Ch 14 Psychological Treatments

Psychotherapy is another name for any formal psychological treatment aimed at changing thoughts and behavior. There are six approaches to psychotherapy. Each approach has different therapy goals and methods. Psychodynamic therapy helps clients become aware of unconscious conflicts and defense mechanisms, by psychoanalysis with free association and dream analysis. Humanistic therapy helps clients fulfill their potential for personal growth, by client-centered therapy with active listening and unconditional positive regard. Behavior therapy helps clients replace harmful behaviors with beneficial ones, by behavior modification and sometimes cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive therapy helps clients eliminate harmful thought patterns and replace them with positive ones, by cognitive restructuring and/or rational-emotive therapy. Group therapy provides support while also improving social skills in a cost-effective manner, by using an eclectic mix of therapy approaches. Lastly, family therapy heals family relationships by the systems approach and often and eclectic mix of therapy approaches.

One of the biggest obstacles is treating personality disorders. The reason is because clients with these disorders see the environment, not their own behavior, as the cause of their problem. As a result, individuals with personality disorder rarely seek therapy or are very difficult to engage in therapy. However, dialectical behavior therapy is often used to treat borderline personality disorders. Borderline personality disorder is intense, unstable moods, relationships, and self-image. To treat this disorder comes in three phases. Phase one, changes extreme behaviors, such as self-harm. Phase two, explores past traumas that may be the cause of the disorder. Then phase three, develops feelings of independence and self-respect. Also, antisocial personality disorders (APD) are extremely difficult to treat, and often seem impossible. These clients lie without thinking twice about it, care little for other people’s feelings, and live for the present without considering the future. Therapists working with these clients must constantly be on guard. Operant procedures are used to sometimes treat antisocial personality disorders. Someone with APD behaves in socially undesirable ways, such as stealing. No treatment is very successful in treating APD. However, providing reinforcement can increase desired behaviors.

My understanding of psychological treatment changed a little since reading this chapter. This is my first psychology class, so I had no idea how many different treatment techniques there were. Psychologists have many things to consider when diagnosing a client with a disease and also how to treat them. After reading Dennis’s story about having anxiety problems, it really showed how long someone could have a disorder before getting help. However, people with personality disorders often are impossible to cure because they refuse to get help. With the correct psychological treatment, a person with a disorder can see extreme improvements.

The most interesting topic I learned about was electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This is a treatment for psychological disorders that involves administering a strong electrical current to the client’s brain to produce a seizure, and is often effective in cases of severe depression. I found it interesting how researchers still do not know precisely how ECT achieves these positive treatment effects. Even though the effects are positive, I would be very scared to agree to this type of treatment.

The most memorable thing I read about was Mayberg’s study of deep brain stimulation (DBS). He thought that deep brain stimulation of an area of the prefrontal cortex might alleviate depression. The method was having a pair of small holes drilled into the skulls of six participants. Then, a pulse generator was attached under the collarbone, connecting to electrodes that passed through the holes in the skull to a specific area of the prefrontal cortex. The result was that some for the participants reported relief as soon as the electrodes were switched on, and two thirds of the participants felt significantly better within months. This showed how DBS may be an especially effective method for clients with depression that is resistant to other treatment. This really amazed me because it is incredible how scientists can develop these treatment techniques. I however, would be scared to under go this treatment.

Psychological Terms: unconscious conflicts, defense mechanisms, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, psychotherapy, personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy, borderline personality disorders, antisocial personality disorders, operant procedures, reinforcement, electroconvulsive therapy, deep brain stimulation, depression, electrodes

Chapter fourteen was about different treatments and methods used to treat patients afflicted with psychological disorders. The basic methods are psychotherapy and biological therapy. Psychotherapy is the kind of treatment where a therapist works with clients to help them understand their problems and work toward solutions. There are different methods in this form of therapy, such as psychodynamic, humanistic, behavior, cognitive, and group. Psychodynamic involves one-on-one interaction where the therapist tries to help the client become aware of unconscious processes that are causing them conflict. Humanistic is where the therapist tries to help the client develop their full potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding through active-listening and unconditional positive regard. Behavior is where the therapist helps the client unlearn learned behaviors that negatively affect their functioning and replace them with the desired behavior. Finally cognitive is where the therapist helps the client to change their distorted thought patterns that produce the maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Though these forms of psychotherapy tackle different areas and use different approaches, they all strive towards the goal of changing the clients’ patterns of thought or behavior. The second form of treatment is biological therapy, where the doctor takes a medical approach to the illness and disease. Instead of focusing on curbing the bad thoughts or behavior through conditioning and interaction, they give the client pills that are supposed to change the functions of the neurotransmitters and help stop the problem. Such approaches are psychotropic medications (drugs that affect mental processes), electroconvulsive therapy (the sending of shocks into brain to produce seizure), transcranial magnetic stimulation (use of magnetic field to interrupt specific brain functions), and deep brain stimulation (the frequent passing of electricity through planted electrodes in brain). Though all these approaches yield results, there are still many obstacles that prevent finding the desired “cure all”. Every person is different so they respond differently to treatments. Some people find the medications help them while others become worse off due to extreme side effects. Because of this, therapists and doctors have experimental trail periods where they test their patients to see how they respond to certain therapy. Sadly, some patients never seem to find any relief. My understanding of treatments has drastically changed. I always felt that therapists tried to shove medications down their clients throats whenever they had a problem, or that mental hospitals were torturous places that caused their patients to go brain-dead with experimental tests and electric-therapy. I now know that this is not the case and that therapists try to find the safest most rational methods that will work best for their patients.

In my reading, the topic most interesting to me was the anti-social personality disorder. There is a family friend who’s son is wild and irrational, even admitting to not knowing why he acts the way he does. I feel that this disorder kind of explains why he might act this way. Even if he does not have this disorder (though he’s been this way his entire life) I still find the disorder and its difficulty to treat interesting. The disorder is characterized by clients compulsively lying, caring little for others feelings, and living only in the present with no regard of the future. They do not weigh the consequences of their actions, or even consider the possibility of them. For example, this boy had a teacher who took him under her wing and he really likes and appreciated her, but one day she left her phone in the room and he stole it for no reason. His father questioned him about it but the kid does not even know why he did it. His explanation is that he just did. The only treatment for this disorder is some form of medication and rigorous teaching of outcomes for actions. Though these methods can reduce the compulsive behavior, they have yet to help manage or cure it.

The most memorable topic in my reading was the story about James O’Neil and his battle with autism. I have a little cousin who has autism and he is very close to me and I love him very much. But because of the disorder he is unable to act according to the social norms of his age group and is not interested in the same things as the other kids. Because of this he has few friends. This has never really bothered him, but as he is growing he is starting to realize he feels outcast and lonely. The story of James gave me hope. This kid was able to embrace his disorder and learn to work with and overcome the initial difficulties it caused him. He was able to make friends and feel included in school. I hope my cousin, whose case is slight, is able to do the same so he no longer feels lonely and can make some good friends who will love and accept him for who he is.

psychological disorders, psychotherapy, biological therapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy,
transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, anti-social personality disorder

The basic methods for treating psychological disorders are different kinds of therapy and medication. Psychological disorders can only be treated if the person wants to be treated and over a long period of time. Psychotherapy is a kind of therapy that can treat disorders. There are many different approaches to psychotherapy. One of them is psychodynamic therapy where clients become aware of the unconscious conflicts they have and their defense mechanisms. Humanistic therapy helps clients feel personal growth with themselves. Behavior therapy will help people replace their harmful behaviors with ones that help them. Cognitive therapy replaces harmful thoughts with positive ones. Group therapy helps clients improve social skills. Family therapy heals the family relationship. All of these are examples of psychotherapy. Sometimes the best treatment is through medication. Different drugs can help with mood, anxiety, and depression. The biggest obstacle for clients to getting help is admitting that they need help. If they do not seek help then they cannot get better. My understanding of psychological treatment has changed since reading the chapter. There are many more places than I thought a person could go to get help. There are psychiatrists who can give medication, Clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses, and paraprofessionals.
The most interesting topic for me in this chapter was the best way to treat children with these disorders. I found it weird that some medications were controversial for teens, especially with depression as the antidepressants could lead the teens to suicide. Luckily none of the children did, just reports of them thinking about suicide more. I like how ADHD can be treated in different ways either by behavioral therapy or through medication. The medication, however seems to only slightly increase positive behaviors, like attention to work, and worked more on stopping the negative behaviors, like outbursts. Autism can be treated in a few ways. Treatment through medication can be beneficial; however through many studies there appears to be very little improvement. Behavior therapy did just as well in some cases, however overall autism is very difficult to treat and no cure has been found.
The most memorable part of the chapter was the section on personality disorder treatment. A new form of therapy called Dialectual Behavior Therapy can be used to help treat Borderline Personality Disorder. Clients are seen in both group and personal settings and the therapist uses elements of cognitive, behavioral and psychodynamic therapy to help relive the client. Through this process the client learns how to process and use problem solving techniques to cope with their emotional distress. They then explore past trauma to find the source of the disorder. Finally they develop feeling of respect for themselves and independence.
Psychological terms used: psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, anxiety, depression, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, ADHD, Dialectual Behavior Therapy,

There is no one magic and instant cures for psychological disorders. They need to be managed overtime through treatment that helps reduce symptoms so people can function well in their lives. Psychotherapy is the treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them understand their problems and work toward solutions. Therapists generally use psychotherapy to change their client’s patterns of thought and behavior. There are more than 400 approaches to treatment of psychological disorders are available. However the most common are 6 approaches to psychotherapy. They include Psychodynamic therapy, Humanistic approaches, Behavior therapy, Cognitive therapy, Group therapy and last but not least family therapy. Psychodynamic therapy is based on Freud's method of psychoanalysis. The general goal of psychoanalysis is to increase the client's awareness of his own unconscious psychological processes and how these processes affect daily functioning of patients. Later on psychotherapists developed this method to psychodynamic therapy. It is a treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist aims to help a client examine his/her unconscious needs, motives and defenses. The result is that client could understand why he/she is distressed. This type of treatment I always see in movies where a client/character is talking with his therapist about his problems and stresses. A therapist usually sits on the chair and listening to his client. Another approach is the humanistic therapy. It is a treatment for psychological disorders where a therapists works with clients to help them to develop their full potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding. One of the best known humanistic therapies is client-centered therapy. Next approach is behavior therapy where a therapist works with clients to help them unlearn learned behaviors that negatively affect their functioning. Desired behaviors are reinforced and unwanted behavior are ignored or punished. Cognitive therapy is based on the theory that distorted thoughts can produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Thus treatment should eliminate these behaviors and emotions. For some cases medications (drugs) have proven to be more effective. Their use is based on the assumption that psychological disorders result from imbalances in specific neurotransmitters or wrong functioning receptors for those neurotransmitters.
There are so many ways of treatment of psychological disorders. However in some extreme-resistant cases psychotherapy, medication or a combination of these may not work. So practioners may suggest alternative treatments such as electrical or magnetic stimulation of the brain or even brain surgery. All these treatment are used to alter brain function. Thus they may lead to more serious problems because they have dangerous side effects. For example antidepressant drugs which are used as a treatment for depressive disorders or bipolar related disorders may effect on weight gain, dizziness or sexual and digestive problems. Another example is stimulants which are provided to decrease hyperactivity, distractibility and to increase attention and concentration. They may lead to insomnia, reduced appetite, body twitches and temporary suppression of growth. These side effects of medical treatments are major obstacles. Also there are a lot of activities that do not have scientific evidence of effectiveness, such as reenacting your birth. Some treatments widely believed to be effective not only lack of scientific support but are actually counterproductive. Thus some “treatments” may l increase symptoms of disorder or even may lead to more dangerous consequences.
Before reading this chapter I didn’t think that there are so many ways of treatment psychological disorders. It was interesting to know that for example there are special ways to treat specific phobias. Any psychological disorders are difficult to treat and each of them requires special ways of treatment. For example for anxiety disorders such as panic disorder or specific phobias, treatments that focus on behavior and cognition are essential. Also my understanding of psychological treatment has changed because I understood how is important to seek treatment for psychological disorders when it is necessary. However, not all people who are require treatment usually go to doctors or therapist who will help them. It is one of the major problems in today’s world. Sometimes people feel strong enough to cope on their own, which is totally wrong. Also one of the reasons is that symptoms of mental diseases are less visible than physical illness. We cannot ignore our health and should seek for treatment from professional therapists, doctors when it is necessary.
One of the most interesting parts in this chapter was about treatment of psychological disorders in children and adolescents. I was shocked that 12-20 % of children in US experience psychological disorders. It is critical to get proper treatment during your childhood, to eliminate possibility of experiencing or even developing of symptoms in adulthood. One of the serious problems during this age is adolescents’ depression. It is sad to know that approximately 5000 teenagers in USA kill themselves each year and making suicide the 3rd leading cause of death in this age group. Usually people think that depression is part of growing up and it is normal to have it during this period of life. However this way of thinking mat lead to fatal consequences in future. For children and adolescents who are experiencing depressive disorder usually use psychotropic medications or cognitive-behavioral treatment. There is always a risk of using medication but risk of using antidepressants for adolescents is higher. For example some dugs my caused some teenagers become more suicidal. So it is very important to be more carefully in providing treatment for people in this age group, because consequences could be irreversible.
One of the most memorable parts was about treatment of personality disorders. Traditional psychotherapy approaches have been largely unsuccessful, so therapists have attempted to develop specific ways of treatment for borderline personality disorders. Of treating clients with personality disorders is difficult, treating clients with antisocial personality disorders is almost impossible. These types of clients lie without thinking, care little for other people’s feelings and don’t think about their future. Because of these factors there is small possibility of developing therapeutic relationships and motivating client to change. There are only few ways of treatment this type of disorders, such as therapy with operant procedures.
Terms used: Psychological disorders, Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic therapy, Humanistic approaches, Behavior therapy, Cognitive therapy,psychoanalysis, neurotransmitters, drugs, electrical or magnetic stimulation, side effects of treatment, symptoms, depressive disorders, psychotropic medications, personality disorders,therapists.

Psychotherapy is a treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them understand their problems and work toward solutions. There are many goals and methods to help try to solve or decrease the problem. Psychodynamic therapy the goal is the make the patient aware of the conflict or defense mechanisms in their life. The method to treat it is to have a psychoanalytical free association and dream analysis. During free association the doctor shows them an image they have tell the doctor what they think it is and through that the doctor deciphers a problem. In dream analysis the doctor listens to the dreams the patient has been having. Humanistic therapy’s goals are to help client fulfill their potential for personal growth. The method to reach the goal is to listen to the client and give them positive feedback. Then behavior therapy’s methods are having behavioral modification that includes punishments and incentives. The goal they are trying to reach in this therapy is to have clients take away the bad actions and replace them with good actions. The goal for cognitive therapy is similar to behavior therapy except they are trying to replace bad thoughts to have only positive thoughts, instead of actions or behaviors. Method to help obtain this goal is to use different methods such as cognitive restructuring and/or rational-emotive therapy. Group therapy’s goal is to provide support while also improving social skills in a cost-effective manner. The method to reach this goal is to use a mix of different therapies. Last but not least family therapy has a method of using different therapies too. Their goal is to help the family and to make it better. So the main methods to help are free association and dream analysis, listening to the patient while giving only positive feedback, behavior modifications, and cognitive therapy that includes restructuring and/or rational-emotive therapy.
The basic obstacles are the expense, the long time it takes, and also the controversy of whether these methods actually work or not.
My understanding of psychological treatment has changed a lot because I only thought their was only two types of methods which were listening to the client and free association. I had no idea there were so many methods to help try to reach the individual goals.
The most interesting topic I read was about phobias. I don’t have a phobia and I think it’s so odd when someone has one. You almost just want to tell them to calm down and not be scared of it but it’s not that easy. I hate bats and sometimes hate the dark, but that doesn’t mean I have a phobia. To help cure phobias doctors use exposure and systematic desensitization. Exposure is therapy technique that involves repeatedly exposing a client to an anxiety-producing stimulus or situation and has the goal of reducing the clients fear. For example, if someone is afraid of dogs, the doctor would start by showing them a photo of a dog and telling them to stay calm the dog won’t hurt you. After doing that for a while, the doctor then shows them a stuff animal that is a dog and telling them it won’t hurt you and to stay calm. After a while of that the doctor finally brings in a real dog showing the client that it will not hurt them. The person is supposed to eventually not have anxiety attacks when they see real dogs around anymore. Systematic desensitization is therapy technique that involves exposing a client to increasingly anxiety-producing stimuli or situations while having the client relax at the same time. They are presented with real life situations and are suppose to overcome obstacles to tackle the situations while staying relaxed.
The most memorable thing I read was about depression. More women are found having depression than men. Depression can lead to suicide, which is a very scary thought. Anti-depressant drugs are used to lesson the chances of suicide in people. It has worked, but even the slightest change in dosage can cause them to go bad and may cause them to be suicidal. However, that happening is a very small chance. Psychotherapy works very well also, especially for teenagers.

Key Terms: Psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, exposure, and systematic desensitization

There are many basic methods for treating psychological disorders. One method is therapy. There are many different types of therapy that are used to treat disorders. One of the types of therapy is psychotherapy which is treatment for psychological disorders where therapists help clients understand their problems. There’s also humanistic therapy, psychodynamic therapy, behavior therapy, group therapy, cognitive therapy, and family therapy. Each one of these therapies involves a therapist treating a client using different techniques. Another way to treat psychological disorders is by using psychotropic medications like anti-depressants, stimulants, and mood stabilizer drugs. There’s also more extreme ways of treatment like electroconvulsive therapy which involves administering electrical currents throughout a person’s brain in hopes of creating a seizure that would help eliminate their depressive thoughts. All of these types of treatments can be effective, but that doesn’t mean they don’t come with obstacles. Therapy can be challenging if the client is not willing to discuss their true emotions with their therapist. Psychotropic medications also come with obstacles. They’re not always going to be successful in treating disorders. With anti-depressants, studies have shown that some people have a higher suicidal rate when taking them rather than when they do not. Since reading this chapter, my views on psychological treatment have changed slightly. I knew about these treatments beforehand, but I was not aware of the subcategories within them. Since I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, I’ve experienced these treatments first-hand. I knew about antidepressants and therapy. I am currently on two different types of anti depressants and attend therapy every other month. I was able to relate to this chapter (unfortunately). I did not know about the extreme measures of treatment though. I had never heard of transcranial magnetic stimulation before, and it sounds quite painful. So my understanding of psychological treatments has broadened greatly.
The topic that was most interesting to me was how disorders are treated with children and adolescents. I was diagnosed with depression and severe anxiety when I was fifteen years old, so this chapter relates to me greatly. I was interested to see the section about how antidepressants is a controversial treatment method for teens because they tend to increase suicidal thoughts. I personally never experienced this. Anti-depressents were just the thing to help me overcome my depression. They changed my whole life around. I understand that the same can’t be said for everyone, but at least for me, antidepressants worked immensely.
The most surprising thing I learned about in this chapter was the extreme methods of treatment for disorders. I know I’ve touched base on these methods at least twice now, but I was so shocked when I read about them! The three kinds I read about were electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. Each one of these treatments involves sending electricity of some form throughout the brain in hopes of fixing or stimulating a psychological disorder. With deep brain stimulation, electricity is passed through a person’s brains to stimulate the brain. With transcranial magnetic stimulation, a magnetic field is used to interrupt functions in specific areas of the brain. And with electroconvulsive therapy, electrical currents are administered to the brain to create a seizure.
Terms: psychotherapy, humanistic therapy, psychodynamic therapy, behavior therapy, family therapy, group therapy, cognitive therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, emotions, psychotropic medications, biological therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, and psychological disorders.

There are many types of treatments/ therapy approaches. They differ depending on what you are working with. Another name for psychological treatment towards changing thoughts and behaviors is psychotherapy. There are six psychotherapy approaches. The psychodynamic therapy is a treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them become aware of how their unconscious processes may be causing conflict and impairing daily functions. The second one in the humanistic theory. That is where a therapist works with clients to help them develop their full potential for personal growth through greater self understanding. Then there is behavior therapy which is when the therapist works with the person to help them unlearn learned behaviors that negatively affect their functioning. The fourth one is cognitive therapy where the therapist helps the clients eliminate harmful thought patterns and replace them with positive ones. Group therapy provide support while also improving social skills in a cost effective manner. Finally there is family therapy where that help heal family relationships.
Then on the other hand there is biological therapy where it is the treatment for psychological disorders that is based on medical approaches to illness and disease. With that there is psychotropic medications that are drugs that affect the mental processes and can be used to treat psychological disorders. There are 5 drug classifications with psychotropic medications. They are anxiety drugs (temporary sedative, calming effect), antidepressant drugs (increase positive mood, reduce emotionality, impulsiveness, and arousal), mood stabilizer drugs (help even out moods, especially manic episodes), antipsychotic drugs (reduce positive symptom like delusions, hallucination, disorganized speech and behavior, and reduce some negative symptoms like lethargy and lack of emotion), and finally stimulants (decrease hyperactivity, distractibility, increase attention, concentration.) You can also meet with psychiatrists, clinical psychologist, counseling psychologist, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses, and paraprofessionals are all people that can help with psychological disorders. As you can see there are so many way to treat psychological disorders that it is hard to cover them all. One of the biggest obstacles with these is figuring out what the person has and making sure that you diagnose them correctly. Then it becomes the struggle to figure out which method would work best for that patient for them to succeeded. Its also a struggle when prescribes medication to the client because you do not know what medicine will work best for them. So sometimes is becomes trial and error. You could find one that works right away or the first few you try might not be best suited for that individual.
After reading this chapter it really helped me understand that their are many different options out there for people to get help. It never really occurred to me how many different methods that there are until i saw them on paper. I think that it is a great thing that their are so many different options because every single person is different in their own way.
Something that was really interesting to me was that psychotic disorders were much harder to treat then other disorders. They used to be institutionalized into mental hospitals. These people were hard to hand and difficult to treat. The staff and administration of the mental hospitals tried an inexpensive treatment that they thought might help decrease the patient population or at least might make the patients more manageable. They used brain surgery, such a lobotomy. The surgery did not seem to improve the people with schizophrenia. After the introduction of medication they eliminated lobotomy.
Something memorable for me was the use of medication to treat depression in adolescents. I was surprised to find out that 8% of 12-17 year olds in the U.S have had major depressive episodes. It also surprised me that 5,000 teens in the U.S kill themselves each year making that the third leading cause of death for that age group. This really stood out to me because it is devastating that this happens
TERMS: treatments, therapy, depression, psychological treatment, psychotherapy approaches, psychotropic medications, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic theory, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, family therapy, biological therapy, anxiety drugs, antidepressant drugs, antipsychotic drugs, stimulants, psychiatrists, clinical psychologist, counseling psychologist, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses, paraprofessionals, patient, client, schizophrenia

There have been many types of treatment that have been attempted to try and help those that have psychological problems that they have had to live with. Over the last few decades there have been many changes on what doctors and therapists have tried to work with when trying to help those with psychological disorders get better as well as trying to find the symptoms of the disease that they have so that they can effectively target those parts when working. Over the years there have been both successes and failures when it comes to trying to help with psychological disorders, one of the major failures that was big in the news would have been the trials with repressed memories and trying to bring them back in to the mind. It went wrong when false memories were being believed as true, because of this many families had problems with clients who believed they were sexually or physically abuse when there was no real actions of abuse that were performed when younger. Today most of the types of therapy that are used for those with psychological disorders fall under the title of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is the type of therapy that is undertaken by both a client and the psychological practitioner and is used to help the client understand their condition and the symptoms that come along with it. The most common form of psychotherapy is the use of a therapist that sits down with their client and talks about the problems that they are having.
There are many other types of therapy that are used these days including psychodynamic therapy where a therapist has their client try and become aware of their unconscious desires and their processes that could be holding them back from having a fully functioning daily life. Another type of therapy is behavior therapy and its goal of changing someone’s behaviors that they have learned through their life so that it no longer hinders or comes into conflict with their daily life. From the class this type of therapy reminds me of classical conditioning of the mind so that they can either learn new behaviors that they should use in their life or unlearn destructive behaviors before it can ruin their lives even further. For other types of psychological disorders there are many different treatment options that are useable for practitioners to use so that they can try and help their client with any problems that come up for their specific disorder. An example would be those who suffer from phobias and it negatively affects their daily life. Many practitioners would use exposure or systematic desensitization to help those with phobias either reduce the effect that their specific phobia has on them or help them relax when in the vicinity of their fear. Using exposure will repeatedly expose them to their fear and hopefully reduce the fear that is felt through their repeated contact and through the use of systematic desensitization they will use their fear and help them to learn to keep calm during their episodes by keeping them relaxed when in its presents.
One of the major problems that affect the treatment of psychological disorders is that many people do not wish to seek help for them because it makes it seem that they have a problem with their life and they cannot get over it on their own. Many times you will hear people say that they do not want to see a therapist because only those that are crazy actually go and see them for help and they do not wish to be labeled the same as them.
Overall treatment for psychological disorders have been gaining ground when trying to help those that need the treatment in order to live a better life. With many advancements in medicine and the understanding of the human brain doctors and therapists are able to find the root problem of those that need help so that they can help them either get over their fear or find out what causes the changes in behavior that happen in their day to day lives.

There are many different ways to treat psychological disorders. Among some of the basic ones are multiple kinds of therapy and medications. For example there is psychotherapy where a therapist helps the patient to understand what is wrong and come up with possible ways to help them get better. From that there are more specific types of therapy. Psychodynamic therapy in which the therapist and patient talk about how unconscious processes are causing problems in their daily life. Behavior therapy works in a way to help get the person to stop doing something such as biting their fingernails. Sometimes it is necessary to use medications. Psychotropic medications work by affecting the brain’s neurochemistry thus altering one’s mental processes. One of the biggest obstacles is trying to find out which treatment to use. Sometimes it one treatment may not work near as good as another. It is usually expensive so it is important to figure out how to best treat the disorder sooner rather than later. I now realize that there are many different ways to treat the disorders and that if one wanted to go into therapy type occupation how difficult it may be. Originally I had more or less thought that therapy took more of a linear approach, but there are actually a ton of different paths to take.
I found it extremely interesting that there are so many ways to be treated. My brother struggles with an extreme case of ADHD, and it is interesting to see how there are many ways to try and fix the problem. He has gone to therapists and takes medications but it is still not quite doing the trick. It’s just crazy to think that there are still so many options to help treat the disorder.
I struggled with depression for about half a year. The section on depressive disorders was not exactly surprising, but very memorable. There are many treatments for this including drugs such as antidepressants, therapy to understand and address the problem, excercise, etc. For me the therapy worked best. Exercise was a big help temporarily. If i was feeling really down, I knew that some exercise would help.

Terms: psychological disorders, therapy, medication, psychotherapy, unconsciousness, psychodynamic therapy, behavior therapy, psychotropic medications, neurochemistry, depression

When treating psychological disorders, doctors use psychotherapy based on psychological principles. Psychotherapy is when the doctor helps the patient to see what his or her problem is on their own. They use these techniques to become aware of their unconscious conflicts so that they can fix them. There are many branches of therapy that can help people with different problems. Psychodynamic therapy works in a similar to help people become aware of their unconscious processes to help stop or prevent future conflict and impairing daily function. Humanistic therapy is when the therapist helps clients to achieve personal growth and greater self-understanding. Behavior therapy is where clients are taught to forget memories or thoughts that affect their daily functioning. These all affect how people function throughout the day. These are big obstacles because they affect people differently and can only help certain disorders. Some of the major challenges in these therapies is that one treatment may work great for some people and not at all for others. This means that the treatments must be changing all the time to accommodate the patient. Tis chapter further helps me understand how difficult it can be to get over a psychological problem. Now I know that it may not be an easy mater and can take a long time to fix their problems. I know of people that live in my area that have problems like this and they are not seen very often in the community. They have their own ways of dealing with their problems which may sometimes take away from their lives. The most interesting thing to me is how doctors can use deep brain stimulation to cure depression, OCD, and other health problems. If this is the case then mental disorders may be getting closer and closer to being healed in the future. The most memorable thing to me is that for someone to get over a phobia, the best way is to be exposed to that phobia. If the phobia is being afraid of dogs, then they must be exposed to dogs to get over their fear.
Psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, deep brain stimulation

Throughout Chapter 14, there are many explained ways of how psychological disorders can be treated. Any psychological treatment that takes place and is aimed at changing behavior or thoughts of a person is referred to as psychotherapy. Sigmund Freud was one of the first people to develop any treatments for psychological disorders. He called this method of treatment psychoanalysis. Freud believed that disorders were caused by prior experiences that a person might have had, in particular experiences that are traumatic. When talking about disorders, I believe what Freud said about how disorders are caused is true to a point. For example, if a person has a traumatic experience when he or she is a young child, there could be effects in the future if that person experiences something similar to what happened to them as a child. There is also the approach of humanistic therapy in which therapists treat the person as a whole and look at what impacts their life from all angles. Another angle for treatment of psychological disorders is biological therapy. This is when disorders result from abnormalities in bodily processes. An effective treatment for this is psychotropic medications in which these are drugs that affect the mental processes of people that are having disorders. There are obstacles that can come with treating psychological disorders for young children and adolescents. If adolescents are given antidepressants for their disorders, they are being put at risk for the risk of suicide. I have never had a disorder so I would not know what it is like to go through treatment and possibly be given depressants, but it is a big risk that people are taking. My understanding of psychological treatment after reading this chapter has changed because before reading this chapter, I did not know that there were so many different options of treatment for psychological disorders.
One topic that I found interesting in this chapter is the type of therapy called systematic desensitization. With this therapy, the therapist has the client imagine everything that gives them anxiety and at the same time tells them to relax. I find this to be a very interesting therapy because how is someone supposed to relax while they are having anxiety. I would find that extremely hard to do.
One type of therapy that I found surprising was electroconvulsive therapy. With this therapy they put electrodes on a client’s head and want to create a seizure. I find this to be unbelievable that they would do this. What if something went wrong and it caused permanent brain damage. That would be hard to live with for the rest of your life. The chapter says that it can treat schizophrenia and depression, but how it does I find hard to believe.

Terms: schizophrenia, depression, psychological disorder, psychological treatment, psychoanalysis, humanistic therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medication, antidepressants, systematic desensitization, electroconvulsive therapy

In the book, it is stated that there are no instant cures for psychological disorders. With that being said, these disorders need to be managed over time through various treatments that can reduce the symptoms, so people can function well in their daily lives. In order to do so, one is to be continuously assessed, diagnosed, and treated. However the therapies that are common for people to go through are called psychotherapies, which include treatments such as: psychodynamic, humanistic, behavior, cognitive, behavioral, group, and family. First, we must understand what each therapy’s goals are and the methods they are used. In psychodynamic therapy a patient is analyzed with free association and dream analysis, which helps the patient become aware of unconscious conflicts and defense mechanisms. In Humanistic therapy a patient goes through active listening and unconditional positive regard in order to fulfill their potential for personal growth. In Behavior therapy a patient undergoes behavior modification, including rewards and punishments, token economies, social skills training, modeling and could also include use of cognitive-behavioral therapy. This process helps a patient eliminate harmful behaviors with beneficial ones. Cognitive therapy has patients go through cognitive reconstruction, and/or emotional therapy, for the process helps patients eliminate harmful thought patterns and replace them with positive ones. Group therapy involves a mix of therapy approaches in order to provide support as well as improving social skills in a cost-effective manner. Lastly, there is family therapy where it involves a systems approach, and a mixture of therapy approaches in order to heal family relationships.

The biggest obstacles with treating psychological disorders is when to seek professional help with disorders, and what issues a therapists can help with, as well as which therapist and method would work best for the patient and disorder. Since disorders can be classified as the same disorder as someone else with similar symptoms, but both people can react differently to medicine, or treatments, it is important for a professional to have had the appropriate training and experience for the specific disorder or life problem. In order for a patient to successfully be treated a therapist should be trustworthy and caring. Although some of the common therapies usually work for a patient, there are times when it does not work, and that would involve trial of a different method such as: electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, or deep brain stimulation.

My understanding for these treatments have changed considering I never really knew what treatment would work best for each disorder. For instance, In Kim Basinger’s case, who was suffering from anxiety disorders, was treated through cognitive-behavioral therapy. I would always see a therapy scene in movies, or TV shows that would involve asking a patient questions about his/her life and occasionally the cards of picture that a patient had to respond with what he/she feels the picture on the card looks like, but I had no idea it had a specific name, or what the patient was being treated for.

From the reading the topic that interested me the most, as well as being the most surprising thing I learned from the reading was the section on Drug Treatments Are Superior for Schizophrenia. The section listed treatments for the disorder such as medicine, or therapy. However, it also said that the earliest drugs used to treat Schizophrenia, antiphychotics, caused clients to have a permanent motor disorder called tardive dykinesia which caused involuntary movements of the face and neck as well as abnormal posture. I have seen this motor disorder in movies and TV shows, but had no idea why the patient acted the way he/she did, I always thought it was just cause they were ‘crazy,’ or ‘out of it.’

Terms: psychotherapy, psychological disorders, psychodynamic therapy, cognitive therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, group therapy, family therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, anxiety disorder, cognitive-behavioral therapy, Schizophrenia, antiphychotics, motor disorder, tardive dykinesia.

In chapter 14 they talk about so many treatments that can be used for the many disorders that people have psychologically. Psychotherapy is the word that is used to bunch all of these treatments together. Psychotherapy is the treatment for psychological disorders where a therapists works with a client, while they try to help them understand and improve their problems. The one that caught my attention the most was psychodynamic therapy, and this is giving the patient treatments for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them become aware of how their unconscious processes may be causing their problems. It’s very similar to the psychotherapy definition. This was one of the first every developed treatments for psychological disorders. Other types of treatments are humanistic therapy and behavior therapy. Humanistic therapy is where the therapist works with clients to help them develop their full potential for personal growth. Behavior therapy is a little different, but it’s therapists who work with the patient to unlearn behaviors that negatively affect their functioning.

The biggest obstacles would be all of the steps determining what the patient has, than focusing on what therapy would best fit that disorder and the patient. In some cases, maybe the described therapy won’t work just because of the patient’s personality. This does tend to happen, and that makes it tougher since you’ll have to go to the second or even third option.

My understanding has changed greatly from reading about all of the types of therapy in chapter 14. I had no idea that there were so many types of therapies, and how different each was. So many treatments for the disorders that people have to deal with day in and day out. It’s great to see how many options there are out there for people.

The topic that was most interesting to me was using medication to treat depression in adolescents is controversial. They go on to talk about the risks and side effects that happen when they give younger people medication. 8-12 percent of 17 year olds have reported feeling depressed at some point. Only about one third of teens with psychological disorders get treatment. Testing and studies were done on 4,400 teens getting medication. Studies show that 4 percent had suicidal thoughts, and that was double the amount for kids taking a placebo. No one committed suicide, but this was alarming enough to the FDA that they now put a warning label on each antidepressant pack. This was very interesting to read about.

What was most surprising was reading about Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and why it’s the most successful for borderline personality disorder. The therapy combines behavior, cognitive, and psychodynamic therapies. All clients are seen in-group and individual sessions. People who have thought of suicide or people that cut themselves, are the ones who are given less destructive behaviors that hopefully will replace the very bad ones. There are 3 phases that they use in the DBT therapy. Phase 1 they change extreme behaviors, such as self-harm and other things. Phase 2 they explore past traumas that may be the cause of the disorder. Try to help the patient understand why or what all happened. Lastly, in phase 3 they develop feelings of independence and self-respect for themselves.

Terms Used: Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Humanistic Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Placebo, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

There are many treatments available for psychological disorders, but the three main approaches are psychotherapy, psychotropic medications, and alternative treatments. Psychotherapy is a psychological treatment aiming at changing thoughts and behaviors, they are different techniques include psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. Psychologist will decided whether to use which technique that is appropriate for a given client. For instance, a psychologist will use psychodynamic therapy on a client that has been through a traumatic experience. This techniques often refers as free association and dream analysis in which the client says whatever came to mind and the therapist would look at the signs, or the therapist would interpreted a client’s dream. Psychotropic medications and alternative treatments are included biological therapies are based on the notion that psychological disorders result from abnormalities in bodily processes, so treatment must address these physical problems. Psychotropic medications are drugs that affect mental processes. There are five categories: anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and stimulants. These medications are generally used to treat specific disorders. Last but not least, alternative treatments are usually for extreme cases. In extreme treatments, there are often used to alter brain function. These extreme treatments include three categories: electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation.

The obstacles that are in the way of the treatments are usually from the client. Because the client would not tell the truth so sometimes the psychotherapy won’t work. For medications, more than often, those medications have many negative side effects such as anti-anxiety drugs make the clients drowsy, addict to the pills, antidepressant drugs caused sexual dysfunction, nausea, nervousness, weight gain, and many more. But unfortunately not everyone is treated successfully with psychotherapy, medication or the combination of both. All these alternative treatments are last resorts, because they may have more serious side effects than psychotherapy or medications. I am doing a research about depression in other classes and ready for the speech on Friday. These information are so helpful in terms of different treatments. It help my understanding of psychological disorders increased vastly. There are so many treatments available for the victims. Whereas, I could use these information in the future research, i could explain more of what treatments are available to each different disorder.

The most interesting topic in this chapter was the treatments. From the basic treatments for common disorders to extreme treatments for personality disorders. Personality disorder are difficult to be treated by therapy. Most of them are not successful, so psychologists have attempted to develop approaches specific to borderline personality disorders. The most successful treatment approach was dialectical behavior therapy, developed by the psychologist Linehan in the 1980s. It is the combination of elements of behavior, cognitive, and psychodynamic therapies. It consists of three phases, first was to give the strategies to client to solve her problems and controlling attention are based on mindfulness meditation, second therapists help the clients explore their root of the emotional problems, last, therapists help the client to develop self-respect. The most memorable or surprising topic was antisocial personality disorder are impossible to treat. From what I learned from the text because these clients lie all the time, care little for other peoples’ feelings, and live for the present. All of these factors add up to increase the hardship of developing a good treatment to motivate the client to change. Some of the clients promised to change, but there was no evidence that they were going to be long lasting or even real changes.

Terms: dialectical behavior therapy, psychotherapy, psychotropic medications, biological therapies, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy,lectroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, and family therapy.

After reading chapter 14, I was exposed to all the different methods used to treat mental disorders in today’s world. The chapter described how there are many different treatment methods, depending on the disorder. The most common treatment originated from Freud, which is known as the psychodynamic theory. Today’s therapy is a variation of what was once used, but it is generally described when a therapist chats with the client in order to identify the problem and work towards a solution. This is often depicted in movies as the client sitting in a chair talking to the psychologist. Carl Rogers, who founded what is known as the humanistic theories used his own variations in order to bring the patient to their full potential. The humanistic approach generally looks towards the bright side, and is more positive in helping the patient work towards what they want to be.

Drugs are another commonly used treatment in mental disorders. There are specialized doses and variations to confront the wide variety of illnesses. The use of drugs is a staple for curing disorders, but there is often side effects. The side effects associated with the drugs often outweigh the problem. Although you no longer have depression, you could suffer from other more severe problems such as type II diabetes or heart complications. It is very important to have drug therapy prescribed to you by a licensed physician, to avoid these problems and to ensure you are properly diagnosed.

Other methods that are proved scientific and nonscientific are still used to try and cure those who are suffering. The use of electricity on the brain is one common form used in correlation with drugs. It is often used for treatment if the drugs are unwanted, or they aren’t working. This process involves stimulating the brain with electricity to correct disorders that may be causing problems. Other more severe strategies such as lobotomies provide treatment, but often at high risks, as brain surgery is dangerous, expensive, and irreversible. Methods such as these are often used as a last resort.

There are also other factors that influence treatment. These include: insurance, financial stability, and willingness. Although almost half of all Americans suffer from a mental disorder at some point in their lives, the amount that receive treatment is much lower. Perhaps this correlates with the stigma of social disorders in today’s society. This causes an obstacle within itself. Diagnosing and treating patients is a strenuous task, but when the patient refuses needed treatment, even more obstacles make way. This is why family and friend support is important during the treatment process.

Upon completion of the chapter, I felt that the mental disorders, and the processes used to correct them were very interesting. But overall, I thought the use of drugs as treatment to be the most interesting. I think it is neat how many different kinds there are, in order to match the diverse disorders. Although many of them are far from perfect, I feel they are only getting better and may soon provide permanent, successful treatment to all patients.
Psychological Terms: Mental Disorder, Treatment, Psychodynamic theory, Sigmund Freud, Carl Rogers, Therapy, Drugs, Patient,

After reading this chapter I have found out ways people can cope with the stress of many disorders. It makes me think about how many people go through the process of getting better with the help from others. While some people think that committing suicide is the only way out of their struggles is tough to deal with but with the help of other people they can get through it. There are plenty of different ways to get through the illness like therapy, medication, or treatments. Psychotherapy helps patients with disorders understand their problems and work for a solution to resolve them. There are six types of psychotherapy; psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. Psychodynamic therapy helps clients become aware of unconscious conflicts and defense mechanisms. Humanistic therapy is to help people fulfill their potential for personal growth. Behavior therapy helps clients replace harmful behaviors with beneficial ones. Helping clients eliminate harmful thought patterns and replace them with positive ones. Group therapy is providing support while also improving social skills in a cost-effective manner. Finally, family therapy is to heal family relationships. All of these are ways to heal or help people deal with their illnesses and get through it. For disorders people can also get medication as a type of treatment. For common disorders such as OCD, Depressive disorders, Bipolar disorders, and Schizophrenia medication can be helpful to the process of recovery for their disorder. While medication is not only the alternative to deal with these disorders it is just one way some people deal with the pain of their illness. There are also treatments that can help relieve the pain from the illness. TMS or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation helps treat depression by placing a wire coil over the head to produce an electrical current to interrupt brain function. This can be used for other treatments for disorders but it is mostly used for depression. Deep Brain Stimulation is used to treat depression and OCD. This is an electrical generator that is placed under the skin by the collar bone and it sends electrodes implanted in the brain. These are a few ways that people deal with the stress and pain of disorders. They try to do these to get back to a more normal point in life to go about their days like a normal person with no problems.
Key Term: psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy, TMS, DBS

Cassandra Rutledge
Chapter 14
12/1/2014

Psychological disorders can be treated by different forms of therapy. The first of these therapies is psychodunamic therapy involves identifying unconscious conflicts in feelings and drives that. This gives rise to maladaptice thoughts and behaviors. The second method of treating psychological disorders is humanistic therapy, this is meant to treat the person as a whole. It helps patients develop their full potential for person growth through greater self-understanding. The next one is behavior therapy, which is to help the person unlearn learned behavior behaviors that negatively affect their functioning. There is cognitive therapy, this involves a change in distorted thought patterns that produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Group therapy is a mix of cognitive therapy and behavior therapy to context faulty thinking and maladaptive behaviors. The last one is family therapy, which is based on a larger context. Biological therapy is based on medical approaches to illness and to disease. Electroconvulsive therapy involves administering a strong eletrical current to the client's brain to produce a seizure. This is effective in some cases of severe depression. These last two are only used in extreme cases of psychological disorders.
The biggest obstacles in psychological disorders are that the practitioner and the client have to have good interactions between each other, this good relationship between the therapist and the client can provide hope that help will be receive from others. I thought that psychological therapy was just someone lying on a couch, and having someone tell them what is wrong with them. This chapter helped clear up some of that confusion.
The most interesting part was actually reading through all the different types of therapy because there are so many ways that a patient can take certain forms of therapy. Everyone is different and have to be treated for psychological disorders differently. Just because something helped one person does not mean that it will help the next person.

Terms: psychological disorders, therapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, biological therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, therapist, client, relationship,

Some of the basic methods for treating psychological disorders consist of psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, and behavior and cognitive therapies. Psychodynamic therapy is defined in the book as when “a therapist aims to help a client examine her unconscious understand why she is distressed”. In this therapy the therapist tries to have more of a conversation out with the patient and to help them for support. Humanistic therapy is defined in the book “to treat the person as a whole” or to say that “the person is not just a collection of behaviors or a storehouse of repressed thoughts.”. Humanistic therapy helps us patients become aware that their problems and behaviors are not who you are but rather something that they can get rid of. Behavior and cognitive therapies in the book are defined to “treat the thoughts and behaviors as the problems”. I think this therapy is the best one because the therapist isn’t so focused on why the patient has the problem they have but more so what the patient is thinking and feeling. One big obstacle would be the therapist trying to figure out which disorder the patient has or if the patient even has a disorder at all. In order to help the patient or prescribe any medications they may need the therapist needs to become aware of the disorder. My understanding of psychological treatment has changed a lot since reading this chapter because I didn’t put into consideration the fact that the therapists cannot make the patient feel attacked by making them feel like they are weird for having their disorder. The therapist must look behind their disorder and figure out the patients’ thoughts and why they are behaving the way they are behaving. The topic that is most interesting to me would be about the panic disorders. This is interesting to me because when I was in middle school track a girl on my team had really bad panic disorders before her races. It was really interesting to learn what is all behind it. The most surprising thing I learned was that there are many different approaches to treat ADHD.

Psychological terms: psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior and cognitive therapies, psychological treatment, panic disorder, ADHD

There are two ways to treat psychological disorders. One is through medication. This is very helpful in many cases and shows good result. It does not however treat the actual cause, but instead only the symptoms. Even though it does not solve the underlying problem it is widely used in many different treatments and sometimes used without fully understanding why it works. This is seen in the use of lithium for people with bipolar disorder. The second way to treat people with psychological problems is with psychotherapy. There are many kinds, but the main kind that comes up is cognitive – behavior therapy. This is identifying faulty cognitions and replacing them with new behaviors. It is used in a lot of illness and often times with medication. Along with therapy there are techniques of electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. These are very risky and sometimes dangerous. They usually involve anesthesia (except transcranial magnetic stimulation) and use a shock to “reset” the brain chemistry. This is very interesting and shown to work with severe depression, although not fully understood why.
The biggest obstacles of treating psychological illnesses seems to me to be finding the reason why the disease is present. A lot of the time patients are different and need treatment programs that are specific to them. This makes it hard to find the same problem to all to end the illness altogether or at least manage it better. Another obstacle is often the price. Therapy can be expensive and also can medication. Insurance often times doesn’t help with therapy, but it does with medication so patients or pushed to just dealing with the symptoms and not overcoming the illness. This is a problem and needs to be change. The last obstacle is the resentment of going to therapy. It is somewhat looked down upon, which is wrong, and people don’t want to look for help because they think that they don’t need it. This is a societal problem that needs to be reversed so people can get help and not be seen as a bad or crazy person.
My understanding of treatment has changed widely. I didn’t know much about TV about therapy. I just thought of the stereotype of lying on a couch and talking about your feelings. I didn’t look into it much, but I did realize that that is not the case. Therapy can be very useful especially paired with medications for people with diseases to live a normal life. That is the main thing they generally want and people want for them. I also learned that there are many types of therapy that are very interesting.
The most interesting part for me was the sections about deep brain stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy. These are very interesting to me because I am interested in the medical field and I am amazed that these can help. There was even a story that the person felt relief when they flipped the switch for the machine. This amazes me that the therapy can work that fast.
Key terms: Bipolar disorder, psychotherapy, medication, cognitive behavior therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, depression

This chapter about psychological treatments helped me understand the specifics of treating mental disorders. I knew about some of the common treatments, like medication and therapy, but there is much more to it. My understanding of psychological treatment has increased because I know some more specific details of treatment with specific forms of mental disorders.
Psychotherapy, the basic, most popular method for treating psychological disorder, is when a therapist works with patients to give them an understanding of their issues and find solutions for them. The most memorable thing about this chapter was that psychotherapy comes six approaches. This is very memorable to me because I have been in therapy, and it is interesting to learn about some of these approaches. I feel like I can relate these approaches to my real-life experiences with therapy. The psychodynamic therapy gives patients an awareness to unconscious conflicts and defense mechanisms. The humanistic therapy gives assistance to patients for fulfilling their full potential for growth. Behavior therapy helps patients replace toxic behaviors with positive behaviors. Cognitive therapy gives clients a way to eliminate toxic thoughts and add positive thoughts. Group therapy gives support to patients and gives them social skills. Family therapy heals family relationships.
When it comes to anxiety disorders, treatments that focus on behavior and cognition. As I stated before, there are specific treatments for specific disorders. For example, with obsessive-compulsive disorder responds more to cognitive-behavioral treatment and to medication. Dialectical behavior therapy, for example, is effective for people with borderline personality disorder by combining different forms of therapy, such as behavior, psychodynamic, and cognitive. Therapy is the basic method for treating psychological disorders.
Some of the biggest obstacles in treating psychological disorders is the controversial idea of adolescents using medication. According to the book, around 8 percent of teens in the United States experience depression, and therefore, treatment is highly recommended. However, some of these antidepressants increase suicidal thoughts, restlessness, and impulsive behaviors. Therefore, the controversy of using medication is an obstacle with the treatment of mental disorders. Another way in which treatment is difficult is with antisocial personality disorder. The therapy that comes with this disorder has some success, mainly in areas with controlled residential treatment. However, it is just difficult in general to treat patients with personality disorders. These are a few examples of some of the obstacles in treating psychological disorders.
The topic of systematic desensitization is very interesting to me. It is a form of exposure therapy that involves placing patients in an anxiety-producing stimulus or situations with the goal of decreasing the client’s fear. These steps include a making a list of situations that make the fear increase, relaxation training, and exposure. I feel like this would be incredibly scary and difficult to do, but I think it would be interesting to try.
Terms: Psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, medication, group therapy, family therapy, treatment, obsessive-compulsive disorder, dialectical behavior therapy, personality disorder, depression, systematic desensitization, exposure therapy.

Chapter 14 talked about all of the different types of treatments for psychological disorders. The treatment aimed at changing thoughts and behavior is psychotherapy. There are countless different types of treatments talked about throughout the chapter. One of the many treatments is psychodynamic therapy. This is a very common treatment method where a therapist works with clients to help them become aware of how their unconscious processes may be causing conflict and impairing daily functioning. This treatment is controversial in today’s world however. Another main treatment is humanistic therapy which is the treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them develop their full potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding. There are also many behavioral therapies. Cognitive therapy is the treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them change distorted thought patterns that produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Cognitive-behavioral therapy treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist incorporates techniques from cognitive therapy and behavior therapy to correct faulty thinking and maladaptive behavior.

Another approach to treat disorders is through biological therapy. Biological therapy is treatment for psychological disorders that is based on medical approaches to illness an dot disease. Some examples of this are psychotropic medication; drugs that affect mental processes and that can be used to treat psychological disorders. There are many drugs out there like; anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressant drugs, mood stabilizer drugs, antipsychotic drugs, and stimulants. Besides drugs there are also types of treatments like elector convulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. These are methods that send electrical currents into the brain to control or change the way the patient thinks or acts.

Through out chapter 14 I realized how difficult it is to treat these disorders for many different reasons. There really aren’t any for sure cures for these psychological disorders. They may work for one person, but not the next. We all are different and have different emotions so some people may, unfortunately, never get any better. From listening to the previous radio talk I realized that these disorders are not like medical issues, they are not seen and you can not feel how your patient is feeling. And then there is also the chance that they really aren’t mentally ill, they could by chance be faking their emotions. Emotions are a hard thing to understand, and most importantly treat. My understanding of psychological treatments has been improved greatly, but mostly because I never realized how many different treatments there were! I read about at least 30 different treatments in just this chapter, I am sure there are many more. After reading this chapter I realized how important it is for psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and therapists to realize their patients problems and find the best suitable treatment for them. Their jobs are so important in our world, to help all of those with disorders this is why they are required so much schooling for their degrees.

The most interesting thing I read in chapter 14 was about antisocial personality disorder and how difficult it is to treat. It is hard to treat these patients because it is almost impossible for the therapists or those who are working with them to create any kind of relationship with them. People with personality disorders lie without thinking, do not care for other people, and do not ever consider their future. These patients often have no motivation to change their attitudes. While I was reading this I was just thinking about how much patience and knowledge their providers must have. They must know a lot about this disease so they know how to treat their patients, they do not want to make them upset any more than they already are and they are going to have to realize they will not see much progress with them in most cases.

The most memorable thing I read was about the risks of antidepressants for adolescents. It surprised me that these drugs caused many teens to become suicidal. These were supposed to help them with their depression, but it was leading them to more extreme behaviors. These studies lead to the FDA placing the warning labels on drugs. In a study 61% of teens taking antidepressants symptoms improved.

Words I used: Antidepressants, therapy, depression, personality disorder, psychological disorders, emotions, psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medications, ECT, TMS, DBS

After reading this chapter it is evident that there are many different ways to “treat” psychological disorders. The main ones discussed being either therapy or drugs. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. One way of treating a psychological disorder is through psychotherapy, this is any formal psychological treatment aimed at changing thoughts and behavior. There are six approaches to psychotherapy. These include psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. All of these help in their own way and focus on a different problem. For now lets discuss psychodynamic therapy. This is a treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them become aware of how their unconscious processes may be causing conflict and impairing daily functioning. It focuses on helping the client to become aware of unconscious needs, motives, and defense mechanisms. The goal is to help the client figure out why they are distressed. However, this method of treatment is highly controversial due to the expense, length of treatment, and its lack of effectiveness in treating most psychological disorders. On the other hand, cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most widely used and most effective types of psychotherapy. It is a mix of both behavioral and cognitive therapy. It tries to correct the client’s faulty cognitions and train them to engage in new behaviors. As I stated before, there are many types of therapy’s, all focusing on different issues and all controversial in their own way. Granted, some much more than others, but controversial none the less.
Another way of treating psychological disorders is through drugs and medications, also known as biological therapy. These drugs are known as psychotropic medications. They act by changing the brain's neurochemistry, either by inhibiting action potentials or by altering how neurotransmitters work in the brain to affect thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. There are five categories of psychotropic medications. These include anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and stimulants. These medications are used to treat specific disorders, however, drugs from one category may be used to treat a disorder from a different category. Other biological therapy methods include electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. One of the most controversial ones is electroconvulsive therapy. It involves placing electrodes on a client’s head and administering an electrical current that is strong enough to produce a seizure. It has been commonly used to successfully treat depression and schizophrenia. However, it is highly controversial and frowned upon by the general public. This is due to books and movies made about the extreme side effects of it and mental health care institutions in general. Nowadays it is done under sedatives and heavy muscle relaxants to eliminate muscular convulsions.
A major obstacle to overcome is just figuring out what the client or patient has and then deciding upon a direction for treatment. As I have described there are many options, granted once the patient has been diagnosed it narrows it down, yet there is still the decision of whether or not to go for psychotherapy or biological therapy. In a sense it is up to the client on which way they would prefer to be treated, however they can’t be sure which will work best for them. Also, deciding upon who to go to for help. Depending on the severity of the diagnoses the client has many options for help, including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses (if they happen to know one), or a paraprofessional to help them out personally. In my opinion just deciding upon a course of treatment and who to go to for help is an obstacle.
My understanding for treatment methods has drastically changed since reading this chapter. I always had the stereotype that the movies bring to society. However, there are many different avenues for treatment, none of which are cruel or barbaric. Even electroconvulsive therapy is tame these days. It amazes me how far the medical world has advanced and still is.
One thing that I found very interesting within the chapter is how some of the treatments are actually counterproductive. For example, children who are the DARE program are more likely to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes than children who do not attend such organizations. I find this interesting because I was in DARE during elementary school and have now drank and smoked cigars. I can’t help but wonder if I would not have participated in these activities if I had not been a part of DARE.
What I will always remember from this chapter is the story of the 10-year-old girl who died from suffocation after being wrapped in a blanket for 70 minutes during a supposed rebirthing therapy session to simulate her own birth. It was an untested and unscientific method being used to correct the child’s unruly behavior. It was conducted by people who were unlicensed and had not passed the tests that certify knowledge about psychotherapy. The reason that this is what I found to be most memorable is because I found it to be an appalling senseless waste of life. That little girl needed nothing except for supportive parenting. Even if she did need help it should have come from a licensed practitioner, not from people who had no clue what they were doing. Her parents should have taken her to someone qualified instead of taking a cheap route that got their daughter killed. This story just makes me extremely sad and angry.
Key Terms: treatment, psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, biological therapy, neurochemistry, neurotransmitters, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, stimulants, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, depression, schizophrenia, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses, paraprofessional

The name for any type of psychological treatment is called psychotherapy. There are many different techniques of using psychotherapy; however, all methods must be practiced between the client and practitioner. There are many basic methods for treating psychological disorders, the first being therapy. For example, there is psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy and family therapy. All of these different types of therapies help in different areas. Psychodynamic therapy helps clients become aware of unconscious conflicts and defense mechanisms, and all these other therapies help in their respected areas. In addition to many different kinds of therapies, there are also various medications to treat psychological disorders. Any type of drug that affect the mental process are called psychotropic medications. There are five major types of psychotropic medications: anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressant drugs, mood stabilizer drugs, antipsychotic drugs and stimulants. Similar to the therapies, all of these different drugs work in different ways. The anti-anxiety drugs are used as a calming effect, antidepressant drugs increase positive moods, reduce emotionality, impulsiveness, and arousal. Mood stabilizers help even out moods, especially manic episodes. Antipsychotic drugs work in two different ways. First, they reduce positive symptoms, such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior. Antipsychotic drugs can also be used to reduce positive and some negative symptoms like lack of emotion and lethargy. Finally, stimulants are the last of the five classes of drugs. Stimulants are used to decrease hyperactivity, distractibility; and increase attention and concentration. Of course, with many different kinds of treatments come obstacles. For example, the book references how hard it can be to treat antisocial personality disorder. Some of the symptoms of APD are the ability to lie without thinking about it, care little for other people’s feelings, and live for the present without considering the future. All of these symptoms combined make it nearly impossible to build a relationship between the client and practitioner, ultimately making it impossible to make progress in treating it. The most interesting thing I learned in chapter fourteen was learning about antisocial personality disorder; I was unaware that something like this even existed, and I was surprised to learn about the symptoms. The most memorable thing I learned was the behavior therapy for autism. I know many people who have autism, so it was interesting to learn about what they have to go through to treat their disorder. Terms: psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressant drugs, mood stabilizer drugs, antipsychotic drugs, stimulants, psychotropic medications, antisocial personality disorder

In chapter 14, the chapter talked about the different psychological treatments for people with any type of mental disorder. The most common form of treatment would be psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is a treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them understand their problems and work toward possible solutions. I enjoyed reading about this because when I was younger and was just learning to deal with my depression I never actually understood why I was going to therapy and now that I am older and understand my problem more, I can appreciate what my parents were trying to do for me because they didn't really know how to help me deal with my problems. I never knew that there was multiple types of therapy that therapists work with patients. These different types of therapy include psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. There are a lot of medications that are prescribed to people who have psychological disorders, these medications are called psychotropic medications. These drugs are used to treat anything from anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and other stimulants. Unfortunately, there are some cases that drugs cant even help a person. This is when a therapist or other medical specialist resorts to electric shock therapy. There are several different kinds of this therapy, one being electroconvulsive therapy. This type of therapy is a treatment that involves administering a strong electrical current to the client’s brain to produce a seizure, this is used in some cases of severe depression. Another type of therapy is transcranial magnetic stimulation. This therapy uses a magnetic field to interrupt function in specific regions of the brain. This therapy has also been used in some cases of depression. The last kind of electric shock therapy is called deep brain stimulation. During this type of therapy involves the passing of electricity through electrodes planted in the client’s brain to stimulate the brain at a certain frequency and intensity. This treatment is usually used for treating sever obsessive compulsive disorder and depression. There are many different types of specialists who help people with these disorders and they are all very qualified for what they do and usually know exactly what needs to be done to help a patient with their problems. There are many different types of psychological disorders and they all range in how severe they can be, and most psychological disorders are fully treatable with the right tools and methods.

Some psychological terms that I used were psychological treatment, mental disorder, psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy, psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation

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The basic methods for treating psychological disorders are psychotherapy and biological therapy. Within psychotherapy there are six different approaches. These approaches are psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy and family therapy. In psychodynamic therapy patients are taught to become aware of their unconscious conflicts and how they handle them. In humanistic therapy the goal is the fulfill the potential for personal growth. The goal of behavior therapy is then to change the harmful behavior of the client and replace it with a behavior that is not damaging. Cognitive therapy focuses on eliminating disruptive thought patterns and using new positive ones. In group therapy the goal is to provide support while also improving social skills. Lastly, the goal of family therapy is to help destroyed family relationships. Biological therapy focuses on psychotropic medications to treat psychological disorders. There are five classes of these medications: Anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressant drugs, mood stabilizer drugs, antipsychotic drugs, and stimulants. Most anti-anxiety drugs focus on providing a temporary calming effect. Antidepressant drugs work over time. They provide an increased positive mood. Mood stabilizer drugs help even out moods. Antipsychotic drugs aim at reducing both positive symptoms and negative symptoms. Stimulants aim at increasing attention and decrease the probability of being distracted. The biggest obstacles faced when trying to treat psychological disorders are finding the right medication and time. Finding the right medication is important. Some medications can harm your mood even more than without it. Some medication will not work for certain people. It is a method of guess and check. Time is a huge obstacle. You cannot cure psychological disorders overnight. It may become very frustrating for those suffering.

Since reading this chapter my understanding of psychological treatment has changed. I have been working on treating my own psychological disorders for the past few years. I have tried both psychotherapy and biological therapy. One thing that I did not know much about however, was phototherapy. Phototherapy requires exposure to a high-intensity light source each day. This is an alternative treatment favored by clients who suffer from seasonal affective disorder. Although I have never been diagnosed with this disorder I have noticed that my symptoms tend to worsen in the winter. Maybe this would be a good thing for me to try. Before reading, I also wasn’t too aware of electroconvulsive therapy. I do not think that this is right for me. However I have a friend who has undergone this method and seems to be doing fine now. Although he seems to have lost some memory. I was unaware that this method is used by pregnant women in opposition to many psychotropic medications. Some of these medications can cause birth defects.

The most interesting topic to me was children with ADHD and the various approaches for benefiting them. I always tend to question whether or not I could have ADHD since I seem to get distracted and hyper easily. However I usually assume that I don’t. I was interested when I learned that many who are diagnosed as a child will grow out of it. So should we give children medication if they could simply grow out of it? I think that it is okay. I wouldn’t want my child more at risk for other psychiatric disorders.

Most surprising to me was behavioral therapy for autism. Especially in severe cases of autism I wonder if it is even possible to reverse it. I was surprised to learn the amount of time that one approach, the applied behavioral analysis, requires. Forty hours a week! However this treatment seems to work! On average a child would gain 20 IQ points.

Psychological Terms: autism,applied behavioral analysis, psychiatric disorders, psychological disorders, ADHD, phototherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, psychotherapy, biological therapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, psychotropic medications.

Extraordinary advances have been made in the treatment of mental illness. Understanding what causes some mental health disorders helps doctors tailor treatment to those disorders. As a result, many mental health disorders can now be treated nearly as successfully as physical disorders. Most treatment methods for mental health disorders can be categorized as either somatic or psychotherapeutic. Somatic treatments include drugs, electroconvulsive therapy, and other therapies that stimulate the brain (such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation). Psychotherapeutic treatments include psychotherapy (individual, group, or family and marital), behavior therapy techniques (such as relaxation training or exposure therapy), and hypnotherapy. Some other basic treatments include Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Behavior, and Cognitive therapy. Psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy draws on theories and practices of analytical psychology and psychoanalysis. It is a therapeutic process which helps patients understand and resolve their problems by increasing awareness of their inner world and its influence over relationships both past and present. It differs from most other therapies in aiming for deep seated change in personality and emotional development. Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy aim to help people with serious psychological disorders to understand and change complex, deep-seated and often unconsciously based emotional and relationship problems thereby reducing symptoms and alleviating distress. However, their role is not limited only to those with mental health problems. Many people who experience a loss of meaning in their lives or who are seeking a greater sense of fulfilment may be helped by psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy. Humanism is a psychological approach that emphasizes the study of the whole person. Humanistic psychologists look at human behavior not only through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the behaving. Humanistic psychologists believe that an individual's behavior is connected to their inner feelings and self-concept. I think that the Humanistic approach was the most interesting part of the reading. However, the Behavioral section was the most memorable because it’s what I believe to be most true in the world of psychology. Behavioral therapy is rooted in the principles of behaviorism, a school of thought focused on the idea that we learn from our environment. In behavioral therapy, the goal is to reinforce desirable behaviors and eliminate unwanted or maladaptive ones. The techniques used in this type of treatment are based on the theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Cognitive therapy is based on the theory that much of how we feel is determined by what we think. Disorders, such as depression, are believed to be the result of faulty thoughts and beliefs. By correcting these inaccurate beliefs, the person’s perception of events and emotional state improve. There are other types like Group and Family therapy. Group therapy is a type of psychotherapy that involves one or more therapists working with several people at the same time. This type of therapy is widely available at a variety of locations, including private therapeutic practices, hospitals, mental health clinics, and community centers. Group therapy is sometimes used alone, but it is also commonly integrated into a comprehensive treatment plan that also includes individual therapy and medication. Terms: psychotherapeutic, somatic, electroconvulsive therapy, hypnotherapy, Psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy, Humanism, Behavioral therapy, Cognitive therapy, Group therapy, classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Many people have experienced anxiety. But sometimes anxiety can interfere with one’s life and others. When it comes to the point in which your anxiety is interfering with your life that calls for professional help. Throughout this chapter it showed the basic principles of therapy and also the variety of treatment approaches to certain disorders. Psychotherapy: Formal psychological treatment aimed at changing thoughts and behavior. In the book they talked about a man named Dennis. Dennis had anxiety. He had it in his classes and around large congregating crowds. After an incident at a mall he finally told his fiancé about his problem in which she talked him into seeking help. Dennis went to this therapist. The first step in his theory was relaxation training and step two was to change his thought patterns. Dennis finally exposed himself to the situations that cause his anxiety but using those steps he learned from the therapist Dennis has not suffered from anxiety anymore. There are six approaches to Psychotherapy; Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Behavior, Cognitive, Group and Family Therapy. The one I found most interesting was Psychodynamic Therapy. This is when the therapist helps the client become aware of unconscious conflict and defense mechanisms. I think this one is the most interesting because it goes into the persons mind and helps them understand their situation. Some obstacles that may appear could be the questions, how can I know if I need a therapist? What kind of issues can therapist help with? And, how do I find a therapist that is the best fit for me? All these can be tested out by asking and doing research. One doesn’t have to be 100% on everything to find a therapist. One thing that surprised me was that many kids suffer from anxiety as much as adults. Some type’s disorders they could have would be Depressive disorders and Neurodevelopmental disorders. Depressive is loss of interest in pleasurable activities. Neurodevelopmental could be Attention deficit or Autism spectrum disorder. These would involve the treatment of Behavior. The most common treatment they would use on a child would be Behavior or Psychotropic Medications.
Terms: Neurodevelopmental and Depressive disorders, Attention deficit and Autism spectrum disorder, Psychotropic Medications, Psychotherapy; Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Behavior, Cognitive, Group and Family Therapy, Anxiety

The basic methods used to treat psychological disorders are but aren’t limited to, psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive –behavioral therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, and so much more. As the book said, they need to assess the situation, diagnose the problem, and then treat it in the best and most effective way possible and as you can see by the long list of treatments and counting, there are lots of treatments that need to be considered before action is taken. Because there are so many complexities to a psychological disorder and so many treatments, you could see how there would be obstacles in deciding the best method of treatment. Also, it would be hard to decide whether or not an individual will even respond to the certain treatment of choice anyways. My understanding of psychological treatment has changed since reading this chapter because I didn’t realize that there were so many different treatments and the sciences behind them. Each therapy or medication can be highly specialized in which illness one has, but there are also some therapies that can be used across several different illnesses. The most interesting thing I read was about behavior therapy for ADHD. Apparently, they use medications to get the initial attention but then use behavior therapy to help the kids manage their psychological urge to act out or behave badly. It’s smart to use behavior therapy because you are giving them the chance to reclaim their own actions without alienating them or making them slaves to medication. The most memorable thing I learned was the fact that some treatments used to treat brain dysfunction in autistic patients haven’t proven to work and because of that, autism is a very puzzling topic for psychologist and scientists. The psychological terms I used were psychological disorders, psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, assess, diagnose, treat, treatments, complexities, obstacles, method, psychological treatment, sciences, medication, illnesses, ADHD, brain dysfunction, and autistic.

As far as therapy goes, its sort of a miracle thing. You can go into someone's office and come out an hour later feeling like a new and refreshed person. You can do this in five different ways. Psychodynamic therapy, in which a therapist attempts to help their client examine their unconscious motives, needs, and defenses. Humanistic therapy, where the goal is to treat the person as a whole. Behavior and Cognitive therapies, where a behavior is unlearned and where distorted thought patterns are learned to help eliminate the maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Group therapy, a highly inexpensive form of therapy that allows people to work on social skills and learn from each others different experiences. And finally family therapy, when an entire family is involved in therapy for the healing process. There are also different kinds of psychotropic medications that can be proscribed but I’m not a believer in the use of medication to solve all mental issues. The biggest obstacle is the client, how they want to be treated, and the disorder itself.
My understanding of psychological treatments has gone up in this chapter. For example, I did not know what ECT was and as someone who has had clinical depression for five years it is something that sounds very interesting. Honestly, I’ll probably look into it more to find out more of the side effects and how well it would actually work. It sounds, to me, like its just too good to actually be true. The most memorable thing from this chapter was about phototherapy which is the treatment that involves exposure to high-intensity light source for part of each day. This treatment is to help with people who suffer from depression but usually only in the winter months.
Terms: psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior and cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, psychotropic medications, maladaptive behaviors, ECT, clinical depression, phototherapy

From reading chapter 14, I learned some of the basic methods for treating psychological disorders. There are six different approaches including: Psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. Psychodynamic therapy is defined as a treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them become aware of how their unconscious processes may be causing conflict and impairing daily functioning. Humanistic therapy is where the therapist works with clients to help them develop their full potential for personal growth through greater understanding. Behavior therapy is where a therapist works with clients to help them unlearn learned behaviors that negatively affect their functioning. Cognitive therapy is where a therapist works with the clients to help them change distorted thought patterns that produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Group therapy didn’t have a specific definition, but from the text, I gathered that, depending on the group, they choose a common ground to work with. It is very popular because it is much less expensive than getting one on one time with a therapist and it can be just as, if not more, effective than that one on one time (depending on the client). Family therapy wasn’t directly defined, either, but the idea I got was, it is therapy for the whole family and helps the everyone deal with the one person in the family with the psychological disorder. It teaches them how to support and how not to take offense to their effects of the disorders.

I believe that the biggest obstacles are those disorders in which therapists can’t heal. Psychotherapy isn’t meant for everyone, though it is extremely popular. Aside from seeing a therapist, there needs to be other ways for those suffering to get help. This is where psychotropic medications come in. These medications are specified by a doctor. Depending on the disorder, different medications can be prescribed. The majority of these medications listed in the book have some negative side effects, but the client needs to choose which is more important; fixing their disorder, or some minor side effects. There are more choices, if neither of these work. These include a couple different stimulations. Like the medications, it depends on the psychological disorder the client suffers from. The transcranial magnetic stimulation treats depression whereas the deep brain stimulation can treat depression and/or obsessive compulsive disorder.

My understanding has changed immensely after reading this chapter. I don’t think, even after suffering from a psychological disorder myself, I learned near as much about getting help as I have after just reading about 40 pages.

The topic that interested me the most was treating specific phobias with exposure. This is a therapy technique that involves repeatedly exposing a client to an anxiety producing stimulus or situation and has the goal of reducing the client’s fear. Just reading the definition didn’t help me understand, so I looked at figure 14.13. I thought this example was a very good visual of exposure because it took me step by step to understand. The little girl is somewhat forced to go near the dog, but they put a dog in the therapy technique that was calm and made her feel more comfortable around dogs, thus eliminating her phobia of dogs. I don’t think one instance in five minutes can completely cure a phobia, but I do believe that time after time it could work. I thought this was a good way to ease the client’s anxiousness and make them less scared of the stimulus.

The most memorable thing I learned in this just confirmed my belief that psychotropic medications actually do work. In figure 14.28, it was showing how the suicide rates have dropped since the use of SSRIs have increased. The study tracked males and females from the ages of 15-24 year olds committing suicide. Coincidently, or probably not, the study showed that antidepressants made a huge impact on those who began taking them before it was to late.

Psychological Terms: psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, psychotherapy, psychotropic medications, stimulations, transcranial magnetic stimulations, deep brain stimulation, phobia, exposure

I think that the basic methods of treating psychological disorders is acceptance and then therapeutic treatment of the disorder. I think that education about the disorder is also essential in order to actively accept and treat the disorder. I think that it is also important to view the disorder as just that, a disorder, not a choice or an overdramatic reaction to certain situations. I think that it is also important to know that these disorders typically are not solved over night and take time in order to heal. Also deciding to face these disorders head on is not an easy ordeal. My opinion on treatment has changed since reading this chapter because it has helped me to understand all of the different types of treatments that are available in order to treat and help people with these disorders. It has also opened my eyes to how important therapy is and how beneficial it is no matter what are the circumstances one is under. I also learned a type of therapy that I was not introduced to before which is biological therapy which is where medication comes into the picture and helps individuals deal with their disorder through physical and biological aspects.

The most memorable thing about this chapter was the comparison of different disorders and how they are treated in comparison to others. For instance someone who is struggling from addiction or OCD may need a type of therapy that is focused more on behaviorism in order to break and not to indulge in previous behaviors that have caused harm. Where as someone who is suffering from PSTD or anxiety disorder may need and more humanistic approach.

The topics that where the most interesting to me was the treatments of schizophrenia. It has been shown that psychosis medication is not only beneficial but essential in order to allow someone who suffers from this disorder to function. It has shown to really center the person suffering in order to enable them to live a normal and functioning lifestyle.

Psychological Terms: schizophrenia, Anxiety, Therapy, treatment, biological, humanistic, medication, PSTD, OCD.

Chapter 14 was really interesting because it talked about all the treatments that are being used or tested today. My understanding has completely changed on the treatments we use today because each treatment cannot be used to treat every psychological disorder but rather can be used to treat and help only specific disorders. The three main methods for treating psychological disorders are psychotherapy, psychotropic medications, and alternative treatments. One of the biggest obstacles in treatment is to accurately diagnose the disorder and find the best treatment based on the individual. Psychotherapy is when a therapist works with their client to help them understand their problems and work towards a solution. There are various types of psychotherapy such as psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. At first Freud and Breuer created the treatment call psychoanalysis where they identified unconscious conflicts in feelings and drives that gave rise to certain thoughts and behaviors. A technique that they used in this treatment was free association and dream analysis where the patient would say whatever came to mind and the therapist would look for unconscious conflicts in the topics they discussed. Later on Freud’s ideas were later revised and adapted into psychodynamic therapy. This is when a therapist works with clients to help them become aware of how their unconscious processes may be causing conflict and impairing their daily functions. Humanistic therapy is where a therapist works to help a client develop their full potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding. In behavior therapy the therapist works with the patient to help them unlearn learned behaviors that have negative affects on their functioning. For cognitive therapy a therapist helps a patient change their distorted thought patterns that produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Cognitive-behavior therapy incorporates both behavior and cognitive therapy to help correct faulty thinking and maladaptive behaviors. Another method of treatment is Biological therapy that are based on medical approaches to illnesses and diseases. A type of this is psychotropic medications, which affect mental processes to treat psychological disorders. Alternative treatments can be done which involve electroconvulsive therapy, which involves inducing a strong electrical current to a patient’s brain to produce a seizure and treat some psychological disorders. A few other types of alternative treatments are transcranial magnetic stimulation, interrupting functions in specific regions of the brain, and deep brain stimulation which involves introducing an electrical current into the patients brain through electrodes to stimulated the brain to a certain frequency and intensity.
The section that I found to be extremely interesting talked about the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is treated through exposure and response prevention. They expose the patient to a stimulus that causes their anxiety or obsession to reduce that stress. The patient the goes through the response prevention which prevents behaviors or compulsions that reduce their anxiety. This whole treatment helps to reduce their obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors to help treat their OCD.
The most memorable part of this chapter was the opening section about Dennis and his anxiety disorder. I found it really interesting how he changed his lifestyle to adapt to his anxiety and didn’t see a problem with it. During his treatment he really didn’t see anything wrong with it but the main focus of his treatment was to help him see that he had an anxiety disorder. Once he had recognized the issue in his treatment they were then able to help him treat it through relaxation techniques. It is really surprising how people has certain disorders and refuse to accept or believe that there is anything wrong or that they even have them.

Terms Used: psychotherapy, psychotropic medications, alternative treatments, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, group therapy, family therapy, psychoanalysis, free association and dream analysis, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, obsessive-compulsive disorder, exposure and response prevention, anxiety disorder, relaxation techniques

Psychotherapy is the treatment for psychological disorders with the goal to help the patient understand the problem and work on a solution. There are six major approaches to psychotherapy: psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy and family therapy. Psychodynamic therapy works to make the patients aware of unconscious conflicts and defense mechanisms. However, this therapy has become very controversial because it is expensive and time consuming. Even though some evidence suggests that it may be useful for borderline personality disorder, there is not much evidence that it helps other psychological disorders. Humanistic theory helps the patient reach their full potential through greater self-understanding (client-centered therapy.) This involves active listening, which can help the client clarify his or her feelings. Behavior therapy is helping patient replace bad behaviors with good ones. Usually this is done through classical and operant conditioning, such as reinforcements for good behaviors and punishments for or ignoring the bad behavior. Cognitive therapy is similar to behavior therapy, except that is works on changing a patient’s distorted thought pattern that can produce bad behaviors or emotions. In fact, behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy are combined in cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT. In this therapy, techniques are used to correct faulty thinking and bad behaviors. I think one of the most well-known types of therapy is group therapy. It is often seen in TV shows, and sometimes is the focus of the TV show, like “Go On.” In group therapy, the patients are usually in groups with similar problems, such as sexual abuse, or by type of client, such as children. The methods used in group therapy change depending on the differing situation. Some sessions may be highly organized with a lot of activities, while others may simply be open discussions. A key factor to group therapy is social support. This type of therapy has been effective for some disordered such as anorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The last type of psychotherapy is family therapy. The goal of family therapy is to heal family relationships. Sometimes, family therapy helps the family unit adjust to the change in the family when one of the members is in therapy. For example, if a father went to therapy to try to stop drinking alcohol and was successful, his actions are going to change. If his wife or even his kids drank alcohol, he may pressure them to stop, which could lead to family conflicts. The goal of family therapy is to heal the relationships that had been damaged. However, the conflicts can arise from more than just one person’s behaviors.
My understanding of psychological treatments had greatly changed since reading this chapter. It made me realize that just because someone had a psychological disorder, doesn’t mean that it can be controlled or even fixed. Beyond psychotherapy, there is also biological therapy and psychotropic medications, which help fix psychological disorder through biological systems that can affect the mental processes of the patient. The most interesting topic for me was the providers of psychological treatment. I thought that the only option was a psychiatrist, but the book listed at least six different types of providers for psychological treatment. These people can have no degree up to a PhD or MD.
The most surprising thing for me is the different types of techniques that can be used to treat a single disorder. The book gave at least seven different techniques for treated major depressive disorder, and when I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Every person is different because they have a different biological makeup and they come from different environments. A person with major depressive disorder, may not respond to cognitive-behavioral therapy as well as the person across the street with the same disorder. I also found the systematic desensitization to reduce fear activity to be very interesting. At first I did have some doubt about it, but when I tried it with my own fear, I did start to feel a little better.

Terms: major depressive disorder, cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medications, behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanicsic therapy, psychotherapy .

This chapter was very interesting to read, because psychological treatment has always been a mystery to me. There are many ways that psychological disorders are treated. One of the first treatments that you may see is psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is the idea that a therapist would help a client identify their problem and help them work toward fixing the problem. There are 6 main approaches to psychotherapy. The first approach is the psychodynamic approach and the goal is for the client to become aware of unconscious behaviors such as conflicts. The second psychotherapy approach is the Humanistic Therapy approach. The humanistic therapy approach is to help the client work toward personal growth. The next psychotherapy approach is Behavior therapy. The goal with behavior therapy is to eliminate harmful behavior and replace it with healthier behaviors. The fourth approach is the Cognitive approach. This approach is meant to help clients replace harmful thought patterns or processes, and replace them with healthier ones. The next approach is the Group therapy approach, which is meant to help clients feel supported and to also support another client. The final approach is the family therapy approach. The family approach is meant to help and heal family relationships. The Psychotherapy Approaches are effective ways to treat psychological disorders but there are also biological treatments that can help as well. Biological Therapy is the idea of treatment for disorders in a medical approach. Psychotropic medications are used to affect the mental processes and can help treat psychological disorders. There are 5 different classes of psychotropic medications that include: Anti-anxiety Drugs, Antidepressant Drugs, Mood Stabilizer Drugs, Antipsychotic Drugs, and Stimulants. Each of these drugs target a different treatment type and is a different type of drug. The side effects also vary from medication to medication. Anti-anxiety medications are a temporary sedative. Antidepressant medications increase moods and reduce emotional stress. Mood stabilizers help even a person’s mood. Antipsychotic drugs reduce positive symptoms and some negative symptoms. Stimulants decrease hyperactivity. Each drug works in a different way to help target a type of problem. There are also other types of treatments in extreme cases. A few of these treatments include Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), may be used for severe depression. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) uses a magnet to interrupt a certain part of the brain. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) uses electricity to help stimulate a part of the brain. There are many ways in which psychological disorders may be treated and they are administered and assisted by professionals including Psychiatrists, Clinical psychologists, Counseling Psychologists, Psychiatric Social Workers, Psychiatric nurses, paraprofessionals.
I believe that an obstacle is diagnosing a client’s issue and than finding an effective way to help them. In the book it talks about different treatments being used for different disorders. For example if someone is facing a type of anxiety disorder, using Cognitive-Behavioral therapy may work best. Each type of disorder has a type of treatment that may work best, but these treatments are not guaranteed, and may need to be adjusted or changed depending on the person. Some biological treatments such as medication is/can be more effective for disorders such as schizophrenia. One of the biggest obstacle that in treating disorders is treating Personality Disorders. Two of the most disruptive personality disorders are Borderline personality disorders and antisocial personality disorder. These disorders can be hard to treat because many of the individuals that face some of these problems and disorders believe that these disorders are because of their environment not their behavior. With borderline personality disorder an effective way of treating it is cognitive-behavioral therapy approach. Antisocial personality disorders are the most difficult to treat but some effective ways may be psychotropic medications or behavioral approach.
My family has had a past with psychological treatment, so a lot of this was very familiar due to experience. I have never thought about Personality disorders being hard to treat. It had never crossed my mind, but I now understand why personality disorders would be so hard to treat. This topic or personality disorders is something that is really interesting to me.
The thing that I find most interesting is treating disorders in adolescents. I never thought that it would be a controversial topic. I think it is becoming a more common thing to see younger and younger children develop disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder, ADHA (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), or a disorder on the Autism spectrum disorder. There are many approaches to these disorders, which include psychotropic medications. Some believe that the medications may be more harmful than helpful in some adolescents. Though psychotropic medications can be helpful and effective, different types of psychotherapy can be helpful in all facets of disorders in adolescents.
The most memorable thing that I learned through reading this chapter was psychotherapy approaches. I really enjoyed this because I have never seen these approaches broken up like the book did, and it was really helpful for me to see them broken up into 6 approaches. I think these approaches can be easily applied to all areas of treatment that is not biological treatment.

Terms: psychological, treatment, disorders, psychotherapy, psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, cognitive, group, family, ADHA, Major Depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Borderline personality disorder, Antisocial personality disorder. Electroconvulsive therapy, Transcranial magnetic stimulation, Deep brain stimulation.

I enjoyed reading this chapter because it was very interesting. I remember with my psychology class in high school how we learned about psychotherapy and lobotomies. It really amazed me just how many different types of therapies there are. The basic method of treating all of these disorders is psychodynamic therapy. This is when the doctors are working with their patients and trying to help the patients understand what is going on with them. Some of the obstacles are how with each patient the treatment may be different and it might be harder to diagnose a patient because they might have some of the same symptoms as another patient but they are still a different person. My understanding of the treatment has not changed all that much and that is mainly because I have already learned most of the stuff from the chapter.
The topic I found most interesting is was the DBS or deep brain stimulation. It is amazing all of the techniques they are learning and how many different ways they use electricity to help or treat patients with these disorders.
What I found most surprising was the exposure technique. I had never thought about exposing a person the their fears would actually help them at all. That is just something I thought was very cool and interesting.

Terms used: psychotherapy, lobotomy, psychodynamic therapy, exposure, DBS

The success of psychotherapy revolves around the interactions and relationship between the practitioner and client, but there are six main approaches to psychotherapy. The first approach is psychodynamic therapy. In this therapy, a therapist works with clients to help them become aware of how their unconscious processes may be causing conflict and impairing daily functioning. The method involved in this approach is the psychoanalysis with free association and dream analysis. The second approach is humanistic therapy. This is the treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them develop their full potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding. The method used here is client-centered therapy with active listening and unconditional positive regard. The next approach is behavior therapy, where a therapist works with clients to help them unlearn learned behaviors that negatively affect their functioning. Behavior modification, including rewards and punishments, token economies, social skills training, and modeling are used in behavior therapy. The fourth approach is cognitive therapy. This is the treatment for disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them change distorted thought patterns that produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions. The fifth approach is group therapy, where support is provided while also improving social skills in a cost-effective manner. The method seen here is the use of a mix of therapy approaches. The last approach is family therapy, and it is used to heal family relationships. It is a systems approach and uses many different therapy approaches for success. I had no idea what approaches were used before and I kind of had the idea that it was just one or two types of therapy that helped for everyone, but now I know there are a variety of approaches that work best for specific kinds of problems.

What I found interesting was the types of treatment for common psychological disorders because I see some of these disorders in family members and I have heard about others. I know someone who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, and treatments like cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychotropic medications can help help them overcome the disorder. While I doubt its not a full blown disorder, I see many people with anxiety and now I know that cognitive-behavioral therapy can help through changing thoughts about the feared stimulus or systematic desensitization. Another interesting fact is that psychotropic medication is almost always an option for treatment and helping people with disorders, which makes living with the disorders much easier. The most memorable thing I learned is using systematic desensitization to reduce fear. It’s a technique that involves exposing a client to increasingly anxiety-producing stimuli or situations while having the client relax at the same time. A fear hierarchy is created about the specific fear by the client, and then the client puts themselves in each situation and practices relaxation techniques until it is easy for them. I don’t have a phobia, but I plan on using this for smaller fears that I have to see how well it works for me.

Psychological Terms: Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Humanistic Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Psychotropic Therapy, Psychoanalysis, Free Association, Exposure, Systematic Desensitization

Chapter 14 talked about psychological treatments, it’s kind of a follow up from the last chapter which was what psychological disorders are. These disorders have many different ways they can be treated. My least favorite treatment was the Psychodynamic Therapy. That treatment is when a patient would say whatever came to mind (free association) or they would rely on someone dreams (dream analysis) and I personal don’t think that is an effect way to treat someone with a disorder. The treatment method I liked the most would have to be the Behavior Therapy. I like that treatment because I personal think it helps someone reflect on what they are doing that could be dangerous or harmful to themselves and turn it into something positive. It works with rewards and punishments, I personal think that works. If you do something good you get a reward and if you do something bad you don’t get a reward. I think the biggest obstacle would be finding out what treatment works for each person. Everyone is different so everyone is going to respond to the treatments different. I also wonder what would happen if someone went through all the treatments and none of them seemed to work? Also since I think behavior therapy works really well someone else might not feel the same and may not want to do that treatment because they think a different treatment would work better. My views have changed on this have changed because I didn’t know that there were so many treatments available. I didn’t know about Family Therapy and it opened my eyes to showing different ways to solving a problem. Family therapy is wanting to heal a family relationship. This kind of treatment is including the family into the process to help. I knew family has an impact on your life but I dint think it would be this big.

What I found most interesting and memorable was the table in chapter that had to do with how “Neurodevelopmental Disorders That Affect Children” (pg. 488). I work with kids and I want to be a teacher someday so I thought this was very helpful. I also was interested because I was a child with specific learning disorder. As an adult this still plays as an issues in my college career. Specific learning disorder is when you have troubles learning and using your academic skills. You have much lower performance in reading, math, and writing; and as a child I struggled in all of those areas that I had to be on an IEP till I was a freshman in high school. Something that I have learned for that was two things that one I have to try harder than everyone else and two even if I give it my all, study all the time, and get tutors I may still have difficulty’s learning the material.

Terms: psychological treatments, psychological disorders, Psychodynamic Therapy, treatment free association, dream analysis, Behavior Therapy, Family Therapy, specific learning disorder.

In chapter fourteen there are two main basic methods for treating psychological disorders. The two main methods are psychotherapy and biological therapies. Psychotherapy is the treatment where a therapist works with the clients to help understand their problems and work towards solutions. Within psychotherapy there are six different therapies that help pinpoint the different disorders that each client has. The six therapies are psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. Biological therapy is based on medical approaches to a client’s illness and disease. These medications are known as psychotropic medications that affect mental processes. There are five categories of psychotropic medications and they are anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressant drugs, mood stabilizer drugs, antipsychotic drugs, and stimulants. Biological therapy and psychotherapy are the two main methods that individuals use to help treat their psychological disorders. If any of the therapies do not work there are also alternative treatments but they are for only the extreme cases. One main alternative treatment is called the electroconvulsive therapy, which is where a professional places an electrode on a client’s head and it administers an electrical current that produces seizures. This is only for extreme cases because it can harm the client and may make their disorder worse than it already is.
There are some obstacles in using psychotherapy and biological therapies. The main obstacle that clients face is that some therapies may not work and that they may have to try more than one to actually see which one is right for them. For example a client may not be able to do group therapy because of their condition and may have to try several other ones to find one that can help him/her. Another obstacle that clients will have to face is that some of the medications that they are prescribed may not help their disorder. Some drugs may also make the individual worse and many causes’ major side effects. For example the antipsychotic drug, which helps reducing positive/negative symptoms may cause seizures and lethargy.
My understanding of psychological treatment has changed since reading chapter fourteen. It has changed my understanding by narrowing down on the main treatments that client’s use and how they are affective. It has also helped me understand the different psychological treatments by adding in examples and the different treatments for common disorders, such as anxiety and depression.
The most interesting topics that I read was about how psychological disorders are treated and the two main methods. Another topic that was interesting was about the alternative treatments and how each one works and how it can affect the client, whether it be good or bad. The last topic that I read that was interesting to me was how disorders can be treated in children and adolescents. This was interesting because somewhere in our lives we have experienced a child or teenager that has had a psychological disorder, such as ADHD or autism. After reading this chapter it has taught me that for ADHD there are not many treatments besides medication to help with the disorder. For autism it taught me that many parents have to be a full time teacher to help their child get better and keep them on a strict schedule.
The most memorable thing that I learned while reading this chapter was on the last page of this chapter with the case study of James O’Neil. This was very interesting because James’ mother had to quit her job and become a full time mother and teacher to help her son get better and be on a strict schedule. In the end he got better and even made a friend and is doing well in school. I loved reading this story because it shows that some treatments help and that someone can get better.
Psychological Terms: Psychotherapy, Biological Therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, Humanistic therapy, Behavior therapy, Cognitive therapy, psychotropic medications, Electroconvulsive therapy, ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety disorder.

After reading chapter 14 in the textbook I now have a much better understanding of psychological disorders and how they are treated. The basic methods for treating psychological disorders are psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior and cognitive therapies, and group therapy. Psychodynamic therapy was one of the very first therapies out there. The famous psychologists Sigmund Freud developed the method of psychodynamic therapy. In this method, therapists aim to help a client examine her unconscious needs, motives, and defenses. The most important part of psychodynamic theory is fully stating what it on your mind and attempting to communicate as much as you can. Humanistic therapy, on the other hand, aims to treat the person as a whole. Humanistic therapists believe that the person is not just a collection of behaviors or a storehouse of repressed thoughts. Carl Rogers, a very well-known humanistic therapist, developed client-centered therapy which encourages people to fulfill their potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding. Therapists try to make the client feel as safe and comfortable as possible to access their true feelings. One of the main keys to this is active listening. In active listening the therapist listens attentively to the client, repeats the client’s concerns to help her clarify her feelings, and asks for further clarification when necessary. Behavior and Cognitive therapies are some of the most successful therapies involving the attempt to change a client’s cognition and behavior directly. Behavior and cognitive therapies oppose the idea of psychodynamic therapy, they believe in treating the thoughts and behaviors as the problems rather than considering maladaptive behavior as the result of the problem. Classical and operant conditioning are a huge part of behavior therapy so that the client can unlearn behaviors that caused them problems. Cognitive therapy is based on the theory that distorted thoughts can produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Cognitive-behavioral therapy incorporates techniques from both cognitive therapy and behavior therapy. It tries to correct the client’s faulty cognitions and train him to engage in new behaviors. Group therapy was an effect of WWII because of the stress it caused so many people. Therapists realized that there were many people with the same problem who needed help that they decided to treat people in groups rather than individuals. The approaches in group therapy vary a lot because of the preferred treatment of the therapist. One very positive thing about group therapy is that members have a lot of social support around them because others are experiencing the same thing as them. As well as human therapeutic treatment, there are biological therapies that can be effective for certain disorders. Biological therapy is based on the notion that psychological disorders result from abnormalities in bodily processes, so treatment must address these physical problems. Different biological therapies may include psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. All of these techniques are aimed at changing thought processes in the brain. There are many different obstacles to therapies as well. I have learned that it all depends on the person and that each person and disorder is different. One person with a disorder may have a more severe case than another and need more extensive help. As well as everyone being different, some evidence indicates that there are some treatments which may be potentially dangerous to individuals partaking in them. Most treatments have no scientific basis as well which means there is no true proof that it may work. As well as lacking scientific support, some are actually counterproductive. It is very important to know what kind of treatment you are receiving, you have to remember that you are an individual and need to decide what sounds best for you, not just what falls under the category of your disorder. Psychological disorders are a very tricky thing and something people need to pay close attention to. My view on these disorders has changed in the fact that I now realize how important it is to receive good treatment or else the disorder may become worse. The thing I thought to be very interesting in this chapter were the different types of biological treatment. I think it is very interesting how medication can affect different types of stimulation in the brain. The thing that surprised me the most is the way depression medication can impact an adolescent. The fact that these drugs cause kids to become suicidal is very scary. I think that it is very important that they find a better way to treat young people with depression. Other studies say that SSRIs are safe and effective treatment for adolescents. I think it is very surprising that they are yet to decide if it is the best treatment or not.
Terms: psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation

Chapter fourteen is all about psychological treatments. There is no magical cure for psychological disorders, but there are many different types of therapies to combat the disease. A major type of therapy is psychotherapy, which includes sub-categories of methods to treatment such as: psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior and cognitive therapies, and group and family therapy. There are also biological therapies available as well. Psychotherapy is when a therapist helps their client to realize and understand their disease and find ways that work best for them to help them get better. Psychodynamic therapy is when therapists help clients become aware of the things they could be doing that are impairing their ability to carry out daily functions. Humanistic therapy helps clients find ways to fulfill their potential to live a fulfilling life despite the disorder they have. Behavior therapy is all about changing the more harmful or negative behaviors into positive and beneficial behaviors for the client. Cognitive therapy is a therapy for helping clients get out of their old and negative habits, and turn them into more positive ones that suite their life best. Group therapy helps clients with social support but also social skills that help them talk through their disorder without judgment. And lastly, family therapy is exactly what it says; it provides support and healing methods to families. And, biological therapies are focused more on medical approaches to help treat psychological disorders. Obstacles for any type of therapy are that each individual is different and there is no guarantee that that type of therapy will work for them. Sometimes it takes a few different tries to find the one that works best for them.
The most interesting section to me was the table on types of treatments for psychological disorders because in my anatomy & physiology class we learned about the types of neurotransmitters that affect different psychological disorders. To be able to connect that information with this information was very beneficial. I had learned the physiological aspect of it, and what chemically goes wrong in disorders and now I learned the different ways to correct it. It is nice to be able to learn the psychological aspects to treatments on different types of psychological disorders.
The most surprising piece that I read was on personality disorders and the complications with therapists trying to treat clients with this disorder. Because of their disorder they find it hard to find any fault within themselves, but with dialectical behavior therapy most borderline personality disorders can be treated or at least reduced. On the other hand, antisocial personality disorder is much more difficult to treat. This is because people with this disorder find no interest in caring for anyone else’s feelings and they want to lie and manipulate to make themselves feel better. This makes it extremely hard for therapists to get through to them and convince them to change their ways.
I learned a lot from reading this chapter because it expanded my knowledge on the psychological side of things. I had only learned the physiological side of things to so to be able to relate the two and realize how they correlate was very beneficial for my knowledge.

Psych Terms: Psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior and cognitive therapies, group and family therapy, psychological disorders, biological therapy, physiology, personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy, antisocial personality disorder, manipulate, realization.

After reading chapter 14, I learned a lot of things about how psychological disorders are treated and what is involved with each treatment. A basic method that is used to treat psychological disorders is psychotherapy which is, treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them understand their problems and help them develop new solutions. To branch off of psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy is when a therapist meets with a client to help them become aware of their disorder and how it conflicts with their daily functions. This is also a method used to treat psychological disorders. Humanistic therapy is another method and it involves a therapist meeting with a client to help them develop to their full potential for growth and greater self understanding. Behavior therapy is another treatment that helps a person unlearn learned behaviors that negatively affect their daily functions. There are many more treatment methods such as, cognitive therapy, biological therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, deep brain stimulations, and many more discussed in this chapter. With biological therapy, psychotropic medications are used to help these psychological disorders. This is what I found most interesting after reading chapter 14, because there are many medications fitting under five categories. How does a therapist administer medication to an individual when there are several different types and categories for each medication? The categories include anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and stimulants. I find it interesting because therapists must know and understand how each and every drug work for the brain and entire body. They are responsible for the treatment of their patients.

After discussing the various treatments, I believe one obstacle for treating these disorders is coming to a final disorder for a patient. Several people may exemplify symptoms of disorders but can be very different from another person with similar symptoms. Based on the individual, a doctor must diagnose and figure out which treatment will work best for the patient. Each person is different so a person may go through several therapies in order to find the correct fit for their disorder. For extreme cases, brain stimulation is ordered by the doctor. Overall, I think the biggest obstacle is finding the right diagnosis and correct therapy for each patient a doctor encounters.

My overall understanding of psychological treatments has changed much more. I did not realize how many different treatment techniques were available for people with psychological disorders. I previously thought there were only a few options for these people but, I learned that the treatment process is very extensive in order for a person to recover and hopefully live a somewhat normal life.

The most surprising thing that I learned after reading chapter 14, was that some antidepressants are risky for adolescents to consume because the medication can increase suicidal thoughts in an individual. But taking these antidepressants may help an individual with their daily life or activities, making it difficult to stop the intake of the antidepressant. Some researchers believe that psychotherapy is a better choice for treatment with teenagers with depression.

Terms: Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Humanistic Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Biological Therapy, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Deep Brain Stimulation, Psychotropic Medication, Psychological Disorders, Depression

Through the reading in the chapter we learned that there are 2 different groupings of treatment for psychological disorders, there is psychotherapy and biological therapy. They are both very different methods but are proven to be effective. Psychotherapy is what most of us think of when we think of treatment for mental health. It is a therapist working with the patient. There are many different versions of this type of therapy. Humanistic therapy has the goal to have the client fulfill their potential for personal growth. Behavioral therapy has the goal of replacing the negative or bad behavior with a more healthy and beneficial behavior. Cognitive therapy is thought based, working to replace the negative thoughts with more positive ones. There is also group therapy and family therapy. Both work towards bettering social skills and relationships with other people. Theses kinds of therapies have other people presents, other patients or family members. The next type of treatment is biological treatment. This is the medical approach to treatment. This is generally done with medications but in extreme cases can be done using electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, or deep brain stimulation.
The biggest obstacle to face with treatment is deciding which treatment method is best for the patient. Everybody is different so what treatment method works for one 27 year old with depression may not be the best treatment for the next 27 year old with depression. Each case is different so each treatment needs to be different; there is no fix all for all the cases with the same diagnosis. Different types of medications may have to be put into trial with the patient or different types of therapy sessions may have to happen until the correct one is found to best help the patient succeed.
I think my understanding of treatment has changed some but not too drastically. I knew before there were the typical “therapy” sessions and medications but I didn’t know about the different types of methods. I also didn’t figure that medications were just given based on the diagnosis not on what the person needed. I have a better understanding now of how in-depth it goes in getting the correct treatment in place for a patient.
The most interesting things I read about in the chapter was the anti social personality disorder. In the reading we learned that it is very hard to treat because the person has no desire to create relationships and carry out very hurtful actions towards others, lying, not caring for others, etc. I found this interesting because a lot of the time I consider myself to be not a people person or antisocial but it was interesting to read about how far it really goes in some people and how it is an actual medical diagnosis.
The most memorable thing from the chapter was about Autism and behavior therapy. I have done a lot of course work about autism and therapy for those clients. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the approach many parents go with when working with their children and is the treatment approach many specialists recommend and use. I really liked reading about it from a psychological point of view instead of how I had been reading about it in previous classes and trainings I’ve had.

Psychotherapy, Biological therapy, humanistic therapy, behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, Group therapy, family therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, or deep brain stimulation, depression, the anti social personality disorder, Autism, Applied behavior analysis.

There are several different ways to treat psychological disorders. There are three basic ways to treat disorders with the use of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is any formal psychological treatment aimed at changing thoughts and behavior. The three main methods used in treating psychological disorders are therapy, medication, and other alternate methods. This chapter lists numerous different types of therapy that can aid in helping several different types of disorders. One of the first techniques ever developed was psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud and his idea that psychological disorders were caused by prior experiences, particularly traumatic, eventually created the theory of psychodynamic therapy. After revising Freud’s work, psychotherapists developed this approach in which a therapist and client talk to try and uncover the client’s unconscious needs, motives, and defenses, to better understand why the client is distressed. A less controversial way of treating psychological disorders is humanistic therapy. This approach is thinking that the client is not a collection of behaviors or repressed memories, but that the person’s disorder affects them as a whole. The idea is that treating the person, as a whole and trying to help them better understand themselves and their full potential will help them through their disorder. There are several other therapy-based treatment options that work with cognition and behavior. Behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) all have to do with trying to change cognition and behavior directly, and that maladaptive behavior is the underlying problem. Other forms of therapy treatment are group therapy, family therapy, and biological therapy, which is based on the idea that disorders arise from abnormalities in bodily processes.

The second method in treating psychological disorders is with the use of psychotropic medications. The idea goes along with biological therapy in thinking that some disorders are due to improperly functioning neurotransmitters in the brain. These medications change the brain neurochemistry by altering how neurotransmitters work in the brain to affect thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Psychotropic medications are separated into five categories, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and stimulants. Depending on the disorder, one of these five types of medication could aid in treatment.

The last method in treating disorders is for extreme cases. Some people do not respond to therapy or medication and need a different approach. Surgery or electrical or magnetic stimulation of the brain are for the most extreme cases of psychological disorders. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transitional magnetic stimulation (TMS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS) all deal with stimulating the areas of the brain that deal with their psychological disorder symptoms.

The biggest obstacle with psychological disorder treatment is that there are so many different types of disorders, that it can be hard to find the one that works best for the client. A client may have to go through several different methods before finding one that works for them. My thoughts have changed a lot about the different treatment methods. I didn’t think there were so many options that could help someone with a disorder. I think more people with disorders need to be better informed on all the options they have. I had never heard of surgery to fix psychological disorders before reading this chapter, or the fact that there are several different therapy options that could work.

The most interesting and memorable part of the chapter for me, was about dialectical behavior therapy in dealing with borderline personality disorder. This method is used to treat helping people who are self-destructive or suicidal. There are three phases in this method, the first deals with replacing the destructive behaviors with different ones, the second is dealing with the root of the disorder, and the third phase is in the client developing self-respect and independence. I thought this was interesting because this method sort of combines several of the other therapy methods. When reading this section, I thought that this method could be very helpful in treating several disorders.

Psych Terms: psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), group therapy, family therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medications, neurotransmitters, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transitional magnetic stimulation (TMS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS), dialectic behavior therapy

There are many different therapies that help treat the disorders, cognitive therapy is one that stuck out because it was brought up a lot throughout the book, especially for those who really struggle with negative and bad, sometimes uncontrollable thoughts about themselves or others and need to be directed in a more positive way. Group therapy and family therapy seem to be big ones as well depending on the conditions the patient may face when they need help in those areas or need some guidance from others. Medication was another one the book mentioned that can help people relax if they face anxiety, mood boosters for those with depression and mood stabilizers for patients that face bipolar disorder. The challenges that come with those methods of recovery can vary because everyone’s brains are different, people have different experiences to make their conditions worse and mental illnesses can be vary and be different for each person. Which can affect how they go about in therapy and what is best for them and their condition. Especially how some of the side effects with the medication, can give patients caught in the middle on whether some of those risks are worth feeling better so starting and trying different forms of therapy can help. My understanding has changed because I didn’t know how many types of therapy were available for recovery and how medication isn’t always a good route for every single person with a disorder.
I thought the topic on what works for each disorder was interesting because since the disorders are so different, a lot have similar treatments and some of the forms they used I didn’t know could be effective for certain disorders. I was surprised seeing antidepressants as a treatment option for patients for OCD, although the intrusive thoughts can cause people to think negatively about themselves which could cause bigger problems. I saw a pattern on how a lot of those disorders can be treated by cognitive behavioral therapy but when I read more into it, things like bipolar disorder and Schizophrenia can mostly only be treated with medication instead of therapy because those symptoms can be a lot harder to manage and control in most situations.
I thought the most memorable section was the different ways they treat children and teenagers. It is an important reminder that kids sadly can struggle with this disorders as well and can go unnoticed by parents because they don’t see it or how in denial they can be that their child not feeling alright mentally. It is good to see how there are treatment options available for them though. I thought it was interesting how the book brought up how much concern antidepressants are for teenagers to take, it was nothing I ever thought about because growing up, I have always had friends talking about how they were on antidepressants since late middle school or freshman year of high school. I think as an education major, I should be aware of these signs and that children can face these problems as well, that way I know when something isn’t always alright for some people and how I could help those in the situation who face autism, ADHD or even depression make their lives easier and make sure they are doing alright.
I think that these treatment options are very crucial to those who need to recover and it should be recognized as a positive step in the right direction instead of what society brings it up to be as a negative thing. It could sure make people’s lives easier, especially if they are struggling but too scared to get the help they need.
Terms used- cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, depression, bipolar, mood stabilizers, antidepressants, intrusive thoughts, Schizophrenia, ADHD

Chapter 14 on psychological treatments first discusses how different psychological disorders are treated. The text describes that that is no instant cure for psychological disorders, in many cases it takes several treatment sessions along with constant evaluation and re diagnosis. The best way for treatment is to get the person able to function throughout any given day. Psychotherapy is the formal psychological treatment aimed at changing thoughts and behavior. The different methods used for psychotherapy can vary from practitioner to practitioner but all forms of psychotherapy are treated client to practitioner. Psychodynamic therapy is treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them become aware of how their unconscious processes may be causing conflict and impairing daily functioning. Humanistic therapy is to treat the person as a whole. Treatment for psychological disorders where a therapist works with clients to help them develop their pull potential for personal growth through greater self- understanding. Behavior therapy is that behavior is learned and so it can be unlearned through the use of classical and operant conditioning. Cognitive therapy is based on the theory that distorted thoughts can produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Treatment strategies that modify the distorted thought patterns should eliminate the maladaptive behaviors and emotions. Cognitive-behavioral therapy incorporates techniques from both cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. It is used to correct faulty thinking and maladaptive behaviors. Group therapy was started in World War 2 and it was used because so many soldiers needed therapy but there was not enough therapist to treat the soldiers, after this therapists found that using group therapy was useful in many ways. One way is that the cost for patients to attend a session is much less than a private session. Family therapy heals relationships within the family, using family to help with therapy has proven to be effective because each member in the family plays a very particular role within the psychological role of the patient. Biological therapy is treatment for psychological disorders that is based on medical approaches to illness and to disease. Psychotropic medications are drugs that affect mental processes and that can be used to treat psychological disorders. The biggest obstacles for treating someone with a disorder is figuring out which method to treat with. People will react differently to all types of treatments and it can be difficult to figure out which ones will benefit the client most. I liked the fact how the text gives some examples of which disorders can be treated by which treatments, bipolar disorder can be treated with psychotropic medications. The rates of depression among adolescents chart was surprising to me because of how many more females than males suffer from depression as an adolescent.
Terms- psychotherapy- psychodynamic therapy- humanistic therapy- behavior therapy- cognitive therapy- cognitive-behavioral therapy- group therapy- family therapy- biological therapy- psychotropic medications- bipolar disorder.

In chapter 14 we look at techniques to treat psychological disorders. Right away we are introduced to a group of treatments called psychotherapy. The book tells us that psychotherapy is the psychological treatment aimed at changing thoughts and behavior. Different therapy styles and types are introduced to help combat different problems and issues that people have. Psychologists use therapies such as psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral and cognitive, group, and family to help treat their patients. All have to do with aligning their patients psyche correctly, but with different approaches. Some focus on unconscious behavior or thoughts or trying to have the patients learn and unlearn certain kinds of behavior. Group and family therapy help a lot because patients know that they’re not alone and that others not only support them but may be going through similar situations. Some treatments look at the psychological disorder by themselves but in humanistic therapy doctors look at the person as a whole and not viewing the patient as just a collection of thoughts and behaviors.

Sometimes, psychotherapy isn’t enough. Doctors don’t look at just the disorders but what my be causing the problems biologically. In biological therapy doctors look at the abnormalities in their patients body and give them treatment accordingly. For example, many psychotropic medications are out for people of all different kinds of disorders. There are anti-anxiety, antidepressant, mood stabilizer, and antipsychotic drugs, as well as stimulants, available to help stabilize a person’s thought process. Besides drugs, there are other methods for treating disorders. Most have to do with the electrical currents running through the body, and using electrical currents to help fix problems with our body. These treatments include electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation.

Through these different ways we can help improve psychological disorders. Different treatments work better for different people. In the book Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (the book report that I gave) readers can see how much psychotherapy and biological therapy coexist. The book has three main characters in it all placed in a psychiatric correctional facility. All were required to do both one-on-one therapy and group therapy, as well as take medication. In the book we see the developments that the characters have through both types of therapy, and how the imbalance of one could greatly affect the other. I used this chapter when writing my book report to talk about how these therapies can greatly help people with these problems.

The most interesting part of this chapter was the section on antisocial personality disorder and how it’s difficult to treat. The book says that people with APD lie without thinking twice, care little for other people’s feelings, and live for the present without considering the future. Because of these, therapists must be on guard and careful while treating the patient, as the patient often will try to manipulate their therapist. Therapists have tried treatments from medication to psychological therapy all with few positive results. Many treatments have been proven to work short term, but over time the treatment wears off and long term treatment is hard to establish. The book tells us that because of the difficulty in treatment of patients with ADP, the most effective treatment is going to a residential treatment center or a correctional facility. This interests me because it’s an abnormality. Most disorders can be diagnosed and then after diagnosis can be treated. It’s funny to me that there is something that is more difficult to treat than the others. It seems almost like with any disorder or problem there is a solution that usually works better to help change or regulate a person’s behavior. I’m interested to see if there are improvements in the future for helping treat people with ADP.

Terms: disorders, psychotherapy, treatment, behavior, therapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavioral and cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, biological therapy, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressant drugs, mood stabilizer drugs, antipsychotic drugs, stimulants, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, antisocial personality disorder, residential treatment center, and correctional facility

The methods for treating psychological disorders are different kinds of therapy, as well as medication. These disorders can only be treated if the person wants to be treated in the first place, and willing to work for a long period of time at it. Psychotherapy is a kind of therapy that can treat psychological disorders, and there are many different and unique approaches. One is psychodynamic therapy, where clients become aware of the unconscious conflicts they have. Another kind is humanistic therapy, which helps clients feel personal growth and betterness. Then you have cognitive therapy, which replaces harmful thoughts with positive ones. Behavior therapy helps people replace harmful behaviors with ones that actually help them. Family therapy heals the family relationship, not just the individual’s conflict. Lastly, there’s group therapy, which helps clients improve their social skills. All of these are types of psychotherapy which can be done, but it’s not always the appropriate treatment. Clients might need treatment through medication. These are drugs that can help with anxiety, mood, and depression. The biggest problem for clients to getting help is actually admitting that they need help in the first place. Obviously, if they don’t seek professional help, they probably won’t get better. Overall, I look at psychological treatments in a different way than I did before. There are many more ways and maneuvers that I thought were possible when dealing with clients and their disorders. The different people that can help with clients can be psychiatrists, counseling psychologists, psychiatric social workers, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and paraprofessionals.
The most interesting topic I read was about phobias. I don’t have a phobia of any kind, thankfully, and I think it’s pretty odd when a person has one. One would think that you can just tell them to calm down and not be so scared of the particular phobia but it is certainly not that easy. The only thing I can think of is that I don’t like snakes, but that’s not particularly a phobia that I have. To help cure phobias, doctors use exposure and systematic desensitization. Exposure is a therapy technique that involves repeatedly exposing a client to an anxiety-producing stimulus and has the goal of reducing the clients fear. For example, if a person is afraid of a spider, the doctor would start by showing the client a picture of a spider repeatedly. After that, the doctor might move up to a fake spider and show the client the spider, while telling the person not to be afraid. After a while doing that, the doctor would then bring an actual spider to the client and show the person that the spider is not harmful, or giving the client the impression that there is nothing to worry about. After those treatments, the person is supposed to be relieved of his fear of spiders, and his anxiety towards the creature. Systematic desensitization is a therapy technique that involves exposing a client to an increasingly anxiety-producing stimuli while having the client relax at the same time. They are presented with real life situations and are suppose to move past the obstacles to tackle the situation, while at the same time, being relaxed.
The most surprising and memorable thing I learned about this reading was the case study of childhood autism spectrum disorder. In this section, it discussed a success story of a boy who was born with autism who learned how to function more normally through a time-consuming treatment. Over time, his progress was charted so he could attend mainstream schools, and he did just that. I found this story very touching because even though the child was autistic, that didn’t let him stop from being and acting normal in a normal environment. It went on to show that therapy does work, and it can be extremely beneficial to someone in need.
Terms Used: psychological disorders, psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, cognitive therapy, behavior therapy, family therapy, group therapy, medication, psychiatrists, counseling psychologists, psychiatric social workers, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses, paraprofessionals, phobia, exposure, anxiety-producing stimulus, systematic desensitization, autism

Just as there are a variety of different psychological disorders a person may have, there are many different methods for treating psychological disorders. The first of these basic methods is called psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is any formal psychological treatment aimed at changing thoughts and behaviors, and it includes six independent approaches within it. All of the methods within psychotherapy have different goals and different ways of reaching their goals. Psychodynamic therapy is based on the work of Freud and its goal is to uncover unconscious thoughts, needs, motives, and defenses. One way that Freud employed his psychodynamic approach was to use dream analysis. Humanistic therapy is used to treat the person as a whole, or see them as a person not just a collection of thoughts and behaviors. The best approach in this category is called client-centered therapy, this is where people are encouraged to fulfill their potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding. Behavior therapy is based on the principle that a behavior is learned so it can also be unlearned. People that employ behavior therapy rely on conditioning to break habits. Cognative therapy is based on the theory that distorted thoughts can produce bad behaviors and emotions. This is treated through cognitive restructuring, this practice involves a clinician helping a patient recognize their bad thought patterns and replace them with more useful, good thoughts. Group therapy is where people with similar problems meet and discuss their problems at the same time with a clinician, this is a strategy that is used in Alcoholics Anonymous and other groups today. Finally, family therapy is used because when a persons thoughts and behaviors are being changed it has an effect on all the people around them, so the family is in need of help just as much as the person with the disorder.
Biological therapy is also used to treat certain disorders. Biological therapy is based on the thought that disorders are caused by abnormalities in bodily processes, so treatment must address the physical problems. Pyschotropic medications are drugs that change mental processes. These drugs affect how neurotransmitters work in the brain. There are five categories of psychotropic medications: anti-anxiety drugs, anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and stimulants. Each specific medication is ususally used to treat specific disorders. Electroconvulsive therapy is used by placing electrodes on the head and sending a strong enough shock into them to induce a seizure, this has been a fairly successful technique to treat psychological disorders, although researchers don't know why it works. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is when an electrical current produces a magnetic field, and when it is quickly switched on and off it creates an electrical current within the brain, which interrupts nearby neurons, this treatment has had some success treating depression. Deep brain stimulation is a brain surgery technique conducted by placing electrodes deep in the brain, the electrodes then send mild electronic signals to stimulate that area of the brain, the same way a pace maker stimulates the heart.
The biggeset obstacle in using psychotherapy is convincing people that this will work. A person may go into therapy and be treated, and his symptoms may stop, but you don't actually know if the patient is better because there is no noticable biological change to back it up. Although there can be a visible biological change within a patient undergoing biological therapy, I think it has an even bigger obstacle for its usage, it doesn't seem humane. I can't think of anyone who would be willing to send a loved one to have their brains shocked to induce a seizure or have brain surgery done to implant electrodes to administer shocks, unless it is their last resort. There are major obstacles facing both kinds of treatment.
My understanding of psychological treatment has changed significantly since reading this chapter. I always thought of treating psychological disorders as laying someone on the couch and having weird conversations with them, like in psychodynamic therapy, and I had no idea there were biological treatments available to patients other than medication. I now understand that there is more to treating psychological disorders than I previously thought.
This was an extremely interesting chapter to me because this is what I assumed psychology class would be all about. The most interesting segment was the section on how to reduce phobias. I thought it was strange, at first, that the exposure technique was used. But, it is proven that when your goal is to overcome a fear and you are frequently exposed to that fear you will usually be able to overcome it, eventually. I will remember all the techniques they teach to beat phobias, especially exposure, to use them in my own life to beat my irrational fears.
The most surprising part of this chapter was the section about the biological treatments of psychological disorders. I had no idea shocking the brain with electrical currents could regulate brain function. I was especially surprised that the schock was administered so intensely that it causes seizures. I was surprised by it, but when te book compared deep brain stimulation to the pacemaker of the heart it all started to make sense. The heart uses electric stimulation to regulate its activity, so the brain should also be able to be regulated b electrical pulses. All together this was a fairly surprising chapter to me, but this was the most surprising section.
Psychological terms: psychological disorders, psychotherapy, psychological treatment, behaviors, physcodynamic therapy, dream analysis, humanistic therapy, client-centered therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, family therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medications, neurotransmitters, anti-anxiety drugs, anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, stimulants, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, exposure, phobias

There can be many ways to treat psychological disorders, but there aren’t instant cures for them like there would be for something more simple like the flu or cold. Treating the psychological disorders over time is what is usually done and it does take a while but its something necessary. By treating it over time it causes the symptoms to reduce. Now even when though many people may be diagnosed with a psychological disorders some wont look for help to be treated. Some might because of how ling it takes and some think it wont help that much. Some exampled of treatments they have are psychodynamic therapy which is when a therapist works with clients to help them understand the problem and situation they might be going through and also try to work to find a solution for it. Humanistic therapy is another treatment for psychological disorders, which is when a therapist works with a client to help them develop their full potential to grow and understand themself. Behavior and cognitive therapies, is another thing you can go though, which is when a therapist works with a client to help them unlearn learned behaviors that negative things might affect how they function. There are so many more therapies that you can go through to help when you have a psychological disorder. From reading this chapter about psychological disorders it has really helped me understand everything there is to it. From knowing there treatments and how they work through it all. I find it really cool that there are many therapies to help when you are diagnosed with a psychological disorder. I also found some treatments a little scary and surprising, like the Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). I found this interesting and scary just because you get this electrical shock on your head. I didn’t know they still would shock people especially as a treatment. I found that part of the reading pretty interesting though. I also though the part about using computer stimulations can help conquer phobias very surprising and interesting as well. I thought this because its kind of unique because who would think computer stimulations would help someone so much. I think its cool because it’s kind of like another world the person goes into. They kind of see the world in a different view as well. After reading this chapter it made me kind of more interested in all of this, well because I honestly do find this kind of stuff pretty amazing. Especailly since it’s so broad and big of a topic.

Terms: Psychological disorders, symptoms, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior and cognitive therapy, Electroconvulsive therapy.

In chapter 14 it talks about all of the possible treatments are available todays for a psychological disorder. No one treatment will have a positive impact for all of the disorders. One treatment is psychodynamic therapy, this involves therapist trying to help and understand their problems and than work towards a solution. Now there are many different ways to treat someone with psychodynamic therapy such as cognitive therapy, this works with attempting to change a persons disorders though pattern. Another therapy within psychodynamic therapy is humanistic therapy, this works to develop a patents full potential for personal growth. As said earlier all of these therapy's work differently for different disorders but for some they do have a very positive effect. Another basic method for treating psychological disorders is by the use of biological therapy, this is only used when psychodynamic therapy was not affective. This therapy is more of a medical approach to it, they sues psychotripic medication to chance and affect the patients mental process and neurotransmitters. They try to change or correct the chemical imbalance of the brain. Just a few of the treatments include deep brain stimulation (The frequent passing of electricity thought planted electrodes in brain), trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (Use of magnetic field to interrupt specific brain functions) or eletrocovulsive therapy (the sending of shocks into brain to produce seizers).
One of the biggest obstacles within psychological treatment is first, getting the patient to go seek help because they do not always see that they have a problem that needs to be treated. We have a schema of what a therapist is and that only the crazy people go to them and that we dont want to seem like that so we are reluncate to go. A second big obstacle is for the therapist and having them understand witch treatments will and work worked. Everyone getting these treatments will have different side effects and some of the medications have little human test under them. This includes implementing techniques that have been proven effective though empirical research, which have been noted to not be productive and just harming the patient. As a child I was apart of the DARE program. Later on in my schooling a teacher told us that because we did participate in it we are actually more likely to drink and smoke than those who did not. We had a very big discussion about this but I feel as it is a good example from my own life.
After reading this chapter it really helped me understand that there are actually quite a few different options out there for people to get help. I always knew there was a handful of options but after reading this my understanding for treatments have expanded extremely. I think that this is a very positive thing because everyone is different and reacts to each treatment in a different way. So there is a lot more options for a person to get help and not be limited to just pills or therapy. It has broadened my understanding of all of the treatments and the side effects.
After reading about antisocial personality I found it to be very interesting. I have a friend that relates to many of the symptions. Like people with it ten to lie more without knowing that they are, they also care little for others and have a hard tie thinking about the future. This is like my friend because she lies about everything but she seems to never realize that. Also when talking about plans and schools to go to it was hard for her to comprehend and understand that we are going to be living someone were new. Anti social personality disorder is very hard to diagnose because these are things that some people to contain and even grow out of without ever knowing they had it.

Terms: psychodynamic therapy, cognitive therapy, humanistic therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medication, electroconvulsive therapy, trans cranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, anti-social personality disorder,

Some basic methods for treating psychological disorders are psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behaviour therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, and many biological therapies.

Biological therapy seems to be the type of therapy that I am most familiar with such as psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. Usually when I picture people getting treatment for disorders I think of them taking medicine or in mental hospitals, getting shock (electroconvulsive) therapy. I dont think of therapy such as humanistic therapy gaining self understanding as treatment, but more as a coping mechanism than treatment.

I find it very interesting that we still do shock therapy, and the fact that it even works! Also the fact that we still use it when we don’t even know what it is doing to help, we just know that is works. That astonishes me.

The most memorable thing to me was the the exposure therapy that used computer stimulations to conquer fears. In this way they can help people get over fears of heights and such, without putting them in danger.

Terms:psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behaviour therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, biological therapy, psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, exposure therapy

FROM 12/1/14 AT 6:40 p.m. Also Sent Via Email

The basic methods for treating psychological disorders are aimed at changing thoughts and behavior. These treatments as a whole are referred to as psychotherapy and Biological Therapy. There are thought to be over 400 different psychotherapy techniques that are available for the treatment of patients. There are six basic approaches to psychotherapy. These approaches are psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. These approaches all focus on interacting with a person or group, communicating, and analyzing information given or said and generally help people cope with any disorder they have. Biological therapy on he other hand, is only effective when treating certain disorders.
The biological outlook suggests disorders result in abnormalities in bodily processes, so the biological therapy approaches are medical approaches. For some disorders drugs are used to affect mental processes, these are called psychotropic medications. These medications change the neurochemistry in the brain, to regain chemical balances. When a disorder is an extreme case, other treatments may be used such as Electroconvulsive therapy, magnetic therapy, or deep brain stimulation.
My understanding of psychological treatment has changed since reading this chapter. After reading, I now see just how many different ways there are to go about treating a psychological disorder. There are many many disorders out there to be treated, and many ways to go about treating them. I will say, there is a lot more to it than I originally thought. Disorders don’t go away over night or after a week of treatment. Treatment could take years to be affective and actually begin to make progress in the life of a person. Treatments are however, more affective than I thought. I never really realized that some disorders are in fact curable.
The most surprising thing I read in this reading was how treating depression in adolescents with medication is controversial. This was so surprising to me because of how many teens I know that are using anti-depressants. My girlfriend has depression, and her dose is constantly being reduced, which is probably a good thing, but it does cause change in her attitude. She has breakdowns every time it is reduced, however not to the point of suicidal thoughts, just extreme crying. It made me really think if to look into other ways she could be treated, but things are looking up and I hope she will be coming out of it soon. The fact that there is a risk in giving antidepressants to teens really surprised me though because I didn't know there were too many other ways to treat depression other than getting back a usual chemical balance in the brain.
I really enjoyed this chapter on treating disorders. I think it is something everyone should know. Everyone knows somebody with some kind of a disorder, and its cool that we can all learn a little something about the disorders so we have a knowing of what they deal with on a day to day basis. It could make us a little more sympathetic, or just give us a better understanding of their actions.

Terms Used: Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Humanistic Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Group Therapy, Family Therapy, Biological Therapy, Psychotropic Medications, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Deep Brain Stimulation