how many people are suffering from any psychological disorder
Around 10% of people is suffering from any psychological disorder
A psychological disorder is a…
- Psychological dysfunction along time (concerning behavior, emotion, or cognition)
- unexpected in the individual’s sociocultural context
- and associated with intense and chronic distress or interference or inability (social or job)
- It is not a particular behavior, a single emotion or thought. And it is not a habit or a personality predisposition (if they do not cause human suffering).
why use the concept psychological disorder?
- helps to humanize suffering and strange behaviors and feelings
bad practice of using the concept psychological disorder
- labelling persons not problems
- false positives (overdiagnosis)
Hippocrates of Kos
First descriptions of psychological disorder
Thomas Sydenham
Concept of syndrome (=a set of symptoms)
Philippe Pinel
- Mental alienation concept
- hypothesis about causes of mental insanity: genetics, physical and moral (passions, all kind of excesses
- a more humane intervention: moral therapy
Emil Kraepelin
First systematic classification
The two main classifications used in the world
- DSM-5
- ICD-11
which factors does psychological disorders have?
- biological factors
- social factors
- psychological factors
what is biological factors?
- genetic predisposition
- neuroanatomical alterations
- unbalanced chemical system
what is social factors?
- To be criticized or rejected
- social comparison
what is psychological factors?
- self-esteem
- instability (in general we love ourselves, but with conditions
- no reality acceptance
- emotional dysregulation
how to evaluate?
- psychological factors
- social factors: it is very important to evaluate the person in his or her family, social, economic and cultural context
- biological factors: fortunately, each time there are more and more devices and instruments available for biological evaluation
what kind of methods is there for evaluation?
interview
observation
test
how to interview?
- use active observation and non-verbal communication
- ask only relevant information with maximum respect and affection
- do not ask questions when you already know the answer
- do not anticipate explanations and do not offer them to the person
eg: “don’t you believe this is happening because of…?” - Write down: “the person is saying that…” (do not believe the information only once listened at)
- Use the “descending arrow technique” for exploring inner thoughts, needs, goals, values…
give an example of descending arrow technique?
i worry about start teaching at school–>
if i don’t do it well, they will fire me–>
my finances are at risk–>
i would have to move back to my parents–>
that would be the worst thing that could happen to me–>
why use descending arrow technique?
explore inner thoughts, needs, goals, values
give some examples of tests
free responses measures (formerly known as “projective tests”
- word association test
- rorschach test
- thematic apperception test
rating scales or self-report measures (formerly known as “objective tests”)
describe the Word association test (1910)
and who made it?
- Carl G. Jung 1875-1961
- what comes to your mind when you hear the word…?
… to die? - interest in the unconscious, like his teacher Freud
for him: mental problems are pathological ways of seeking personal and spiritual self-realization
describe the Rorschach test (1921) and who made it?
- Hermann Rorschach
- What do you see in this picture?
describe Thematic apperception test (TAT) and who made it?
- Henry A. Murray and Christiana D. Morgan
- 31 ambiguous images
What happened for the situation to arise?
What is happening at the moment?
What do the protagonists feel and think?
What was the outcome of the story?
describe reliability and validity
reliable= results must be consistent
valid= results must satisfy objectives
describe the self-report scales
- from 1-5 (5 is the highest, how much it is accurate for the person)
- example: my worries overwhelm me
