Chapter 16 - Psychological Disorders

I. Defining and Diagnosing Disorder

A. Dilemmas of definition

1. violation of cultural standards

2. maladaptive or harmful behavior

3. emotional distress and/or functional interference

B. Diagnostic Systems: The DSM

1. Multiaxial System -

a. Primary clinical problem

b. Chronic pervasive problems

c. Medical conditions

d. Social and environmental problems

e. Global Assessment of Functioning

2. Limitations of the DSM -

a. Over-diagnosis

b. The power of diagnostic labels

c. Serious mental disorders vs normal problems

d. The illusion of objectivity (science vs politics)

3. Advantages of the DSM

a. Can normalize disorders for their sufferers

b. Allows for easier communication

c. Allows for targeted treatment/research

d. Now includes “culture-bound syndromes”

II. Anxiety Disorders

A. Common Feature: excessive and/or irrational anxiety

B. Specific Disorders

1. Panic Disorder (with or without Agoraphobia)

2. Specific Phobia

3. Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)

4. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

5. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

6. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

III. Mood Disorders

A. Major Depression (Unipolar Depression)

B. Bipolar Disorder (Manic-Depression)

IV. Schizophrenia

A. Positive Symptoms

1. hallucinations

2. delusions

3. formal thought disorder (disorganized speech)

4. disorganized behavior

B. Negative Symptoms

1. Avolition (lack of motivation)

2. Alogia (poverty of speech or content of speech)

3. Anhedonia (loss of interest/pleasure)

4. Emotional numbing (flat/blunted affect & emotional withdrawal)

C. Duration

1. Total = at least six months

2. Active Phase of at least one month

3. Prodromal and residual phases can make up the rest

V. Suicidality

A. Facts regarding suicide

B. Myths regarding suicide