1. Psychopathology mini-mock feedback and improvements
Q2 – 1 mark given for a breif/vague or muddled strength. 2nd was lost for lack of clear or accurate elaboration/explanation. Q3 –1 mark was given for a what obsessions and/or compulsions are. 2nd mark was lost for not making a clear distinction between obsessions being an internal aspect whereas compulsions are an external aspect Q4 – To get 3-4 marks you had to: make specific references the scenario, be clear and say how the findings showed a partly genetic link but also how findings could be down to an alternative explanation (including why you have made this conclusion)

2. Psychopathology mini-mock feedback and improvements
Q6 – Maximum of 2 marks given for a clear description of CBT without specific reference to how this is used to treat depression. There were issues with clarity and accuracy with quite a few answers to this question. Q7 (3xAO1 & 5xAO3) – Answers were mainly descriptive and lacked effective evaluation. Description (AO1): All answers showed some knowledge but marks were lost for detail and accuracy of drug therapies. Evaluation (AO3): Lots of relevant points were often made but they often lacked detail/elaboration which meant marks were lost for not writing fully explained and elaborated evaluations (not using P.E.S structure).

3. Q6: Outline CBT as a treatment for depression
CBT aims to identify and challenge negative thoughts and beliefs which underpin depression. Thought-catching is one aspect of CBT which involves identifying negative thoughts about the world, the self and the future. Once these have been identified, these negative thoughts will be challenged, one way this can be done is the therapist sets the depressed client homework in which they write a diary. For example a person suffering with depression may have the negative belief that they are ‘worthless’ however they could have wrote about something they have achieved either personally or professionally which could be used to challenge this belief. CBT enables the depressed person to re-interpret their thoughts and beliefs in a more positive way which will help to reduce the negative emotions they experience as a result of irrational thinking.

4. Q7: Describe and evaluate biological therapies for OCD
Identify SSRI’s as a common drug therapy for OCD (name a type of SSRI) & say overall how, for OCD they increase levels of serotonin.
Explain clearly how SSRI’s increase the levels of serotonin (use key words)
Give brief details on how long they take to work or mention there are other types.
Evaluate: (2-3 points maximum!)
Use P.E.S structure for each evaluation point.
E.g. One strength of using drug therapies like SSRI’s to treat OCD is that they have been found to be effective. For example, Julien (2007) reported that studies of SSRIs show that between 50% and 80% of OCD patients improve, allowing them to live a fairly normal lifestyle. So although the symptoms do not fully disappear they do still reduce the symptoms of OCD and are seen as more effective than no treatment at all. Therefore they should be considered as a treatment option for OCD.