Lecture 17: Chapter 15: Treatment of Psychological Disorders
Types of Treatment: Psychotherapy
400 types; each major type is tailored to a specific disorder it’s intended to treat
Insight therapies, e.g. talk therapy (verbal interaction between client and therapist)
o Goal: increased insight of issues, and elucidate the interpretation, e.g. marital
therapy
Behaviour therapies
o Changing overt behaviour
o Based on principles of learning (conditioning), role playing, or observation
o E.g. phobias, substance abuse
Biomedical therapies
o Biological functioning interventions
o E.g. drug therapy, electroconvulsive therapy
Who Seeks Treatment?
15% of US population in a given year
Most common presenting problems are anxiety and mood disorders, specifically
depression
Long delays until treatment is sought
o 6-10 years from illness onset
Half of those who seek mental health services don’t have a diagnosable problem
o Symptoms aren’t severe enough in order to give a clinical diagnosis
o Not everyone who seeks treatment has mental problems; could be seeking
help for relationship problems, etc.
People delay in seeking treatment for mental disorders because of the stigma:
ignorance about mental disorders
Prevalence of mental disorders in Canada
o 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental illness (severe like bipolar, one
instance like a panic attack) in their lifetime
o The other 4 know someone who will be diagnosed with a mental disorder
o Those diagnosed will also have a substance abuse problem (20% Comorbid
with mental disorders)
o Schizophrenia affects 1% of the population, major depression affects 8% of
the population, and anxiety disorders affect 12% of the population
o Most problems occur in early childhood; early onset
o Ages 15-24 are more likely to report mental illness/substance disorders
o Men are 2.6 times more likely than women to meet criteria for substance
dependence, and women are 1.5 times more likely to meet criteria for an
anxiety/mood disorder
o Only 1/3 of those who need mental health services in Canada receive them
o 71% of family physicians, shortage of psychiatrists in Ontario
o Metal illness is the second leading cause of premature death and human
disability o Half a million Canadians are unable to perform/attend work because of a
mental illness
o In Ontario, the cost of mental illness is 34 billion per year
o By 2020, depression will be the single biggest medical burden on the world
economy
Who Provides Treatment?
Clinical psychologists
o Full fledged disorders
o Can treat the majority of mental disorders, (bipolar, MD, schizophrenia, etc.)
o Can prescribe medication (license)
o Difference between this and psychiatrist: psychiatrist is a medical doctor,
and uses medical model to treat, whereas clinical psychologists rely heavily
on psychological testing and treatment
Counselling psychologists
o Milder adjustment disorders
Psychiatrists
o Medical doctors, prescribe medication
o Prescribe medication, must attend medical school
Clinical social workers
o Provide variety of therapeutic services
o Can help with coping, adjustment issues, stress-related disorders, etc.
Psychiatric nurses
o Work in in-patient facilities
o Duties include assisting clinical psychologists/psychiatrists
Counsellors
o Work in colleges, specialize in providing services for problems in specific
areas, like marital counselling, stress and coping, location counselling, etc.
o All don’t need PhDs, can have bachelors or masters
Insight Therapies: Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud and followers
Goal: discover unresolved unconscious conflicts
Person not aware that conflicts exist because they’re in his/her unconscious; stress-
related problems because of c
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