Chapter 16 and 17 Psychology Test - Psychological Disorders and Therapy

psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's therapeutic technique - according to Freud, the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams and transferences - and the therapist's interpretations of them - released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight

counterconditioning

a behavior therapy procedure that conditions new response to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors; based on classical conditioning and includes systematic desensitization and aversive conditioning

lithium

a chemical that provides an effective drug therapy for the mood swings of bipolar disorders

bio-psycho-social perspective

a contemporary perspective which assumes that biological, psychological and sociocultural factors combine and interact to reduce psychological disorders

schizophrenia

a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perception and inappropriate emotions and actions

psychological disorder

a harmful disfunction in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive and unjustifiable

catatonic schizophrenia

immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement), extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike repeating of another's speech or movements

interpretation

in psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream of meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors in order to promote insight

resistance

in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material

transference

in psychoanalysis, the patient's transfer to the the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships

undifferentiated schizophrenia

many and varied symptoms

paranoid schizophrenia

preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations, often with themes of persecution or grandiosity

anxiety disorders

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

mood disorders

psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes

personality disorders

psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning

psychosurgery

surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior

DSM-IV

the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders

electroconvulsive therapy

ECT - a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient

client-centered therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathetic environment to facilitate clients' growth

major depressive disorder

a mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities

bipolar disorder

a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania

manic episode

a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly, optimistic state

lobotomy

a now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients - the procedure cuts the nerves that connect the front lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain

antisocial personality disorder

a personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members - may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist

cognitive-behavior therapy

a popular integrated therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)

meta-analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

psychotic disorder

a psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and distorted perceptions

neurotic disorder

a psychological disorder that is usually distressing but that allows one to think rationally and function socially

systematic desensitization

a type of counterconditioning that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli - commonly used to treat phobias

aversive conditioning

a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol)

obsessive-compulsive disorder

an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts and/or actions thoughts = obsessions actions = compulsions

generalized anxiety disorder

an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

panic disorder

an anxiety disorder marked by a minute-long period of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking or other frightening sensations

phobia

an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation

eclectic approach

an approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client's problems, uses techniques from various forms of theory

psychotherapy

an emotionally charged, confiding interaction between a trained therapist and someone who suffers from psychological difficulties

token economy

an operant conditioning procedure that rewards desired behavior - patients exchange a token of some sort, earned for exhibiting the desired behavior, for various privileges or treats

exposure therapy

behavioral technique, such as systematic desensitization, that treat anxieties by exposing people to the things they fear and avoid

disorganized schizophrenia

disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion

active listening

empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates and clarifies - a feature of Roger's client-centered therapy

delusions

false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that many accompany a psychotic disorder

medical model

the concept that diseases have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated and in most cases cured - when applied to psychological disorders, the medical model assumes that these"mental" illnesses can be diagnoses on the basis o their symptoms and cured through therapy, which may include treatment in a psychiatric hospital

behavior therapy

therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors

cognitive therapy

therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions

family therapy

therapy that treats the family as a system - views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by or directed at other family members - attempts to guide family members toward positive relationships and improved communication

residual schizophrenia

withdrawal, after hallucinations and delusions have disappeared