A branch of psychology that deals with psychopathology and abnormal behavior
Abnormality is above normal
Norm is average so when it is abnormal it is a deviation
Criteria for defining abnormality (4Ds)
Distress - Emotional Pain
Dysfunction - Impairment or Reduction in functioning
Danger - Risk to self or others
Deviance - Socially and culturally unacceptable behavior
Causes of abnormality (Biopsychosocial Formulation)
Biological Causes
Psychological Causes
Sociocultural Causes
Mental Health
Refers to the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity
Mental Disorder according to DSM V-TR
A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental process underlying mental functioning activities
Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational, or other important activities
An expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss, such as the death of a loved one, is not a mental disorder
Sociallydeviantbehaviors and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or conflicts results from a dysfunction in the individual
Insidious onset
Slow development
Courses of disorders
Chronic course (persist for a long time)
Episodic course (recurring)
Time-Limited course (specific time frame)
Basis for Assessing Maladjustment includes conformity to norms, inner world (subjective experience), and social contribution
Historical Beliefs about Abnormal Behavior
Evil spirits, demonicpossessions, sorcery, or behest of an offended ancestral spirit
Trephining / Trepanning (a surgical intervention in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the human skull)
Dorothea Dix advocated for the humane treatment of individuals with mental illness and played a key role in improving mental health care in the 19th century
CliffordBeers, through his autobiography "A Mind That Found Itself," raised awareness about the mistreatment of psychiatric patients and contributed to reforms in mental health care
Philippe Pinel, a French physician, is known for his advocacy of more humane treatment for psychiatric patients and his work in reforming mental health institutions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
Emil Kraepelin, a German psychiatrist, is renowned for his development of the first modern classification system for psychiatric disorders, laying the foundation for contemporarydiagnosticsystems in psychiatry
Disease
Mostly organic, with structural changes, confirmed by lab tests
Disorder
Mostly functional, with functional changes, not confirmatory (through signs and symptoms)
Components of Syndrome
Signs (Objective, physician's observations)
Symptoms (Subjective, patient's observation)
Biological Approaches
Structural abnormalities in the brain
Disordered biochemistry
Faulty genes
Serotonin
Regulates emotions and impulses such as aggression, travels through many key areas of the brain affecting their function
Insufficient and excessive serotonin may be associated with disorders like depression, anxiety, sleep problems, digestive problems, suicidal behavior, OCD, PTSD, and panic disorders
Dopamine
Prominent in the areas of the brain that regulate our experience of reinforcements or rewards, also important to the functioning of muscle systems and plays a role in disorders involving muscle control
Abnormally low prefrontal dopamine activity (causing deficit symptoms) leading to excessive dopamine activity in mesolimbic dopamine neurons (causing positive symptoms) is hypothesized to characterize schizophrenia
Having too much or too little dopamine in some parts of the brain are linked to some mental illnesses including depression, schizophrenia and psychosis
Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline)
Produced by neurons in the brain stem, prolonged action by cocaine and amphetamines causes stimulating effects, too little leads to depressed mood
Some people may be genetically predisposed to psychological disorders, which are probably linked not to a single faulty gene but to an accumulation of faulty genes
Biological trigger (onset of a disease, exposure to toxins, etc)
Social triggers (traumatic events, major loss, etc)
Psychological trigger (perceived loss of control, violation of a trust)
Psychological Theories of Abnormality
Psychodynamic Approach
Behavioral Approach
Cognitive Behavioral Approach
Humanistic / existential / phenomenological
Interpersonal theories
Family systems
Social structure theories
Social Structural Model of Mental Health
Neighborhood widespread poverty, prejudice and discrimination, lack of cultural and ethnic ties, high residential turnover, high child-to-adult ratio) and social organization (lack of community resources, high crime rates, poor schools)