What are the two main anxiety disorders covered in lecture?
Panic Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder.
What are the DSM-5 criteria for Panic Disorder?
A: Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks + ≥1 month of persistent concern about additional attacks or behavioral change due to attacks.
What is the Cognitive-Behavioural Model of Panic Disorder?
Misinterpretation of bodily sensations as catastrophic → increased anxiety → stronger sensations → panic attack → avoidance maintains fear.
What is interoceptive exposure?
A CBT technique where clients deliberately induce physical sensations (e.g., spinning, running in place) to learn they are harmless.
Q: What maintains panic symptoms according to CBT?
A: Avoidance and safety behaviors (they prevent disconfirmation of catastrophic beliefs).
Q: What is the main feature of Social Anxiety Disorder?
Persistent fear of social situations due to potential scrutiny or negative evaluation.
What is the gold-standard treatment for SAD?
A: Cognitive-behavioral therapy with exposure hierarchy and cognitive restructuring.
What are common cognitive biases in Social Anxiety Disorder?
A: Overestimation of negative evaluation, attention bias toward threat, post-event rumination.
Q: What defines obsessions and compulsions?
A:
Obsessions: Intrusive, unwanted thoughts or urges causing distress.
Compulsions: Repetitive behaviors or mental acts aimed at reducing distress or preventing feared outcomes.
What does it mean that OCD is ego-dystonic?
The person recognizes their thoughts/behaviors are irrational and inconsistent with their self-view, but feels unable to stop.
Q: How does OCPD differ from OCD?
A: OCPD is ego-syntonic — perfectionism and control are seen as appropriate or desirable.
Q: What are the core dysfunctional beliefs in the cognitive model of OCD?
A:
Inflated responsibility
Overestimation of threat
Thought–action fusion
Perfectionism / need for certainty
Q: What maintains OCD symptoms behaviorally?
A: Negative reinforcement — compulsions reduce anxiety temporarily, strengthening the obsession-compulsion cycle.
Q: What is the gold-standard treatment for OCD?
A: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), often combined with CBT and/or SSRIs.
Q: How is PTSD different from Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)?
A: ASD lasts <1 month; PTSD lasts ≥1 month.
Q: What are the four DSM-5 symptom clusters of PTSD?
A:
1.Intrusion
- Avoidance
- Negative alterations in mood/cognition
- Alterations in arousal/reactivity
Q: What happens during ERP?
A: Clients are exposed to feared thoughts or triggers without performing compulsions → anxiety decreases over time (habituation + new learning).
Q: What is the Ehlers & Clark (2000) cognitive model of PTSD?
A: Poorly processed trauma memories and negative appraisals create a “sense of current threat.” Avoidance prevents emotional processing, maintaining symptoms.
Q: What is the “accelerator–brake” model of PTSD neurobiology?
A: Overactive amygdala (“accelerator”) and underactive prefrontal cortex (“brake”), leading to excessive fear and poor regulation.
Q: What is the main goal of Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy?
A: Encourage emotional engagement with trauma memories to reduce avoidance and correct fear structures.
Q: What is the goal of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD?
A: Identify and challenge maladaptive beliefs (“stuck points”) such as guilt, self-blame, or mistrust, and replace them with balanced beliefs.
Q: Why is Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) not recommended?
A: Forcing immediate retelling can intensify distress and increase PTSD risk.
Q: What does the Minority Stress Model explain about PTSD?
A: Chronic exposure to stigma and discrimination increases trauma risk and symptom persistence among marginalized groups.
Q: What is the social constructionist view of psychopathology?
A: Mental disorders are partly products of cultural and social definitions of “normality.”
