clinical disorders
medical student syndrome
condition when medical students self report having an assortment of problems and diseases
after learning about them
what to keep in mind about clinical disorders
- most symptoms are present in normal daily functioning
- prevalence of disorders is low
- only clinical psychologists can diagnose
mental health stigma
culturally specific neg belief and attitude towards those seen with suffering from mental
health
-stigma makes mental health disorder worse
- myths linking with mass violence with mental health disorders
What is a mental health disorder defined?
option 1: behaviour is rare or atypical
problem: many rare things are not disorders (eg. happiness), atypical isn't always bad (eg.
Usain bolt runs fast but doesnt have mental health issues), some disorders are quite
common
option 2: normal psychological malfunctions?
problem: How can we be sure what normal psychological function is??, psych traits show
very high variability, psych findings cannot be applied universally across all cultures
option 3: conditions that cause harm to themselves or others
problem: many things cause harm (eg. racism), some things that appear harmful aren't
causing harm to anyone (hallucinations)
option 4: Behaviour in conflict with societal norms ( a person would have a disorder in one
culture but in another they do not)
problem: many people report to being apart of society, wanting to be part of these norms but
things in their mind are actually preventing them from doing so
option 5: A condition that causes distress and problems in every day functions
, problem: not all people with mental illness report impairment to everyday functioning (eg.
certain addictions), natural variability, sociocultural factors
what is Thomas Szasz's ideology about mental illness?
mental illness is a cultural myth we use to attach stigma, filter people and "put them in their
place" and essentially if a person doesn't wanna fall under these norms then this defines
them as having a clinical disorder
what does clinical psychology embrace regarding clinical disorders
acknowledge that mental disorders change as we cont to understand more about causes
and consequences
how does clinical psychology define a mental disorder? (what are the characteristics)
a) cognitive/emotional distress
b) significant impairment to everyday function
c) underlying psychobiological dysfunction and not just environmental factors
d) not primarily the result of social deviance or conflict
e) usually long term
what are the 2 models of what causes disorders?
1) medical model of disorders
2) biopsychosocial model
define the medical model of disorders
view of medical doctors
- all psych disorders are due to psychical/biological causes and have clear identifiable
symptoms and can be cured like any other disease
define the biopsychosocial model?
psych disorders are caused by a complex network of bio, psych and social factors
define the Rosenhan's pseudopatient study
- researchers admitted themselves to a mental institution and falsely (fake) reported
symptoms of schizophrenia. Then once in and diagnosed they acted normally
- they were still forced to stay in the hospital between 7 and 52 days
- then when they were released they were just labelled as paranoid schizophrenia
medical student syndrome
condition when medical students self report having an assortment of problems and diseases
after learning about them
what to keep in mind about clinical disorders
- most symptoms are present in normal daily functioning
- prevalence of disorders is low
- only clinical psychologists can diagnose
mental health stigma
culturally specific neg belief and attitude towards those seen with suffering from mental
health
-stigma makes mental health disorder worse
- myths linking with mass violence with mental health disorders
What is a mental health disorder defined?
option 1: behaviour is rare or atypical
problem: many rare things are not disorders (eg. happiness), atypical isn't always bad (eg.
Usain bolt runs fast but doesnt have mental health issues), some disorders are quite
common
option 2: normal psychological malfunctions?
problem: How can we be sure what normal psychological function is??, psych traits show
very high variability, psych findings cannot be applied universally across all cultures
option 3: conditions that cause harm to themselves or others
problem: many things cause harm (eg. racism), some things that appear harmful aren't
causing harm to anyone (hallucinations)
option 4: Behaviour in conflict with societal norms ( a person would have a disorder in one
culture but in another they do not)
problem: many people report to being apart of society, wanting to be part of these norms but
things in their mind are actually preventing them from doing so
option 5: A condition that causes distress and problems in every day functions
, problem: not all people with mental illness report impairment to everyday functioning (eg.
certain addictions), natural variability, sociocultural factors
what is Thomas Szasz's ideology about mental illness?
mental illness is a cultural myth we use to attach stigma, filter people and "put them in their
place" and essentially if a person doesn't wanna fall under these norms then this defines
them as having a clinical disorder
what does clinical psychology embrace regarding clinical disorders
acknowledge that mental disorders change as we cont to understand more about causes
and consequences
how does clinical psychology define a mental disorder? (what are the characteristics)
a) cognitive/emotional distress
b) significant impairment to everyday function
c) underlying psychobiological dysfunction and not just environmental factors
d) not primarily the result of social deviance or conflict
e) usually long term
what are the 2 models of what causes disorders?
1) medical model of disorders
2) biopsychosocial model
define the medical model of disorders
view of medical doctors
- all psych disorders are due to psychical/biological causes and have clear identifiable
symptoms and can be cured like any other disease
define the biopsychosocial model?
psych disorders are caused by a complex network of bio, psych and social factors
define the Rosenhan's pseudopatient study
- researchers admitted themselves to a mental institution and falsely (fake) reported
symptoms of schizophrenia. Then once in and diagnosed they acted normally
- they were still forced to stay in the hospital between 7 and 52 days
- then when they were released they were just labelled as paranoid schizophrenia
