Development & mental health
Hoorcollege 1 (3-9-2019):
Mental health professional:
- Consumer of science: enhancing the practice
- Evaluator of science: determining the effectiveness of the practice
- Creator of science: conducting research that leads to new procedures useful
in practice
Life-span developmental perspective: some things that are normal at a certain age or
stage, are not normal at another
Equifinality: the same outcome (disorder) can be arrived at from different origins
(causes), the same origin (cause) can end up at different outcomes (disorders)
Dangers of “Medical Model”:
- Focus on internal instead of external causes, mainly mono causal models
- Not enough emphasis on the own responsibility of the patient
- Focus is more directed to therapy than prevention, fighting against the disease
instead of health-advancement
- Preference for “biological/somatic” therapies
Subjective personal distress: behavior or feelings may be abnormal (does the
behavior distinct from the norm) if it creates great distress
Psychological disorder: psychological disfunction (does the behavior impair an
individual’s ability to function in life), distress or impairment, atypical response
Rosenhan Study: people got diagnosed while not being mentally ill
Why diagnose? accurate description, prediction, intervention
A psychotherapist can help you explore your thoughts, feelings and beliefs, which
may involve discussing past events, such as those from your childhood. They will
help you consider how your personality and life experiences influence your current
thoughts, feelings, relationships and behaviour. This understanding should enable
you to deal with difficult situations more effectively. (individual treatment)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is time limited & goal oriented. It focuses
entirely on present problems with little interest in how these problems might have
arisen. It is highly structured and aims to challenge negative thoughts to try and bring
about immediate change. (everyone gets same treatment)
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT): is a time-limited, focused, evidence-based
approach to treat mood disorders. The main goal of IPT is to improve the quality of a
client’s interpersonal relationships and social functioning to help reduce their distress.
,Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): provides clients with new skills to manage
painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships (teach coping skills).
Hoorcollege 2 (5-9-2019) – Etiology (H2 & 4):
Multidimensional models of abnormal behavior:
- Major influences: biological (genes), behavioral (learning), emotional (trauma,
avoidance), environmental/social (socioeconomic class, influences of others),
developmental (nurture), cultural
Development of mental disorders as a process of change and development:
dispositional factors, provoking factors, maintaining factors
Behavior of genetics:
- All human behavioral traits are heritable: they are affected to some degree by
genetic variation
- The effect of being raised in the same family is smaller than the effect of
genes
- A substantial portion of the variation in complex human behavioral traits is not
accounted for by the effects of genes or families
- A typical human behavioral trait is associated with very many genetic variants,
each of which accounts for a very small percentage of the behavioral
variability.
Neurotransmitters:
- Monoamine: Serotonin (travels through many key areas of the brain, affecting
the function of those areas. Implicated in depression, anxiety, aggressive
impulses), Dopamine (found in areas of the brain associated with the
experience of reinforcements or rewards. Affected by substances (alcohol)
and behaviors (sex) that are pleasurable), Norepinephrine/noradrenaline
(produced by neurons in the brain stem. Cocaine and amphetamine, prolong
the action of norepinephrine)
- Amino-acid: GABA (inhibitory, inhibit transmission of information/action
potentials), Glutamate (excitatory, turns on neurons leading to action)
Psychosocial influences on brain structure and function:
- Neurological activity may change as a result of psychotherapy à so
psychosocial influences affect brain function (and not just drugs)
- Placebos may also change brain function
- Stress and early development can change brain structure, so that when a
neurotransmitter is injected, it can have different effects on different people
Hormones:
- Coritsol (stress hormone): stress regulation hormone
- Testosterone: reason for aggression? Or medication for social anxiety?
- Oxytocin (bonding): Loving to ingroup, aggressive to outgroup
Cause of mental disorders:
, - Social environment: deprivation in the early development (abuse, sexual
assault), trauma, marital problems/divorce, parenting styles (neglecting,
autoritair), mental disorders of parents
- Culture: affects the coping of people with mental illnesses, people in western
countries are more likely to have a mental disorder than in other countries
- Gender effects and roles: related to cultural imperatives, influences via
multiple dimensions, type and prevalence of anxieties, anxiety behavior,
responses, coping strategies
- Biological: epigenetics (the immediate effects of the environment (early
stressful events) influence cells that turn certain genes on or off)
Etiological models:
- Uni-causal (one influence)
- Multi-causal (multiple influences)
- Interaction (multiple influences together)
- Diathese-stress model: someone is vulnerable (genetically) for developing
some disorder, when the right kind of stressor (environmental) comes along
- Gene-environment correlation model: when someone is vulnerable for
developing some disorder, and you have a certain personality trait that makes
it more likely you will experience stressful life events.
Because of learned helplessness, people could develop a mental disorder because
they think they can do little about stressors in their lives.
Hoorcollege 3 (10-9-2019) – anxiety disorders (H5):
Fear: present-oriented, immediate emotional reaction to current danger, has a clear
focus (phobia)
Anxiety: future-oriented, not in control of upcoming events, more ‘fuzzy’, worry
(disorders)
Panic attack: the alarm response of real fear, but without actual danger
Fear:
- Is adaptive and has an evolutionary value
- People are biologically predisposed
- It includes activation of the sympathetic nerve system
Fast increase, slow decrease (Amygdala à hypothalamus à sympathetic
nervous system)
3 stadiums anxiety:
- Body: rapid breathing, muscle tension
- Thoughts: “danger”, “i’m not going to make it”
- Behaviour: run away/flight, fight, freeze
Biological contributions:
- genetic vulnerability (generalized biological vulnerability) with the right stressor
(psychological & social factors).
- GABA-benzodiazepine system, noradrenergic system, serotonergic system à
CRF system (expression of anxiety): effects on limbic system (hippocampus &
amygdala), brain stem, prefrontal cortex, dopaminergic system.
Hoorcollege 1 (3-9-2019):
Mental health professional:
- Consumer of science: enhancing the practice
- Evaluator of science: determining the effectiveness of the practice
- Creator of science: conducting research that leads to new procedures useful
in practice
Life-span developmental perspective: some things that are normal at a certain age or
stage, are not normal at another
Equifinality: the same outcome (disorder) can be arrived at from different origins
(causes), the same origin (cause) can end up at different outcomes (disorders)
Dangers of “Medical Model”:
- Focus on internal instead of external causes, mainly mono causal models
- Not enough emphasis on the own responsibility of the patient
- Focus is more directed to therapy than prevention, fighting against the disease
instead of health-advancement
- Preference for “biological/somatic” therapies
Subjective personal distress: behavior or feelings may be abnormal (does the
behavior distinct from the norm) if it creates great distress
Psychological disorder: psychological disfunction (does the behavior impair an
individual’s ability to function in life), distress or impairment, atypical response
Rosenhan Study: people got diagnosed while not being mentally ill
Why diagnose? accurate description, prediction, intervention
A psychotherapist can help you explore your thoughts, feelings and beliefs, which
may involve discussing past events, such as those from your childhood. They will
help you consider how your personality and life experiences influence your current
thoughts, feelings, relationships and behaviour. This understanding should enable
you to deal with difficult situations more effectively. (individual treatment)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is time limited & goal oriented. It focuses
entirely on present problems with little interest in how these problems might have
arisen. It is highly structured and aims to challenge negative thoughts to try and bring
about immediate change. (everyone gets same treatment)
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT): is a time-limited, focused, evidence-based
approach to treat mood disorders. The main goal of IPT is to improve the quality of a
client’s interpersonal relationships and social functioning to help reduce their distress.
,Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): provides clients with new skills to manage
painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships (teach coping skills).
Hoorcollege 2 (5-9-2019) – Etiology (H2 & 4):
Multidimensional models of abnormal behavior:
- Major influences: biological (genes), behavioral (learning), emotional (trauma,
avoidance), environmental/social (socioeconomic class, influences of others),
developmental (nurture), cultural
Development of mental disorders as a process of change and development:
dispositional factors, provoking factors, maintaining factors
Behavior of genetics:
- All human behavioral traits are heritable: they are affected to some degree by
genetic variation
- The effect of being raised in the same family is smaller than the effect of
genes
- A substantial portion of the variation in complex human behavioral traits is not
accounted for by the effects of genes or families
- A typical human behavioral trait is associated with very many genetic variants,
each of which accounts for a very small percentage of the behavioral
variability.
Neurotransmitters:
- Monoamine: Serotonin (travels through many key areas of the brain, affecting
the function of those areas. Implicated in depression, anxiety, aggressive
impulses), Dopamine (found in areas of the brain associated with the
experience of reinforcements or rewards. Affected by substances (alcohol)
and behaviors (sex) that are pleasurable), Norepinephrine/noradrenaline
(produced by neurons in the brain stem. Cocaine and amphetamine, prolong
the action of norepinephrine)
- Amino-acid: GABA (inhibitory, inhibit transmission of information/action
potentials), Glutamate (excitatory, turns on neurons leading to action)
Psychosocial influences on brain structure and function:
- Neurological activity may change as a result of psychotherapy à so
psychosocial influences affect brain function (and not just drugs)
- Placebos may also change brain function
- Stress and early development can change brain structure, so that when a
neurotransmitter is injected, it can have different effects on different people
Hormones:
- Coritsol (stress hormone): stress regulation hormone
- Testosterone: reason for aggression? Or medication for social anxiety?
- Oxytocin (bonding): Loving to ingroup, aggressive to outgroup
Cause of mental disorders:
, - Social environment: deprivation in the early development (abuse, sexual
assault), trauma, marital problems/divorce, parenting styles (neglecting,
autoritair), mental disorders of parents
- Culture: affects the coping of people with mental illnesses, people in western
countries are more likely to have a mental disorder than in other countries
- Gender effects and roles: related to cultural imperatives, influences via
multiple dimensions, type and prevalence of anxieties, anxiety behavior,
responses, coping strategies
- Biological: epigenetics (the immediate effects of the environment (early
stressful events) influence cells that turn certain genes on or off)
Etiological models:
- Uni-causal (one influence)
- Multi-causal (multiple influences)
- Interaction (multiple influences together)
- Diathese-stress model: someone is vulnerable (genetically) for developing
some disorder, when the right kind of stressor (environmental) comes along
- Gene-environment correlation model: when someone is vulnerable for
developing some disorder, and you have a certain personality trait that makes
it more likely you will experience stressful life events.
Because of learned helplessness, people could develop a mental disorder because
they think they can do little about stressors in their lives.
Hoorcollege 3 (10-9-2019) – anxiety disorders (H5):
Fear: present-oriented, immediate emotional reaction to current danger, has a clear
focus (phobia)
Anxiety: future-oriented, not in control of upcoming events, more ‘fuzzy’, worry
(disorders)
Panic attack: the alarm response of real fear, but without actual danger
Fear:
- Is adaptive and has an evolutionary value
- People are biologically predisposed
- It includes activation of the sympathetic nerve system
Fast increase, slow decrease (Amygdala à hypothalamus à sympathetic
nervous system)
3 stadiums anxiety:
- Body: rapid breathing, muscle tension
- Thoughts: “danger”, “i’m not going to make it”
- Behaviour: run away/flight, fight, freeze
Biological contributions:
- genetic vulnerability (generalized biological vulnerability) with the right stressor
(psychological & social factors).
- GABA-benzodiazepine system, noradrenergic system, serotonergic system à
CRF system (expression of anxiety): effects on limbic system (hippocampus &
amygdala), brain stem, prefrontal cortex, dopaminergic system.
