PSYC 4 - Therapy (M.53~55) #2

Therapists differ in the values that influence their goals in therapy and their views of progress. They may also differ from their clients. These differences may create problems if therapists and clients differ in their cultural, religious, or personal values and perspectives.

Campus health centers are generally good starting points for counseling options, and they may offer some free services. A person seeking therapy may want to ask about the therapist's treatment approach, values, credentials, and fees. An important consideration is whether the therapy seeker feels comfortable and able to establish a bond with the therapist. Recognizing the importance of a strong therapeutic alliance, the American Psychological Association accredits programs that provide training in cultural sensitivity and that recruit underrepresented cultural groups.

Psychotherapists and psychological researchers on mental health must follow their country's ethical principles and code of conduct, aiming to benefit others, to be honest and trustful, and to never expose people to greater risks than would be encountered in everyday life.

Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies - primarily anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia, and depression Behavioral conditioning therapies - behavior problems such as bed-wetting, specific phobias, compulsions, marital difficulties, and sexual dysfunctions Psychodynamic therapy - depressions and anxiety. Some analyses suggest that psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy are equally effective in reducing depression Nondirective (person-centered) counseling - mild to moderate depression

People often enter therapy in crisis, Clients believe that treatment will be effective, Clients generally speak kindly of their therapists, Clients want to believe the therapy was worth the effort

Yes

biomedical therapy

Exercise regularly, Get enough sleep, Get more exposure to light (outside), Nurture important relationships, Redirect negative thinking, Eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids

psychopharmacology

antipsychotic drugs

antianxiety drugs

It was named for their ability to lift people up from a state of depression, and this was their main use until recently.

They assign people to treatment and no-treatment conditions to see if those who receive the drug therapy improve more than those who don't. Double-blind controlled studies are most effective. If neither the therapist nor the client knows which participants have received the drug treatment, than any difference between the treated and untreated groups will reflect the drug treatment's actual effect.

antidepressants, antipsychotic

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Electroconvulsive therapy (ETC), Transcranial electrical stimulation (tDCS), Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), Deep brain stimulation (DBS)

psychosurgery

lobotomy

electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial direct, magnetic transcranial, deep brain

Presumed problem - stress and unhealthy lifestyle Therapy aim - restore healthy biological state Therapy technique - after lifestyle through adequate exercise, sleep, nutrition, and other changes

Presumed problem - neurotransmitter malfunction Therapy aim - control symptoms of psychological disorders Therapy technique - Alter brain chemistry through drugs

Presumed problem - depressive disorders (ECT is used only for severe, treatment-resistant depressive disorders) Therapy aim - alleviate depression, especially when it is unresponsive to drugs or other forms of therapy Therapy technique - stimulate brain through electroconvulsive shock, mild electrical stimulation, magnetic pulses, or deep brain stimulation

Presumed problem - brain malfunction Therapy aim - relieve severe disorders Therapy technique - remove or destroy brain tissue

resilience

posttraumatic growth

Psychological or biomedical therapies attempt to relieve people's suffering from psychological disorders. Preventive mental health attempts to prevent suffering by identifying and eliminating the conditions that cause disorders, as well as by building resilience.

sluggishness, tremors, and twitches

antianxiety

lithium

severe depression

preventive mental health

Therapeutic lifestyle change is considered a biomedical therapy because it influences the way the brain responds. Mind and body are a unit; affect one and you will affect the other. Our exercise, nutrition, relationships, reaction, relaxation, and religious or spiritual engagement affect our mental health. People who undergo a program of aerobic exercise, adequate sleep, light exposure, social engagement, remination reduction, and better nutrition have gained relief from depressive symptoms.

Psychopharmacology has helped make drug therapy the most widely used biomedical therapy. Antipsychotic drugs are used in treating schizophrenia; some block dopamine activity. Side effects may include tardive dyskinesia (involuntary movements of facial muscles, tongue, and limks) or increased risk of obesity and siabeted. Antianxiety drugs, which depress central nervous system activity, are used to treat anxiety disorder, and can be addictive. Antidepressant drugs, which often increase the avaliability of serotonin and norepinephrine, are used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder with modest effectiveness. Given their use in treating disorders other than depressive ones (from anxiety to strokes), these drugs are more often called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) rather than antidepressants. Quicker-acting antidepressants may include ketamine and microdoses of psychedelic deugs such as psilocybin.

Lithium and Depakote are mood stabilizers prescribed for those with bipolar disorder.

Studies may use a double-blind procedure to avoid the placebo effect and researcher bias.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient, is an effective treatment for severe depression in people who have not responded to other therapy. Newer alternative treatments for depression include transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and deep-brain stimulation (DBS; may calm an overactive brain region linked with negative emotions in some patients). Psychosurgery removes or destroys brain tissue in hopes of modifying behavior. Radical psychosurgical procedures such as lobotomy are no longer performed. Today's microscale psychosurgery and MRI-guided precision brain surgery are rare, last-resort treatments because the effects are irreversible.