Mental health psychology PDF

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complete detail notes on Mental health psychology...

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Normality and abnormality Normality- Pattern of thoughts feelings or behavior that conforms to a usual, typical or expected standard (which depends on many different factors). Abnormality- Ab meaning away from. As pattern of thoughts, feelings or behavior that is deviant, distressing and dysfunctional Approaches of defining normality and abnormality Socio-cultural approach- Things are considered normal in a particular society or culture andinappropiate things are considered abnormal Functional Approach-Things are considered normal if a person can cope with living independantly in society with the things and something is considered abnormal if they can not cope Historical approach- What is consider normal or abnormal is determined by the time period of when the action is performed Situational Approach- Where certain things are considered normal or abnormal depending on the situation one is in. E.G) pyjamis to school Medical Approach- All abnormal things are considered to have a biological root and can usuall be diagnosed or treated. Statistical Approach- Anything done by 50% of the total population is considered normal and anything done by less then 50% is considered abnormal --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Health and illness Health- is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not the absence of illness or disease

W.H.O- came up with definition Health Triangle- A triangle showing that mental physical and social factors all contribute equally to the state of health. Illness- A persons subjective experience of feeling unwell in relation to one or more aspects of their health (Mental, Social) (Acute- Sudden onset lasting short duration) (Chronic-Gradual onset, long lasting) Disease- Identifiable physiological change associated with abnormal bodily condition (physical) Physical Health- Body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work a leisure activities, to be in good condition , to resist disease and cope with threatening or emergency situations Psychical illness- Subjective experience of a disease or psychical health problem that interferes with the normal functioning of the body and adversely impacts on our ability to function effectively in everyday life (more serious and more chronic the disease) Mental Health- Functioning normally in terms of our minds function Mental Illness- Psychological dysfunction that usually involves impairment in the ability to cope with everyday life, distress, and thoughts, feelings and feelings that are atypical of the person and may also be inappropriate withing their culture Illness in psychology terms is used to describe a diagnosable disorder Psychological dysfunction- refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional and or behavioral functioning thereby interfering with the person ability to adjust to the challenges of everyday life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Biopsychoscoial framework

Biopsychosocial framework- Is an approach to describing and explaining how biological, psychological and social factors combine to influence a person psychical and mental health Holistic View- Person should be considered as a whole functioning in there environment. not just internally but externally

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------System of Classification of Mental Conditions Categorical approach-Organises and describes mental condition and disorders in termdifferenterent categories and subcategories each with symptoms and characteristic that are typical of a specific mental condition or disorder eg) DSM-iv, icd-10 Dimensional approach-quantifpersons symptoms and other characteristics of interest and represents them with numerical values on many scales,rather then on one mental disorder Criteria Categorical Dimensional Principles and assumptions · normality and abnormality are distinctly different from each other · mental disorders can be diagnosed from specific symptoms reported and/or presented by a client · thoughts/feelings/behaviour can be organised into categories representing distinct disorders · there are clear boundaries around each disorder and no disorders overlap · a person either has or does not have a diagnosable mental disorder (all-or-nothing principle) · good reliability and validity · normality and abnormality are end points on the same continuum with no clear dividing line between them · the symptoms of mental disorders are just extreme variations of traits or behaviours that we all possess to some degree

· no one is given a ‘label’ of any disorder (e.g. personality disorder)—they would instead simply be described as people who have relatively extreme and maladaptive variants of the personality traits that are evident within all people Strengths · contributes to the scientific literature/research and teaching about mental disorders · facilitates communication · user-friendly · familiar · high inter-rater reliability particularly for some disorders (e.g. psychotic disorders) · is consistent with clinical decision-making e.g. does this person need to be admitted to hospital? (Yes/No answer) · eliminates the use of labels such as ‘schizophrenic’ which have acquired potentially harmful connotations (i.e. reduces stigma) · communicates more clinical information—takes into account the full range of clients’ behaviour and provides a fuller description (‘profile’) versus just a summary of what a client ‘has’ or ‘doesn’t have’ · some disorders may be more accurately represented because they are extremes of normal human characteristics, e.g. personality, mood and anxiety disorders, ADHD Limitations · low inter-rater reliability for some disorders (e.g. personality disorders) · the amount of overlap between disorders sometimes make it difficult to know which category (disorder) a client’s symptoms belong to · loss of valuable clinical information · labeling/stigma · the use of polythetic criteria means that it is possible for two people to be diagnosed with the same disorder (e.g. obsessive compulsive personality disorder, schizophrenia) but they not share a single symptom—this does not seem logical or very scientific · less familiar · more difficult and time consuming in normal everyday clinical practice (e.g. mental health professional may have to rate client on as many as 40 dimensions) · remains difficult to know which dimensions are most useful and accessible to measurement...