Treatments

Question 1

What are the main components of psychosurgery?

Answer 1

• Prefrontal lobotomy (prefrontal leukotomy)
• Stereotactic psychosurgery

Question 2

What can you look at to assess the effectiveness of psychosurgery?

Answer 2

• Early psychosurgery = up to 6% fatality rate . Had severe side effects like brain seizures and a lack of emotional responsiveness.
• Appropriateness of psychosurgery = limited in its use. It is illogical that a person’s psychological self can be operated on as it is not something physical.

Question 3

What are the ethical issues of psychosurgery?

Answer 3

• Valid consent = clients are not in the right frame of mind to give fully informed consent.
• Irreversible damage = early procedures resulted in changes to a person’s cognitive capabilities. Modern methods have reduced risks of severe damage.

Question 4

What are the main components of SD?

Answer 4

• Counterconditioning = responding to the feared stimulus with relaxation.
• Desensitisation hierarchy = a series of gradual steps to unlearn phobias.
• Different forms of SD = in vivo (directly), in vitro (imagine).

Question 5

What can you look at to assess the effectiveness of SD?

Answer 5

• Research support = SD is proven to be successful with specific phobias where the problem has been learned. Clients with a fear of flying showed less physiological signs of fear and lower fear levels whilst in a flight simulator after a 12-25 week treatment period.
• Appropriateness for different phobias = not effective for more generalised fears. These are ‘ancient fears’ due to biological preparedness.

Question 6

How are ethical issues reduced by using SD?

Answer 6

• Anxiety controlled = conducted slowly at a pace dictated largely by the client.
• Able to provide valid consent = SD is mainly used with phobias meaning clients are in a healthy frame of mind and in touch with reality.
• Can withdraw at any point = they all attend at their own free will.

Question 7

What are the main components of CBT?

Answer 7

• Dysfunctional thought diary = keep a record of events leading up to unpleasant emotions. Record negative thoughts and rate them on a scale of 1-100%. Rewrite a more rational response and again rate that 1-100%.
• Cognitive restructuring = identify and change thinking patterns. Replace dysfunctional thoughts with more constructive ones.

Question 8

What can you look at to assess the effectiveness of CBT?

Answer 8

• Individual differences = suitable for some compared to others. Less suitable for people who are rigid and resistant to change.
• Empowerment = empowers clients to develop their own coping strategies and recognise that we have the free will to do this. CBT is an alternative to psychoanalysis for people who can’t cope with determinist principles.

Question 9

What are the ethical issues of CBT?

Answer 9

• Patient blame = the cognitive approach assumes the patient is responsible for their disorder. Important situational factors may be overlooked.
• Who judges an irrational thought? = Depressed people display the sadder, but wiser effect. Some thoughts may seem irrational to a therapist, this damages the clients self esteem, therefore causing psychological harm.

Question 10

What are the main components of dream analysis?

Answer 10

• Dreams as wish fulfilment = dreams are the unconscious fulfilment of wishes that could not be satisfied in the conscious mind.
• The symbolic nature of dreams = The real meaning of a dream (latent content) is transformed into a more harmless form (manifest content) .Contents of dreams are expressed symbolically.

Question 11

What can you look at to assess the effectiveness of dream analysis?

Answer 11

• Research evidence = The rational parts of the brain is inactive during REM sleep. Centres connected with memory are very active.
• Methodological issues = dream analysis is conducted in sleep laboratories. The dream state may not be authentic, lacking ecological validity.

Question 12

What are the ethical issues of dream analysis?

Answer 12

• False memory syndrome = false memories of traumatic experiences.
• Emotional harm = a client may be guided towards something they find emotionally distressing. The distress caused may be greater than the distress the client is already experiencing.

Question 13

What are the main components of mindfulness?

Answer 13

• Gaining control of thoughts = gain greater awareness of negative thoughts to gain control over them.
• Meditation and mindful breathing = meditation physically removes you from your daily interactions with life. It prevents the intrusion of negative thoughts. One method is guided meditation.

Question 14

What can you look at to assess the effectiveness of mindfulness?

Answer 14

• Integration with other therapies = mindfulness is being incorporated with CBT and psychoanalysis. This allows for an alternative perspective in therapy.
• Application in mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) = This has shown decreased anxiety and depression in 136 patients in an 8 week mindfulness programme.

Question 15

Are there any ethical issues of mindfulness?

Answer 15

• A positive approach to therapy = no explanation is needed for present behaviour. This helps to avoid anxiety meaning no psychological harm is caused. The lack of a determinist approach is positive.
• Mindfulness and morality = mindfulness is essential in maintaining moral and ethical standards. People high in mindfulness are less likely to cheat on a task.