Chapter 20

Key Terms

Categorical classification: an all-or-none approach to diagnosis in which each mental disorder is regarded as a category applicable or not applicable to any given patient.

Major depressive disorder: a common mental disorder characterised by depressed mood, tiredness, lack of interest and pleasure in activities, and feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt.

Comorbidity: the simultaneous presence of two or more mental disorders in a given individual.

Cultural relativism: the notion we should view each culture from within that culture rather than the observer’s own culture.

Culture-bound syndromes: patterns of abnormal behaviour found in one or a small number of cultures.

Diathesis-stress model: the notion that mental disorders are caused jointly by a diathesis (personal vulnerability) and a distressing event.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a mental disorder triggered by a very distressing event and involving re-experiencing of the event, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, and increased fear and arousal.

Cognitive schema: organised information stored in long-term memory and used by individuals to form interpretations of themselves and the world in which they live.

Cognitive triad: a depressed person’s negative views of the self, the world, and the future.

Concordance rate: in twin studies, the probability that if one twin has a disorder the other twin has the same disorder.

Social anxiety disorder: a disorder in which the individual has excessive fear of social situations and often avoids them; also known as social phobia.

Interpretive bias: negative biased or distorted interpretations of ambiguous stimuli and/or situations.

Safety behaviours: actions designed to reduce patients’ level of anxiety and avoid catastrophes in social situations.
Exposure therapy: a form of treatment in which patients are repeatedly exposed to stimuli or situations they fear greatly.

Eclectic approach: the use of a range of different forms of treatment by therapists.

Weblinks

Link to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders
https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm

Stolen Minds, Stolen Lives: a documentary on schizophrenia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv0b1unxUpM

Beating the Black Dog: a documentary on depression
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmaHybZ_jU

A documentary on social anxiety
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmEJEfy5f50

A useful consideration of the diathesis-stress model and depression
https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/current-understandings-of-major-depression-diathesis-stress-model/

A guide to cognitive-behavioural therapy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds3wHkwiuCo

An analysis of psychotherapy
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/03/20/have-we-overestimated-the-effectiveness-of-psychotherapy/#more-21028

Research comparing cognitive therapy vs medication for depression
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748674/

Another comparison of psychotherapy to medication
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201507/psychotherapy-vs-medications-the-verdict-is-in