Multidimensional Integrative Approach To Psychology

Psychological disorders are very real and present in many people we come in contact with daily, however, are very rarely talked about. Learning about these disorders can help us to understand others and ourselves better by telling us why we do and think the things we do. One effective way that we can observe and learn about psychological disorders is through movies. “Mommie Dearest” was directed by Frank Perry. It is centered around the actress Joan Crawford, who suffered from various psychological disorders. Joan’s daughter, Christina, wrote a book about her mother and her many problems and it was later turned into a movie. It is very effective to use movie analysis as a way of learning, especially in psychology, because it provides a great way to observe without distractions. When you’re looking at disorders, it’s difficult to find a person who has many of these disorders and will allow you to observe them. Psychological disorders can be split into two major groups, personality disorders and mood disorders. Personality disorders are patterns of traits that can get in the way of your social or work life and may interrupt the individual’s normal lifestyle. Mood disorders are inconsistent and unreliable changes in mood by the affected individual. (Rathus, 1998). With all of this being said, it brings me to my point that I will be talking about for the rest of this essay. Joan Crawford demonstrates the personality disorders of histrionic, narcissism, and OCPD. When it comes to mood disorders, Joan demonstrates bipolar disorder.

The strengths when working with clients on a medical model perspective is that the use of the DSM provides a common language to use in the medical community. The DSM provides reliability and structural guideline to each mental disorder. The structural guidelines in the DSM provide an organized list of criteria and specifiers to help determine the severity of the mental disorder. When diagnosing a client, there are many similar signs and symptoms to each mental disorder; thus, the DSM provides the clinician information about differential diagnosis, prevalence, possible co-morbidity, age of onset, and progressive development of symptoms. Hence, focusing on the medical model and using the DSM can be beneficial to both the client and the clinician providing treatment.

They are popularly referred to as being part of a continuum, the ability to successfully perform in productive activities and relationships, as opposed to the inability to do such things (Mental Illness Overview). Ever since the first edition of the DSM was published in 1952, scientists have studied how a person’s mind relates to their brain and whether the disorders they listed were organic or purely in the mind (Arben). Science has made extraordinary leaps in this aspect, as they have come to discover not only the biological change that causes mental illnesses, but they are also able to pin down even specific chromosomes linked to them. One in particular that has been heavily studied is depression, which is known to be related to a lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Some of the more recently developed medications, known as SSRIs, block the receptors that recycle serotonin from taking in too much and allowing enough to carry proper signals throughout the brain (Johnson). While some people insist on the opinion that drugs such as these are overprescribed (Medications for Mental Illness Are Overprescribed), professionals use tested algorithms when determining whether a patient is in need of medication, and if so what medication to use (Restricting Medications for Mental Illness Harms Patients). These methods have been fine-tuned over the past few decades and are used treat a patient to their own personal needs, and to aid

Our world has come to a point in history where we rely heavily on pills and therapy and diagnosis and doctors and studies, just to tell us what’s wrong with our personalities and our brains – for what? So pills can be prescribed and therapy revived for the diagnosis doctors proclaimed, backed up by studies they never named, all so they can keep their jobs? There appears to be no rhyme or reason to the excessive diagnosis apart from the goal of expanding one’s practice. Clinical studies are often discovered to be biased, or data manipulated. Whether the focus is on teenage trauma or debilitating depression, professionals tend to overlook important factors of influence. An array of sources have taken to this subject including a psychiatrist based in Berkley, a featured neuroscientist on TedTalk, a cartoonist named Mike Baldwin, and an analysis by s.e. smith.

Even though the DSM has harsh critics surrounding the subject of diagnosis, there are those who find that the DSM is beneficial when treating clients. As previously mentioned, Clegg (2012) believes that the DSM can be utilized in various agencies and areas of social work. Social workers from different theoretical perspectives find that the DSM is approachable. The manual outlines the symptoms and diagnostic criteria surrounding a disorder. In addition, the manual highlights intervention plans for the diagnosis. These interventions can assist clients and/or their families in overcoming a diagnosis. Lastly, when clients experience symptoms of a mental disorder for the first time, they may feel defeated and unsure of where these symptoms are originating. When clinicians can diagnose their

The general public increasingly attributes mental disorders to biological causes such as a chemical imbalance or inherited genes (Schnittker, 2008; Schomerus et al., 2012).

Until the late twentieth century, psychiatric illnesses were regarded as simply a default in the child’s personality, not a biological disorder. In the late twentieth century, “ADHD was renamed from Minimal Brain Dysfunction to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”, and CHADD (Children and Adults with ADD) and ADDA (Attention Deficit Disorder Association) were created and brought awareness to the country on the effects of ADHD/ADD (Bailey). This kickstarted an era in which mental health became a priority for youth, and this attention brought an increase in diagnoses for disorders such as ADHD/ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), Depression, and GAD (Generalized Anxiety

Today, mental disorders are ubiquitous and can be highly detrimental to a person’s physical and emotional well-being. Many individuals who struggle with mental disorders share a background of traumatic events as well as a genetic transfer from another relative. For instance, victims of sexual assault can become very ill in terms of their mental stability. Likewise, environmental causes play a vital role in a person’s psychological patterns. According to the American Psychological Association, too much emphasis is put on the study of mental illness rather than the brain itself.

The psychosocial approach helps us to develop a healthy questioning of the obvious. An open mind, imagination and knowledge of personality functioning, human behaviour and emotional suffering are inherent in the ideas; they assist in reaching;differential diagnoses and treatment plans. This is another way of saying that clients interact with their environments in unique ways and if we are to give service which is accurately targeted then, when appropriate, we have to comprehend underlying feelings and motives which can block people from making optimum use of such help. Freudian psychoanalytic ideas, particularly personality theory, began to feed into what became known as psychodynamic casework.

This essay aims to identify and evaluate the psychodynamic approach to counselling. It begins with defining psychodynamic therapy and will explore what impact society has on an individual whilst defining the underlying principles and hypothesis of this approach. This essay will explore an understanding of a range of psychoanalytical theories and approaches in counselling whilst focusing on the self-expression method of art therapy. This essay will examine the importance of ethical behaviour and the appropriate training and supervision that is imbedded within psychodynamic counselling. Additionally within this essay it will consider the favourable and adverse concepts of the therapeutic techniques of psychodynamic approach that is used to date.

Ever since my later adolescence years, I have always been intrigued by the diverse complexity of the human brain. Numerous days I have sat down obtrusively observing my surroundings just to satisfy my curiosity on how individuals think, reason and problem solve everyday life happenings. As such, when it was time to attend university, I decided to study psychology as a means of gaining knowledge and understanding about individuals’ cognitive processes and their behavior. During my undergraduate studies, for a particular reason, I was struck by Abnormal Psychology and spent hours thinking about the various disorders captured by the then Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV). I spent an awful lot of time trying to understand the differing disorders and how their impact on the behavior and thinking processes of individuals that are diagnosed with them.

Nevertheless, the term “mental disorder” is applied to a set of categories and classifications of abnormal human functioning. Millon (1969) grouped perspectives on mental disorders into four different categories. First, there are biophysical theories, which assume that physiological processes are the primary determining factors of psychopathology. Second, there are intrapsychic theories which assume that psychological factors determine abnormal psychological behavior. Third, there is phenomenological theory which talks about the unique experience and perception of each individual, and how that perception is lived out. Lastly, behavioral theories assume that the process of learning through reinforcement shapes pathology in the individual.

Psychological disorders are stated to be abnormalities of the mind, known as mental disorders (Klasco, 2011). Abnormalities of the mind cause persistent behaviors that affect an individual’s daily function and life (Klasco, 2011). The different types of psychological disorders include mood disorders, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders (Klasco, 2011). The causes of these disorders are unknown, but factors that contribute to these disorders include childhood experiences, chemical imbalances in the brain, illnesses, heredity, stress, and prenatal exposures (Klasco, 2011). Psychological disorders can be serious and can be life-threatening

In order to understand the benefits and pitfalls of different types of treatments for disorders, one must first understand the disorder.

Biologically focused psychologists would be concerned with the rates of depression, BED, and BPD in Ellen’s family. This information is necessary to understand if it runs in her family or causes her to be more susceptible to it. An approach for treatment would be the use of medications to help regulate the neurotransmitters. There are different options for treatment including antidepressant medication. A commonly chosen treatment is the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This medication would be useful for Ellen due to the fact that these medications are often used to help treat eating disorders, such as her binge eating disorder, as well as those with personality disorders, which includes her borderline personality disorder.