chapter 24 B

• Biomedical model


  Claims that all mental illnesses have a biological cause
• Biological abnormalities in mental illness


  • Genetic predisposition
  • Abnormal functioning of neurotransmitters
  • Structural abnormalities in the brain
• Psychodynamic perspective


  Believes that the way we relate to others and ourselves is largely influenced by repressed forbidden wishes
• Freud's view of the psyche

  Divided into three parts: the id, the ego and the superego
• Psychological disorders


  Emerge when conflict between these parts gives rise to distressing symptoms or when ego deficiencies hinder the individual's ability to repress instinctual drives
• Defence mechanisms


  Used to ward off excessive psychological pain and repressed fears
• Contemporary psychodynamic approaches


  Emphasise the importance of internalised object relations in the development of the personality
• Cognitive-behaviour perspective


  Cognitions, or learned ways of thinking, impact on the individual's emotions and behaviours
• Cognitive therapists


  Believe that irrational beliefs and automatic thoughts are principally responsible for the development of psychopathology
• Cognitive triad of depression


  Distorted negative thoughts about the self, the world and the future
• Community psychology approach


  Understands psychopathology from within the social, political and cultural contexts
• Political context


  Relates to the need to challenge oppressive forces in society
• Social context


  Includes the socio-economic status of the community, access to resources and the nature of social interaction within the community, all of which impact on the mental health of the individual
• Cultural context


  The site for an individual's actions. How an individual experiences distress or makes sense of psychological problems is dependent on cultural beliefs and practices. Treatment choices and access are also culturally determined
• Diathesis-stress model


  A useful approach to understanding psychopathology and its causes
• Bio-psychosocial approach


  A useful approach to understanding psychopathology and its causes
• Bio-psychosocial approach to intellectual disability


  Claims that a number of interactive factors play a role
• Biological factors in intellectual disability


  • Genetically transmitted
  • Disease, injury or prenatal factors causing structural abnormalities in the brain
• Psychological factors in intellectual disability


  Interact with biological vulnerabilities to influence the development of accompanying disorders
• Social factors in intellectual disability

  Environmental factors associated with poverty play an important role in the aetiology
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most frequently diagnosed forms of psychopathology in South Africa due to the high rate of crime and violence
• Symptoms of PTSD


  • Distressing re-experiencing of the event
  • Avoidance and emotional numbing
  • Negative alterations in cognition and mood
  • Increased arousal
• Aetiology of PTSD


  • The stressor
  • The social environment in which the trauma took place
  • The character traits of the individual
  • The biological vulnerability of the victim
• Biological theorists have found that patients with a vulnerability to anxiety are at greater risk of developing PTSD
• Psychodynamic psychologists view that traumatic events reactivate unresolved conflicts from early childhood
• Approximately 30% of PTSD patients recover, 60% continue to experience mild anxiety symptoms, and 10% remain unchanged or worsen
• Schizophrenia


  A condition characterised by disorganised and fragmented emotions, behaviours and cognitions
• Schizophrenia is not the same as dissociative identity disorder (split personality)
• Positive symptoms of schizophrenia


  • Delusions
  • Hallucinations
  • Catatonic behaviour
  • Disorganised behaviour
  • Disorganised speech
• Negative symptoms of schizophrenia


  • Flat affect
  • Avolition
  • Alogia
• Schizophrenia affects 1% of the population, usually begins before age 25, and persists throughout life
• Approximately 20% of schizophrenics lead relatively normal lives, 20% experience moderate symptoms, and 40-60% remain severely impaired
• Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia


  Excessive levels of dopamine cause schizophrenic-like symptoms
• Genetic predisposition in schizophrenia


  Monozygotic twins have 47% chance, dizygotic twins have 12% chance of developing schizophrenia
• Psychoanalytic view of schizophrenia


  Caused by a defect in the rudimentary functions of a child's ego, giving rise to intense hostility and anger, which distorts the child's ability to relate to others
• Dopamine


  Excessive levels cause schizophrenic-like symptoms
• Anti-psychotic medications


  Inhibit the level of dopamine in the brain, reducing psychotic symptoms
• Genetic predisposition renders an individual vulnerable to developing schizophrenia
• Monozygotic twins of a schizophrenic patient have a 47% chance of developing schizophrenia, while dizygotic twins have a 12% chance
• Psychoanalytic theories of schizophrenia


  • Schizophrenia is caused by a defect in the rudimentary functions of a child's ego, giving rise to intense hostility and anger, which distorts the child's ability to relate to others
  • Schizophrenia develops from learning irrational reactions and distorted ways of thinking from emotionally disturbed parents