CAS PS 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Mental Disorder, Dysfunctional Family, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
1 May 2018
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PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Psychopathology:
• The study of mental disorders
o Reflects dysfunction of the body, particularly of the brain
• Mental disorders range in severity: How do we draw the line between a normal
emotional experience and a mental disorder?
o When a psychological problem disrupts a person’s life and causes significant
distress over a long period of time, the problem is considered a disorder
• The 4 D’s of Psychopathology
o Deviance:
▪ Does the person act in a way that deviates from culture norms for
acceptable behavior?
o Danger:
▪ Is the behavior self-destructive, or causing danger to others in the
environment?
o Dysfunction:
▪ Is the behavior maladaptive, and disturbing day-to-day life?
o Distress:
▪ Does the behavior cause discomfort and negative feelings about the
person’s state?
Assessment:
• Examination of a person’s mental state to diagnose possible psychological disorders
o Goal: provide appropriate treatment
o The course and probable outcome, or prognosis will depend on the particular
mental disorder that is diagnosed
o Assessment does not stop with initial diagnosis
• Types of assessment
• Interviews
o Unstructured: since the beginning of clinical psychology, most interviews have
been unstructured
▪ Problems: No 2 structured interviews are likely to elicit identical info
from the same patient
• Overly dependent on the interview’s skills
o Structured: clinicians ask standardized questions in the same order each time.
Patient’s answers are coded according to a predetermined formula and the
diagnosis is based on the specific patterns of responses
▪ Most common: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID). Diagnoses
are made according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
disorders (DSM) criteria
• Questionnaires
o Most widely used: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
▪ 600 questions
• Neuropsychological testing
o Behavioral metrics
o Neurophysiological metrics
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Document Summary
Is the behavior self-destructive, or causing danger to others in the environment: dysfunction: Patient"s answers are coded according to a predetermined formula and the diagnosis is based on the specific patterns of responses: most common: structured clinical interview for dsm (scid). Diagnoses are made according to diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm) criteria: questionnaires, most widely used: minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (mmpi, 600 questions, neuropsychological testing, behavioral metrics, neurophysiological metrics. General anxiety: generalized anxiety disorder (gad): a diffuse state of constant anxiety not associated with any specific objects or event (constantly anxious about minor matters, hypervigilance: results in distractibility, fatigue, irritability, and sleep problem, headache, muscle pain. Ptsd: post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd): involves frequent nightmares, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks related to an earlier trauma, chronic tension, health problems, experience memory and attention problem, ptsd involves the inability to forget, women are more likely to develop. Panic disorder: consists of sudden, overwhelming attacks of terror.
