PSYCHOLOGICAL

DISORDERS AND THEIR

TREATMENT
(CHAPTERS 15 & 16)
What’s on the Agenda for this Week?
• What is Normal/What is Abnormal?
• The Major Psychological Disorders
• Treatment of Psychological Disorders
• A Question from a Former Student:
“What are psychological disorders, are they
necessarily abnormalities or are they indicators
that every individual is unique?”
 What is Normal/What is Abnormal?
Is cutting yourself Is falling in love with a Is eating human
normal? member of your own flesh normal?
sex normal?
Abnormal Behavior: Behavior that
1. Causes people (or others around them) to experience
physical and/or psychological harm
2. Prevents them from functioning in their daily lives
SO WHAT CAUSES
ABNORMAL
BEHAVIOR?
• A Question from a Former Student:
“Is depression (and other mental disorders)
caused solely due to biological factors?”
Remember our Elephant?
The Major Psychological Disorders
How do we diagnose psychological disorders?

•The standard system used to diagnose and classify

abnormal behavior
•Devised by the American Psychiatric Association
 1. Anxiety Disorders
• Occurrence of anxiety without an obvious
external cause that affects daily functioning
Phobic Disorder: Intense, irrational fear of an object/situation
Panic Disorder: Takes the form of panic attacks lasting
from a few seconds to several hours
• Anxiety suddenly rises to a peak and one feels a
sense of impending, unavoidable doom
• Do not have identifiable triggering stimuli
(Difference from phobic disorder)
• Worry of future attacks restricts behavior
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: An anxiety disorder
characterized by..

Obsessions: Persistent, unwanted, anxiety provoking

thoughts
e.g., fear of being infected, having forgotten to lock the door

Compulsions: Irresistible, ritualistic, repetitive behaviors

performed to reduce the anxiety associated with
obsessions
e.g., constant hand-washing, checking locks
http://ed.ted.c
om/lessons/de
bunking-the-
myths-of-ocd-
natascha-m-
santos#review
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Psychological disturbance caused by
major traumatic event
• More Exposure = Greater Risk
• Re-experiencing: Nightmares &
flashbacks
• Elevated Arousal & Anxiety: Jumpy,
increased startle response, difficulty
concentrating, sleeping
• Avoidance & Numbing: Avoid
memories/stimuli associated with event,
social withdrawal & emotional numbing
2. Somatoform (Psychosomatic) Disorders
• Psychological difficulties that
take on a physical (somatic)
form, for which there is no
medical cause
• Cause is purely psychological
e.g., high blood pressure,
headaches, backaches,
indigestion, stomach aches,
constipation, skin rashes,
numbness, paralysis
blindness, sleep problems,
fatigue
 3. Dissociative Disorders
• Characterized by the separation (dissociation) of
different facets of a person’s personality that are
normally integrated and work together
• By dissociating key parts of who they are, people
are able to keep disturbing memories or
perceptions from reaching conscious awareness
and thereby reduce their anxiety
• Dissociative Identity Disorder
Person displays characteristics of
two or more distinct personalities
- Formerly called multiple
personality disorder

• Dissociative Amnesia
Significant, selective memory loss
– “Forgotten” material is still present
in memory but is repressed
 4. Mood Disorders
• Disturbances in emotional experience that is
strong enough to intrude on everyday living

Depression
-Interferes with concentration, decision
making, and sociability
- Symptoms:
• Feelings of loneliness and worthlessness
• Persistent crying
• Sleep disturbances
• Appetite changes
https://youtu.be/z-IR48Mb3W0?list=PLUgRTD1mpwSXbaOTCPcGb5znT10fgVmMm
Bipolar Disorder
• Formerly known as
manic-depressive disorder
• Periods alternating between
mania (a state of intense
happiness, power, invulnerability,
and energy) and depression
•May occur over a few days or over a period of years
•Periods of depression are usually longer than manic
periods
 5. Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders
• Class of mental disorders in which severe distortion
of reality occurs
– Decline from a previous level of functioning
– Disturbances of thought, language, and
emotions
– Delusions
– Hallucinations and
perceptual disorders
– Withdrawal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJOwIAv7WTc
 6. Personality Disorders
• Characterized by a set of inflexible, maladaptive behavior
patterns that keep a person from functioning appropriately
in the society
Antisocial Personality Disorder
– Show no regard for the moral and
ethical rules of society or the rights of
others
– Lack guilt or anxiety about their
wrongdoing
– Impulsive, manipulative
– May have excellent social skills
e.g., con artists
Borderline Personality Disorder
– Difficulty developing a secure
sense of who they are
– Tend to rely on relationships with
others to define their identity
– Emotional changes leads to
impulsive and self-destructive
behavior
– Rejections are devastating,
difficulty in controlling anger
– Feel empty and alone
Narcissistic Personality Disorder

– Characterized by an
exaggerated sense of self-
importance
– Expect special treatment from
others
– Inability to experience
empathy for others
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-psychology-of-
narcissism-w-keith-campbell#review
 Other Disorders
Substance-Related Disorders
•Alcohol Abuse
•Drug Abuse

Eating Disorders
•Anorexia Nervosa
•Bulimia
•Binge-Eating Disorder

Sexual Disorders
•Sexual Desire Disorders
•Sexual Arousal Disorders
•Paraphilias

Childhood Disorders
•Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
•Autism
Treatment of Psychological Disorders

“Pschyologic”
Counsel
Problems
listened
Psychotherapy
– A trained professional (a therapist)
uses psychological techniques
(e.g., discussion, interaction,
exercises) to help someone
overcome psychological difficulties
and disorders, resolve problems in
living, or bring about personal
growth
Biomedical Therapy
– Relies on drugs and other medical
procedures to improve
psychological functioning
• Some Questions from Former Students:
“Does therapy really cure people?”
“Can depression (and other mental disorders)
be cured without drugs?”
 The Elephant is Back..

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1391599620875493
http://www.pdgm.bilkent.edu.tr/
 ANY QUESTIONS?
ANYTHING YOU WOULD
LIKE TO ADD?