Monday, December 4 With your neighbors… define “psychological disorder.” What do you think are the key elements of a psychological disorder? What separates someone who behaves “different” or “odd” to someone who has a disorder? Today’s topic: Intro to Disorders Upcoming Dates: Homework: Read anxiety disorders pages 569-576 Research your disorder Assessments: Presentations due Monday

Psychological Disorders #inourownwords AP Psychology Myers, Ch. 12 Part 1 Psychological Disorders “We are all mad at some time or anther.” - Battista Mantuanus

Psychological Disorder Psychological disorder - Deviant, Distressful, and Dysfunctional behavior patterns Deviant - culture, context, and time dependent Distressful – causing emotion/physical pain and harm Dysfunctional – behavior has to be disabling enough to disrupt everyday life

UMAD U – Unjustifiable M – Maladaptive A – Atypical D – Disturbing

Mental Illness or not? A stressed-out mom explodes in anger and breaks all of her fine china. A teen-aged boy feels compelled to wash his hands seven times after he touches anything whether its dirty or not. A college soccer coach has on nine occasions destroyed everything in the locker room after a bad loss. A young housewife is very depressed and spends three days in bed crying uncontrollably. An Iraqi war veteran wakes up every night screaming and thrashing his arms, apparently in response to a recurring nightmare. A middle-aged woman stays isolated in her basement playing solitaire on her computer. She does this for an average of ten hours a day.

Mentally Ill vs. Insane The term “insane” is not a clinical term, rather a legal term. “Insanity defense” is rare It is offensive to refer to a mentally ill individual as “crazy” or “insane.” Often we say these terms when we are confused or uncomfortable.

The Medical Model Earlier times… evil or strange forces caused psychological abnormalities Treated with “removing” the force (teeth pulling, cauterizing, lobotomize, beating, burning, etc) Modern times: Medical model – the concept that diseases have physical causes that can be diagnosed and hopefully cured.

Diagnosing Disorders How do you diagnose a disorder? Disorders are diagnosed based on assessments, interviews, and observations based on 5 axes in the DSM-V. Axis Category Axis I Clinical psychological syndromes (mood, anxiety, dissociative, sleep, sexual, substance-related, schizophrenia, eating, etc) Axis II Personality disorders Mental retardation Axis III General medical conditions (diabetes, hypertension, arthritis) Axis IV Psychosocial or Environmental problems (social/environmental stressors Axis V Global Assessment of functioning

Classifying Disorders DSM-V Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Published by the American Psychological Association A widely used system for classifying psychological disorders. 1950 – 60 disorders Today – 400 disorders

Labeling Disorders PRO Anti Communication between health professionals about care and therapy. It provides a common vocabulary for research and treatment. Labels can stigmatize people. Labels can distort a person’s perception of themselves (affecting their well-being) and others’ perceptions of them (affecting treatment). David Rosenhan Study More on the study

Tuesday, December 5 What do you think could be the causes of some psychological disorders? How are people diagnosed with a psychological disorder? Today’s topic: Labeling and Dissociative Disorders Upcoming Dates: Homework: You should have read pages 561-576 by today Read about somatoform and dissociative disorders (pages 576-579) by tomorrow Read pages 605-618 (Treatment of Disorders) by Thursday Read page 623-638 by Friday Assessments: Presentations begin Monday, 12/11 Test Friday, 12/15

ADHD

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more three key symptoms: Inattention Hyperactivity Impulsivity 11% of school-age children (2011) Does energetic child + boring school = ADHD?

ADHD Debate Genuine Disorder Over-Diagnosed ADHD is a real neurological disorder that is inheritable can be studied using brain imaging techniques not caused by too much sugar or boring classes often co-exists with other learning disorders treatable with nonaddictive medications such as Ritalin or Adderall behavioral therapies also help modify behaviors in the classroom and at home ADHD diagnoses have been on the rise for 2 decades more children are unnecessarily on medication ADHD rates differ in different counties and states adults also accept the diagnosis and use it to account for life failings Bottom line – ADHD symptoms are disruptive and can be treated with medication.