The notes include the PowerPoint slides provided, light notes from the provided readings, and textbook notes.
Reviews:
- "Your notes helped a lot. I really love how you set out your notes!"
- "Your notes are great. Every time I read the textbook, your notes were such a great summary of it. So ...
,Chapter 1: Abnormal Behaviour in Historical Context
What is psychopathology?
- Psychopathology: scientific study of psychology dysfunction, mental
o Looks at theoretical underpinnings
o Ideology – how the disorder was developed, factors that contributed to development of this
disorder
o At progression – how it started, improvement, regression
o At symptomatology – all the symptoms of person with mental disorder
o Diagnosis – formal diagnosis from clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, as well as treatment for
diagnosis
- Draws on research from many different areas, bio-chemistry, pharmacology, psychology, psychiatry,
neurology
- Refers to behavioural / cognitive manifestations of these disorders
What is a psychological disorder?
- Psychological dysfunction associated with distress and / or impairment in functioning
o Behaving or thinking differently than they usually do, stresses the person out – why am I stressing,
why am I not wanting to be around people?
o Interrupts your usual day, such as not spending time with people if you usually do, sleeping more
or less, not doing hobbies you usually do, not able to complete tasks
- Involves a response that is not typical of the person / culturally expected
- May include cognitive, behavioural and or emotional elements – could be 1, 2 or all 3
Distress, impairment, and cultural context
- Distress is normal in some situations
- Dysfunctional distress occurs when person is much more distressed than others would be – such as
being in a space with a lot of fear and stress that it is impairing their functioning (eg: being stressed
when going out with friends significantly more than your friends are)
- Noticeable and pervasive (all the time) – (eg: each time I am socialising, I am experiencing this distress)
- Impairment: must be pervasive and/or significant
o Mental disorders are often exaggerations of normal processes (extreme shyness / sadness)
o Culture: consider ‘normalcy’ relative to behaviour of others in same cultural context; some
behaviour is expected in some cultures, some not
- Rule of thumb: mental disorder = harmful dysfunction
Psychological disorder
- Definition (D): behavioural, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their
cultural context and associated with present distress and/or impairment in functioning or increased
risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment
- Psychological dysfunction; distress / impairment; atypical response
Studying psychological disorders: Clinical Description
- Begins with the presenting problem
o Original complaint reported – recorded verbatim from client, and more things may be added later
on but this is where you start
o Symptoms (eg: chronic worry, panic attacks); this is what I am feeling, thinking, different to how I
normally act symptoms are picked out from what they tell us
- Description aims to:
o Distinguish clinically significant (completely changes the way the person behaves, responds to
things and manages themselves) dysfunction from common human experience
- Describe prevalence (how many people in population have the disorder) + incidence (number of new
cases over period of time) of disorders
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller mariskabester. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.11. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
