TREATMENT OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR AND INIGHT THERAPIES
•What is abnormal behaviour? How do we define what is abnormal?
-We can identify behaviour that is ‘weird’ when we see it but how do
we ‘define’ it.
-The majority of us avoid, what we define for ourselves as ‘odd’
behaviour, for example we would probably choose not to sit next to
someone acting in an odd fashion or dressed in odd clothing on a bus
or train.
-We don’t like individuals who smell unclean and whenever possible
stay away from them.
-The whole, we would define abnormality as being outside the
parameters of what is accepted in our society.
- But how is this defined and what does ‘normal parameters’ really
mean? Who decides what is abnormal vs. normal?
• If normal behaviour is defined by a society, what is a society?
-A society is a collective of individuals who are defined by the
language that is spoken, religious practices and ethnic diversity.
-Societies are fluid and constantly changing.
-What was the norm for a society one hundred years ago may
not be the norm of the same society today.
- How an individual behaves within a group is defined by the
constraints of the society.
-Rules and norms govern what are deemed to be normal
parameters.
-If you lived a solitary existence, how you behaved would not
be dictated by others as you would be free to do as you chose.
-Your behaviour would not impinge on anyone else.
-When an individual lives within a group, the definition of
normal behaviour is usually classified by a consensus of what is
considered to be normal for that group.
, - Occasionally, certain groups of people can push the
boundaries but even this has limitations.
-For example, many normal behaviours are classified by age
ranges. A 16-year-old who chooses to dye their hair a bright
lime green colour would probably not be classified as
abnormal; perhaps unusual, but not extreme. We would
probably agree that this behaviour is pushing the boundaries,
but we would also define it as youthful behaviour and
therefore acceptable. However, if a 70-year-old engages in the
same behaviour, our evaluation of this individual would be
outside of normal boundaries.
THERAPISTS
• Psychologist:
Clinical- Treatment of full-fledged disorders (some/most have a PHD
in psychology)
Counselling- treatment of everyday problems
• Psychiatrists:
Medical doctors who specialize in psychological disorders or more
severe disorders
• Social workers:
Trained to perform psychotherapy with a particular emphasis on
connecting people with the community and support services
available
• Counsellors:
Encourage clients to find their own methods for managing their
emotions, while providing the support they need.
,TREATMENT: A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH (CHAPTER 12 IS VERY
CRUCIAL STUDY!!!)
• There are different types of therapy so knowing what
PSYCHOtherapy entails is important.
• The professional treatment of psychological disorders and
problems is called psychotherapy.
• What we call our talk therapies.
• What is Psychotherapy:
-Psychotherapy means the psychological therapy/intervention
of a person.
-The professional treatment of psychological disorders and
problems.
-Psychotherapy is a form of mental treatment applied to people
suffering from mental disorders.
-From a multicultural perspective, abnormal behaviour is
viewed from multiple perspectives.
-For example, to understand internal world of a traditional
African person one needs to understand traditional African
cosmology. This means African cosmology will provide the
insights to treatment based on the experiences associated with
psychopathology.
-Theres a need to understand the cultures of the people you
plan on working with. For example: If you plan on working in
Pretoria you need to understand their culture and the way they
work in their city.
-From the psychological perspective one need to understand
what they call the aetiology of disorder. That means the
psychological reasons for that mental disorder.
-This would enable effective treatment.
, -The concept of ideal mental health was proposed as a criterion
of normality by humanistic psychologists Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow in the 1950s.
-Deviations from the ideal are taken to indicate varying degrees
of abnormality.
-Maslow (1946) believed that an individual’s life goal was self-
actualization, which he described as a desire for self-fulfilment.
-Many psychoanalytically oriented psychologists have used the
concept of consciousness and balance as criteria for
abnormality.
-Humanistic and personal-centred psychologists have proposed
aspects of maturity, competence, autonomy and resistance to
stress.
-Each theoretical paradigm has its own way of defining
abnormality and thus also different ways of treatment or
Psychotherapy.
-Psychotherapy is often paradigm specific, it is based on the
psychological theoretical understanding of the mental disorder.
-A psychoanalyst is likely to use psychoanalytic techniques to
treat patients.
-So, most psychologist are likely to adapt their approaches
when treating patients; even though generic treatment
protocols are available.
-A treatment protocol is a specific to treating and managing
specific disorder that has been developed, implemented and
evaluated over time.
- Many practitioners use a combined approach in order to find
treatment or inventions for mental disorder.
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL: A COMBINED APPROACH
• Biological
•What is abnormal behaviour? How do we define what is abnormal?
-We can identify behaviour that is ‘weird’ when we see it but how do
we ‘define’ it.
-The majority of us avoid, what we define for ourselves as ‘odd’
behaviour, for example we would probably choose not to sit next to
someone acting in an odd fashion or dressed in odd clothing on a bus
or train.
-We don’t like individuals who smell unclean and whenever possible
stay away from them.
-The whole, we would define abnormality as being outside the
parameters of what is accepted in our society.
- But how is this defined and what does ‘normal parameters’ really
mean? Who decides what is abnormal vs. normal?
• If normal behaviour is defined by a society, what is a society?
-A society is a collective of individuals who are defined by the
language that is spoken, religious practices and ethnic diversity.
-Societies are fluid and constantly changing.
-What was the norm for a society one hundred years ago may
not be the norm of the same society today.
- How an individual behaves within a group is defined by the
constraints of the society.
-Rules and norms govern what are deemed to be normal
parameters.
-If you lived a solitary existence, how you behaved would not
be dictated by others as you would be free to do as you chose.
-Your behaviour would not impinge on anyone else.
-When an individual lives within a group, the definition of
normal behaviour is usually classified by a consensus of what is
considered to be normal for that group.
, - Occasionally, certain groups of people can push the
boundaries but even this has limitations.
-For example, many normal behaviours are classified by age
ranges. A 16-year-old who chooses to dye their hair a bright
lime green colour would probably not be classified as
abnormal; perhaps unusual, but not extreme. We would
probably agree that this behaviour is pushing the boundaries,
but we would also define it as youthful behaviour and
therefore acceptable. However, if a 70-year-old engages in the
same behaviour, our evaluation of this individual would be
outside of normal boundaries.
THERAPISTS
• Psychologist:
Clinical- Treatment of full-fledged disorders (some/most have a PHD
in psychology)
Counselling- treatment of everyday problems
• Psychiatrists:
Medical doctors who specialize in psychological disorders or more
severe disorders
• Social workers:
Trained to perform psychotherapy with a particular emphasis on
connecting people with the community and support services
available
• Counsellors:
Encourage clients to find their own methods for managing their
emotions, while providing the support they need.
,TREATMENT: A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH (CHAPTER 12 IS VERY
CRUCIAL STUDY!!!)
• There are different types of therapy so knowing what
PSYCHOtherapy entails is important.
• The professional treatment of psychological disorders and
problems is called psychotherapy.
• What we call our talk therapies.
• What is Psychotherapy:
-Psychotherapy means the psychological therapy/intervention
of a person.
-The professional treatment of psychological disorders and
problems.
-Psychotherapy is a form of mental treatment applied to people
suffering from mental disorders.
-From a multicultural perspective, abnormal behaviour is
viewed from multiple perspectives.
-For example, to understand internal world of a traditional
African person one needs to understand traditional African
cosmology. This means African cosmology will provide the
insights to treatment based on the experiences associated with
psychopathology.
-Theres a need to understand the cultures of the people you
plan on working with. For example: If you plan on working in
Pretoria you need to understand their culture and the way they
work in their city.
-From the psychological perspective one need to understand
what they call the aetiology of disorder. That means the
psychological reasons for that mental disorder.
-This would enable effective treatment.
, -The concept of ideal mental health was proposed as a criterion
of normality by humanistic psychologists Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow in the 1950s.
-Deviations from the ideal are taken to indicate varying degrees
of abnormality.
-Maslow (1946) believed that an individual’s life goal was self-
actualization, which he described as a desire for self-fulfilment.
-Many psychoanalytically oriented psychologists have used the
concept of consciousness and balance as criteria for
abnormality.
-Humanistic and personal-centred psychologists have proposed
aspects of maturity, competence, autonomy and resistance to
stress.
-Each theoretical paradigm has its own way of defining
abnormality and thus also different ways of treatment or
Psychotherapy.
-Psychotherapy is often paradigm specific, it is based on the
psychological theoretical understanding of the mental disorder.
-A psychoanalyst is likely to use psychoanalytic techniques to
treat patients.
-So, most psychologist are likely to adapt their approaches
when treating patients; even though generic treatment
protocols are available.
-A treatment protocol is a specific to treating and managing
specific disorder that has been developed, implemented and
evaluated over time.
- Many practitioners use a combined approach in order to find
treatment or inventions for mental disorder.
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL: A COMBINED APPROACH
• Biological
