CHAPTER SEVEN

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS AND TREATMENT

TECHNIQUES
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, you are expected to:
 Describe how psychological disorders are defined, as well as
the inherent difficulties in doing so.
 Identify the nature of Psychological disorders.
 Explain the causes of Chapter
psychological
One: Essence ofdisorders.
Psychology
 Identify the different types, characteristic features of
Learning Outcomes
psychological disorders.
At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
Define psychology
 Explain different theories
Show historicalto rootsexplain
of psychologythe nature of abnormality.
as a science
Point out the goals of psychology
 Discuss the treatment
Identifytechniques.
early schools and modern perspectives of
psychology
Discuss the basis of differences among perspectives of
psychology
Identify subfields of psychology
Differentiate the major research methods in psychology
Explore the major steps of scientific research in psychology
7.1 Nature of Psychological Disorders

We generally have three main criteria: abnormality,

maladaptiveness, and personal distress.
1. Abnormality

 Abnormal behavior is a behavior that deviates from the

behavior of the ‘typical‘ person; the norm. A society‘s norm
can be qualitative and quantitative.

 When someone behaves in culturally unacceptable ways and

the behaviors he/she exhibit violates the norm, standards, rules
and regulations of the society, this person is most likely to
have a psychological problem.
2. Maladaptiveness

 Maladaptive behavior in one way or another creates a

social, personal and occupational problem on those
who exhibit the behaviors.

 These behaviors seriously disrupt the day-to-day

activities of individuals that can increase the problem
more.
3. Personal Distress
 Our subjective feelings of anxiety, stress, tension and
other unpleasant emotions determine whether we have a
psychological disorder.
 These negative emotional states arise either by the
problem itself or by events happen that on us.
 But, the criterion of personal distress, just like other
criteria, is not sufficient for the presence of
psychological disorder.
 This is because of some people like feeling distressed by
their own behavior.
 Hence, behavior that is abnormal, maladaptive, or
personally distressing might indicate that a person has a
psychological disorder.
 Causes of Psychological Disorders (Based on
Perspectives)
7.2.1 The Biological Perspective

 Current researchers believe that abnormalities in the

working of chemicals in the brain, called
neurotransmitters, may contribute to many
psychological disorders.

 For example, over activity of the neurotransmitter

dopamine, perhaps caused by an overabundance of
certain dopamine receptors in the brain, has been
linked to the bizarre symptoms of schizophrenia.
7.2.2 Psychological Perspectives

A. Psychoanalytic perspective

 Abnormal behavior, in Freud‟s view, is caused by the

ego‟s inability to manage the conflict between the
opposing demands of the id and the superego.
B. Learning perspective

 Most mental and emotional disorders, in

contrast to the psychoanalytic perspective,
arise from inadequate or inappropriate
learning.

 People acquire abnormal behaviors through

the various kinds of learning.
C. Cognitive perspective

 Whether we accept it or not, the quality of our

internal dialogue either builds ourselves up or
tear ourselves down and has profound effect on
our mental health.
 The main theme of this perspective is that self-
defeating thoughts lead to the development of
negative emotions and self-destructive behaviors.
 People's ways thinking about events in their life
determines their emotional and behavioral
patterns.
 Most of the time our thinking patterns in one
way or another affects our emotional and
behavioral wellbeing in either positive or
negative ways.
 Hence, if there is a disturbance in on our
thinking, it may manifest in our display of
emotions and behaviors.
 Our environmental and cultural experiences in
our life play a major role in the formation of
our thinking style.
 7.3. Types of Psychological Disorders

 A psychological disorder is a condition characterized

by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
 Psychopathology is the study of psychological
disorders, including their symptoms, etiology (i.e.,
their causes), and treatment.
 The term psychopathology can also refer to the
manifestation of a psychological disorder.
 In this connection, we will try to see only types of
mood disorder, anxiety disorder and personality
disorder.
1) Mood Disorders
 characterized by a serious change in mood from
depressed to elevated feelings causing disruption
to life activities.
 Depressive disorder is characterized by overall
feelings of worry and inactivity.
 In addition to type and subtype of mood, these
disorders also vary in intensity and severity.
 For example, dysthymic disorder is a lesser form
of major depression and cyclothymic disorder is
recognized as a similar, but less severe form of
bipolar disorder.
 The disorders include Major Depression, Dysthymic
Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Cyclothymia.

1) Major Depression (also known as depression or

clinical depression) is characterized by depressed
mood, diminished interest in activities previously
enjoyed, weight disturbance, sleep disturbance, loss of
energy, difficulty concentrating, and often includes
feelings of hopelessness and thoughts of suicide.
2) Dysthymia is often considered a lesser, but more persistent form of
depression. Many of the symptoms are similar except to a lesser degree.
Also, dysthymia, as opposed to Major Depression is steadier rather than
periods of normal feelings and extreme lows.

3) Bipolar Disorder (previously known as Manic-Depression) is

characterized by periods of extreme highs (called mania) and extreme
lows as in Major Depression.

 Bipolar Disorder is subtyped either I (extreme or hypermanic episodes)

or II (moderate or hypomanic episodes).

4) Cyclothymia: Like Dysthymia and Major Depression, Cyclothymia is

considered a lesser form of Bipolar Disorder.
2) Anxiety Disorders
 Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be
beneficial in some situations.
 It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and
pay attention. Anxiety disorders differ from normal
feelings of nervousness or anxiousness, and involve
excessive fear or anxiety.
 Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental
disorders and affect nearly 30 percent of adults at
some point in their lives.
 However, anxiety disorders are treatable and a
number of effective treatments are available.
In general, for a person to be diagnosed with an anxiety
disorder, the fear or anxiety must:
 Be out of proportion to the situation or age
inappropriate
 Hinder your ability to function normally
 Anxiety Disorders categorize a large number of disorders
where the primary feature is abnormal or inappropriate
anxiety.
 Anxiety disorders includes Panic Disorder,
Agoraphobia, Specific Phobias, Social Phobia,
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
a) Panic Disorder

 A panic attack is an inappropriate intense

feeling of fear or discomfort including many of
the following symptoms: heart palpitations,
trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain,
dizziness.
b) Agoraphobia
 It literally means fear of the marketplace.
 It refers to a series of symptoms where the
person fears, and often avoids, situations
where escape or help might not be available,
such as shopping centers, grocery stores, or
other public place.
 Agoraphobia is often a part of panic disorder if
the panic attacks are severe enough to result in
an avoidance of these types of places.
c) Specific or Simple Phobia and Social Phobia
represent an intense fear and often an avoidance
of a specific situation, person, place, or thing.
To be diagnosed with a phobia, the person must
have suffered significant negative consequences
because of this fear and it must be disruptive to
their everyday life.
d) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized
by obsessions (thoughts which seem uncontrollable) and
compulsions (behaviors which act to reduce the obsession).
 Most people think of compulsive hand washers or people
with an intense fear of dirt or of being infected.
 These obsessions and compulsions are disruptive to the
person's everyday life, with sometimes hours being spent
each day repeating things, which were completed
successfully already such as checking, counting,
cleaning, or bathing.
e) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs
only after a person is exposed to a traumatic event
where their life or someone else's life is threatened.
 The most common examples are war, natural
disasters, major accidents, and severe child abuse.
 Once exposed to an incident such as this, the
disorder develops into an intense fear of related
situations, avoidance of these situations,
reoccurring nightmares, flashbacks, and
heightened anxiety to the point that it significantly
disrupts their everyday life.
f) Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Is diagnosed when a person has extreme anxiety

in nearly every part of their life.
 It is not associated with just open places (as in
agoraphobia), specific situations (as in specific
phobia), or a traumatic event (as in PTSD).
 The anxiety must be significant enough to
disrupt the person's everyday life for a
diagnosis to be made.
3) Personality Disorders
 A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in
which you have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of
thinking, functioning and behaving.
 A person with a personality disorder has trouble
perceiving and relating to situations and people.
 Thus, Personality Disorders are characterized by an
enduring pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving
which is significantly different from the person's
culture and results in negative consequences.
 This pattern must be longstanding and inflexible for
a diagnosis to be made.
1) Paranoid (includes a pattern of distrust and
suspiciousness).
2) Schizoid (pattern of detachment from social
norms and a restriction of emotions).
3) Schizotypal (pattern of discomfort in close
relationships and eccentric thoughts and
behaviors).
4) Antisocial (pattern of disregard for the rights
of others, including violation of these rights and
the failure to feel empathy).
5) Borderline (pattern of instability in personal
relationships, including frequent bouts of clinginess and
affection and anger and resentment, often cycling between
these two extremes rapidly).
6) Histrionic (pattern of excessive emotional behavior and
attention seeking).
7) Narcissistic (pattern of grandiosity, exaggerated self-
worth, and need for admiration).
8) Avoidant (pattern of feelings of social inadequacies,
low self-esteem, and hypersensitivity to criticism).
9) Obsessive-Compulsive (pattern of obsessive cleanliness,
perfection, and control).
treatment