argument:

  - challenging and replacing arguments

  logical argument:

  - whether statements follow the fact

  empirical argument:

  - is there evidence?
• What is behavioural activation?


  Therapist encourages patient to engage in enjoyable activities or exercise
• Give a strength and weakness of the cognitive approach for treating depression


  Strengths:

  - (March et al) CBT effective in reducing symptoms of depression + preventing relapse, 90% success rate

  - CBT + drug treatment, (Keller et al) recovery rate @ 85% when CBT is used with drugs

  Weaknesses:

  - suitability for diverse patients, depression may be so severe that patients aren't motivated enough to engage in therapy

  - success could be due to therapist-patient relationship, therefore it is hard to determine whether therapy or therapist improves the illness
• What is systematic desensitization?


  A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli using a desensitisation hierarchy.
• Evaluate systematic desensitisation


  - Acceptable to patients, preferred to flooding as it does not risk causing trauma + includes pleasure through relaxation techniques

  - suitable for a diverse range of patients, entire process controlled by patient, usually most effective+useful for children with learning disabilities
• What is flooding?


  Overwhelms phobic patient with phobia for 2-3 hours, forced to focus on experiences with the phobia, blocking out phobic responses - patient realises its' harmless due to the absence of avoidance behaviour and the CR of fear is replaced with relaxation
• Evaluate flooding as a treatment for phobias


  Strength:

  - it's cost effective, clinically effective and only takes 1-3 sessions, making it cheaper

  Weakness:

  - produces high levels of fear, patients may not begin/finish their treatment, reducing its' effectiveness
• What are SSRI's and how do they work?


  Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRIs ease depression by affecting naturally occurring chemical messengers (neurotransmitters), which are used to communicate between brain cells. SSRIs block the reabsorption (reuptake) of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Changing the balance of serotonin seems to help brain cells send and receive chemical messages, which in turn boosts mood.
• Provide at least one alternative to SSRIs


  Tricyclics:SNRI's:Benzodiazepines:

  • prevents reabsorption of serotonin but has severe side effects eg: constipation + drowsiness
  • serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors
  • prevents reabsorption of serotonin and noradrenaline = more in the synapse
  • reduces anxiety, quietens neurons + reduces stimulation to create relaxation
• How does the combination of CBT + SSRI's prove more effective


  Helps to reduce emotional symptoms and encourages better CBT engagement
• What is one strength of the biological approach to treating OCD?


  Evidence for effectiveness, as SSRIs are more effective in reducing symptoms than placebos.
• Why is the biological approach considered cost-effective for treating OCD?


  It is relatively cheap for the NHS and less time-consuming, causing less interference with patients' lives.
• What is a weakness of the biological approach to treating OCD?


  There is not enough research for long-term effectiveness.
• What are some side effects associated with tricyclics used in treating OCD?

  Side effects include erectile dysfunction, aggression, and blood pressure problems.
• How might biased evidence affect the perception of drug treatments for OCD?


  Drug companies could hide undesirable side effects when sponsoring research, making the treatments appear more effective than they are.
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the biological approach to treating OCD?


  Strengths:

  • Evidence for effectiveness (SSRIs vs. placebos)
  • Cost-effective and non-disruptive for patients

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Not enough research for long-term effectiveness
  • Side effects (e.g., erectile dysfunction, aggression)
  • Biased evidence from drug companies