PSYC1011 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Buddhist Meditation, Behavioral Activation, Bipolar I Disorder
Treatments for mental disorders
Historical treatments
• Trepanning
• Lobotomy
o Brain damage
o For major psychotic disorder
• Insulin coma therapy
• Mosquito therapy
o Treating with malaria
Biological therapies
• Target brain abnormalities directly
• Pharmacological therapies
o Primarily act on neurotransmitters
o Antidepressants
▪ SSRIs (e.g. Prozac)
▪ Act on serotonin
o Anxiolytics (anti-anxiety)
▪ Benzodiazapines (e.g. Valium)
▪ Act on GABA
o Antipsychotics
▪ Olanzapine (e.g. Zyprexa)
▪ Act on dopamine
o Mood stabilisers
▪ Lithium
• Mechanism of action unclear
▪ Anticonvulsants
• Act on GABA and glutamate
• Other biological therapies
o Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT)
▪ Effective for severe, treatment-refractory depression
▪ Involves passing a current through the brain of an anaesthetised patient
▪ Notable side-effect: retrograde amnesia
o Deep-brain stimulation
▪ Used for treatment-refractory OCD
▪ Electrodes placed in ventral striatum, connected to battery pack
▪ Evidence it improves obsessions and compulsions
Psychological therapies
• Target maladaptive behaviour (behavioural therapies) and thoughts (cognitive therapies)
• Target brain abnormalities indirectly
• Treatments reflect underlying assumptions about causation
o Psychoanalysis (unconscious conflict)
▪ Mental disorders arise because of unconscious conflict and over use of defence
mechanisms
▪ Aim of psychoanalysis
• Identify hidden unconscious conflicts and allow them into conscious
▪ Tricky, because defence mechanisms are obscuring these unconscious conflicts
▪ Key idea
• Making the patient aware of their unconscious conflicts takes pressure off their ego
• Is therapeutic
• Little Hans
• 5 year old boy with a phobia of horses
find more resources at oneclass.com
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• Especially white horses with black noses and blinkers
• Hans was afraid that the horse would bite off his finger
• Hans had dreams about two giraffes on his bed
• Hans took the small giraffe and 'sat on it', large giraffe got angry
• Freud's interpretation:
• Father - horse
• Finger - penis
• Bite off finger - castrate
• Small giraffe - mother
• Big giraffe - father
• Hans is afraid that his father is going to castrate him for his sexual desires towards
his mother (Oedipus complex)
▪ Criticisms
• Non-directive therapy
• Free association
• How reliable is this interpretation?
• Takes a long time
• Clients in therapy for more than 5 years
• Ignores more obvious interpretations
• Limited evidence as to its effectiveness
o Humanistic therapy
▪ Psychodynamic therapy viewed people as being engaged in a constant struggle to keep
their sexual and violent impulses in check
▪ Humanism
• People are inherently good and functional
▪ People strive to reach their maximum potential (to self-actualise) -> principal human
motivation
▪ Mental disorders occur when there is incongruence between what an individual wants to
be and what society demands of them
• Between the 'real self' and the 'ideal self'
• Carl Rogers
• Person centred therapy
• Role of the therapist:
• To create a non-judgemental environment
• Clients can develop their own solutions to their problems
• Demonstrate genuineness, empathy and unconditional positive regard
• Non-directive
• Therapeutic techniques
• Listening, reflecting empathising
• Close personal relationship can develop between the therapist and the client
▪ Limitations
• Questionable effectiveness against severe mental disorders
• OCD, schizophrenia, Bipolar I disorder
• Is unconditional positive regard always a good thing?
• Psychopathy
o Behavioural (maladaptive learned responses)
▪ Reaction against psychoanalysis
• If you get rid of the symptoms, you get rid of the neurosis
▪ Mental disorders caused by maladaptive learned associations, reinforcement of
maladaptive behaviours
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lobotomy: brain damage, for major psychotic disorder. Insulin coma therapy: mosquito therapy, treating with malaria. Biological therapies: target brain abnormalities directly, pharmacological therapies, primarily act on neurotransmitters, antidepressants. Ssris (e. g. prozac: act on serotonin, anxiolytics (anti-anxiety, benzodiazapines (e. g. valium, act on gaba, antipsychotics, olanzapine (e. g. zyprexa, act on dopamine, mood stabilisers. Lithium: mechanism of action unclear, anticonvulsants, act on gaba and glutamate, other biological therapies, electro-convulsive therapy (ect, effective for severe, treatment-refractory depression, notable side-effect: retrograde amnesia. Involves passing a current through the brain of an anaesthetised patient: deep-brain stimulation, used for treatment-refractory ocd, electrodes placed in ventral striatum, connected to battery pack, evidence it improves obsessions and compulsions. Identify hidden unconscious conflicts and allow them into conscious: tricky, because defence mechanisms are obscuring these unconscious conflicts, key idea, making the patient aware of their unconscious conflicts takes pressure off their ego. Finger - penis: bite off finger - castrate.
