Treatment of Psychological Disorders Chapter 15

Insight Therapies Psycho-analysis Client-Centered Therapies Gestalt-humanistic therapy

Psycho-analysis-influenced by Freud’s psychoanalytic technique. Aim: to bring repressed feelings from childhood into conscious awareness where the patient can deal with them. Methods free association- resistance- transference - transference -

Client-Centered Therapies: (Rogers)-focuses on the client’s conscious self-perceptions rather than on the therapist’s own interpretations. non-directive therapy active listening.

Gestalt-humanistic therapy That blends the psychoanalytic with the humanistic emphasis.

Behavior Therapies Counterconditioning- classical conditioning technique that pairs the trigger stimulus for unwanted behavior with a new response. Two Types: Systematic Desensitization: Flooding -. Operant Conditioning-

Cognitive Therapies Aim at changing people’s maladaptive ways of thinking about themselves and the world. Types: Rational Emotive Therapy (Ellis) Becks Cognitive therapy for depression Group & Family therapies

Biological Therapies treating psychological disorders by physically changing the brains functioning. Three main types: –Drug therapies-alter the brain’s chemistry –Electroconvulsive Shock-alters the brain’s circuitry –Psychosurgery-disconnecting the brain’s circuits

Drug Therapies(Psychopharmalogy) antipsychotic drugs: drugs that help dampen the responsiveness to irrelevant stimuli. –mechanism of action-psychotic disorders are thought to be caused by overactivity with the neurotransmitter DA. The antipsychotic drugs are similar enough to the endogenous DA that they occupy its receptor sites and therefore block its activity.

Psychopharmology anti-anxiety drugs: i.e. valium and librium, this class of drug is the most heavily prescribed and most often abused. –depresses the central nervous system. –reduces tension and anxiety without causing excessive sleepiness.

Psychopharmology antidepressant drugs-increase the availability of NE and 5HT which elevate mood and arousal. (i.e. Prozac). The full psychological effect is usually not observed for 4 weeks.

Other Therapies Electroconvulsive Therapy Psychosurgery-surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue to change behavior. Primarily used in the 1930's, 40's and 50's. Its original use was to calm down extremely violent patients. Psychosurgery-surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue to change behavior. Primarily used in the 1930's, 40's and 50's. Its original use was to calm down extremely violent patients. –lobotomy-