PSY 303: Abnormal Psychology

An out-of-body experience is explained by few as a sense of being detached from one’s body, and if associated with other factors like a sense that the world is not real, far away, or even foggy. This with the combination of failure to recall significant personal information, or the content of a meaningful conversation forgotten from one second to the next are signs of a psychological disorder known as Dissociative Disorder. Considered as a rare and mysterious psychiatric curiosity, Dissociative Disorders will be the psychological disorder that will be discussed in this paper.

Kimberly came to Touch of Healing Counseling Center as a referral from Oak Park Church. She is being considered for the position of senior pastor at Oak Park Church. The leadership team of the church requested she be evaluated for suitableness for the position of senior pastor.

Taking an abnormal psychology class is not part of my requirements for my degree, but with my wanting to work with children and their families, I feel that this course was beneficial for me to take. I also enjoy learning about how the human mind works, the different disorders, and ways to help people that may be suffering from the many disorders that we covered. As I have mentioned throughout the semester, I or someone I know has or is suffering from many of the disorders we have discussed. I personally have struggled with addiction and bulimia in my past, and I feel that learning more in-depth can assist me in my future if I have a student that also struggles with similar disorders. My father suffers from schizophrenia, although he attempts to block his disorder out and refuses medication. This can be extremely hard for both me and my child to visit him because he is different. I try to remember that the disorder is not his fault and I also try to remind my daughter that he is her grandfather and she should accept him, but it is a struggle for both of us. I feel that learning a little more on schizophrenia was helpful for me and I plan on doing a little more research on my own time to also help me to cope with his “differentness”.

Abnormal behavior relates to the influence of psychological factors, biological factors as well as the social factors referring to inadequate relationships. In the face of diverse definition, abnormal behavior refers to the deviating from norm, which norm is the typical behavior or characteristic of the population. As such, Jim behavior is abnormal because it violates moral and conventional mores of the society (Violates societal standards), as such causing social discomfort to others. For instance, Jim fails to recognize the social cues in conversation thereby annoying other interlocutors. Jim is this case is behaving in a manner counterproductive to his own well being by

Moreover, a further weakness is that controversy may also surround some of the lists of symptoms categorized as mental disorders and biases may occur. The DSM-IV fails to specify a difference in occurrence rates between males and females. Unlike prior editions which indicated that some disorders occurred more often in males than females and vice versa (Nathan, & Langenbucher, 1999). This may result in a possible gender bias. Another possible bias includes people’s cultures, which may accept certain symptoms as normative (Gray, 2002). For example, it is believed that males

In an attempt to gain a position as a psychologist, I will be discussing schizophrenia and the disorder’s casual factors, associated symptoms, the areas of the brain it affects, and the neural basis of the disorder. I will continue on to discuss appropriate drug therapies. In addition I will also be reviewing two separate case studies, each on a different disorder. I will be examining each problem from the perspective of a bio psychologist. I will define the patient’s diagnosis at length I will relate each case to the nature-nurture theory, and talk about any helpful drug interventions or solutions for each disorder. When talking about drug intervention, it is also important to discuss the positive and

Ian is a 5 year old Caucasian male that exhibits average verbal skills, average cognitive skills, and appeared to be of average height and weight. When entering his assessment, it was noted that his clothing did not match, his hair was unkempt and his mother seemed frazzled at best.

The term “depression” was derived from a Latin verb deprimere, "to press down." Dated as far back to the 14th century, the term "to depress" meant to bring down in spirits or to conquer (AllDisease.org, 2011). Even though melancholia continued to be the leading diagnostic expression, depression increased its frequency (its usage of name) in the medical field and was a synonym by the end of its century. The DSM-I (1952) (as cited in Girdlera & Klatzkinb, 2007) refers to depressive reaction and the DSM-II (1968) (as cited in Girdlera & Klatzkinb, 2007) depressive neurosis, as words that define an extreme reaction to an identifiable conflict or an internal circumstance (DSM, 2000).

Mommie Dearest was a best selling memoir, turned into a bio-drama motion picture. The book was released in 1978 and the movie was released in 1981. The memoir was written by Christina Crawford, adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. Christina recounts her childhood and claims that she and her siblings were physically and emotionally abused by their alcoholic mother. This movie primarily follows the relationship between Christina and Joan.

The connection between gender and psychological disorders seems to be hard to ignore and yet today we still lack the distinct research and treatment necessary to resolve the epidemic of psychological disorders in women. Women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety disorders than men, a study showed 10% of mothers obtain a mental health problem during motherhood while only 6% of fathers experience these issues (“Mental Health Statistics: Men and Women.") and women predominate over men in rates of major depression (Astbury, Cabral). The gap in between men and women experiencing these mental health problems seems to be clear but we have to ask ourselves, why? We often associate mental health issues with individual

by the brain to other parts of the body are not normal in people with

Abnormal and clinical psychology are two branches in the field of psychological studies. In simple words, abnormal psychology can be defined as the study of people who engage in unusual behavior and emotional thoughts. These actions and thoughts are considered abnormal compared to those of other members of society, and they significantly interfere with their functioning in life. Clinical psychology goes hand in hand with abnormal psychology because it is the study that deals with the assessment and treatment of those abnormal actions. Learning about these branches of psychology can help us understand and predict behaviors of people who that are affected by these disorders. It is also essential to advance our knowledge to help assess the people who suffer these illnesses to lead a life of better quality. In this paper, a case study that entails a brief vignette of a 35 year old paralegal named Greg will be analyzed. According to concepts of abnormal and clinical psychology, Greg will be diagnosed with the psychological disorder of obsessive-compulsive disorder (more formally known as OCD) that might have originated in the anal stage of the psychoanalytic theory, for which cognitive behavioral therapy will be used as a possible treatment.

Marvin is feeling so depressed that he is having trouble making it to work and

Jeffrey was arrested in the same year, 1988, for sexually fondling and drugging a young teenage boy (age thirteen); for this, he was put on probation for five years and for one year he was assigned to a work release camp where he was registered as a sex offender from the incident with the thirteen year old boy. Due to good behavior and a built up trust with the authorities, Dahmer was paroled from his work release camp two months early.

Abnormal is something deviating from what is normal or usual, typical in a way that is uncommon or irregular.