PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Mental Health Professional, Clinical Psychology, Positron Emission Tomography
12 Jun 2018
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Week 23: Clinical Psychology III: Treatment of Mental Disorders
Topic 01: Framing the Question
• Best: In general, most suited to its purpose.
• The purpose of psychological treatment is to reduce or remove distressing and dysfunctional
symptoms
o Measure liet’s sptos efore ad after treatet i a reliale ad erifiale
manner
Topic 02: The People and Facilities that Provide Care
• Assessment: Individuals who may have a psychological disorder begin with an assessment
designed to elicit their personal history and presenting symptoms, so the mental health
professional can arrive at a diagnosis and construct a treatment plan. Once the diagnosis and
treatment plan are complete, treatment begins.
o Measurements include observation, interviews, questionnaires, paper and pencil tests,
medical imaging, blood studies and more
• Clinical Interviews: Thorough interviews conducted by trained professionals designed to elicit
iforatio o the liet’s histor ad presetig sptos
o The clinician asks a series of specific pre-determined questions that map onto accepted
diagnostic criteria
o Others are unstructured-the clinician asks whatever questions he or she considers
relevant to the specific client
• Self-Report Questionnaires: Made up of a series of questions asking directly about symptoms or
behaviours. They often use a rating scale on which clients endorse the degree or frequency to
which they are experiencing symptoms or have engaged in certain behaviours in a set period of
time
o This type of assessment is particularly vulnerable to bias
• Psychological Tests: An instrument designed to measure unobserved or underlying constructs,
such as intelligence or personality traits. Psychological tests can be made up of pen and paper or
verbal questions asking an individual to respond to statements or pictures or to solve a series of
tasks or problems. Psychological tests are less transparent and therefore less susceptible to
faking.
• Cognitive and Neuropsychological Tests:
o To assess clients with brain injuries, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities,
dementia, or various other conditions, psychologists use cognitive or neuropsychological
tests to examine various aspects of cognitive functioning-intelligence, academic ability,
memory, processing speed, language functions and executive functioning
o EEG, CAT scan, MRI or fMRI scan or PET scan
• Behavioural Monitor: Involves recording specific behaviours and circumstances around these
behaviours. Performed by client (via diary) or by staff if the client is in an in-client setting
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o Purpose is to learn about the frequency of target behaviours, or precursors that triggers
the behaviour and the reinforces that maintain behaviours.
• Mental Health Care Settings:
o Group homes or halfway houses care for several people at a time and are an option for
more serious mental disorders. These residences provide care and support under the
supervision or consultation of a mental health team
o Older adults who summer from mental disorders are often cared for in nursing homes
o Psychiatric hospitals typically provide both in-patient and out-patient care for people
with serious mental disorders
• Who can provide services?
o Psychiatrists: Have a medical degree with an additional specialization in psychiatry and
are the only mental health professionals who can prescribe medication
o Clinical Psychologist: Have a doctoral degree in clinical psychology with training in the
assessment and treatment of mental disorders as well as training in statistics and
research
o Certified Canadian Counsellors: Registered counsellors hae a aster’s degree i
counselling, which is similar to clinical psychology but with less focus on statistics and
research methods and more focus on clinical practice
o Pshologial Assoiates: Hae a aster’s degree i liial psholog ad four ears of
supervised practice. They may practice independently and carry out the same activities
as a clinical psychologist
o Pshiatri “oial Worker: Tpiall hae a aster’s degree i soial ork ith a
specialization in psychiatric issues
o Psychiatric Nurses: Typically have a nursing degree with specialized training in
psychiatric issues
o Counsellors/Psychotherapists: The use of these terms is unregulated- individuals with
any educational background (or no background at all) technically can call themselves a
ousellor or therapist
• Group Therapy:
o Can be led by mental health professional or led by a peer further along in recovery that
has been specially trained
o Help individuals work on issues that do not require intensive treatment
• Treatment involves hope, expectations and support
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Document Summary
Week 23: clinical psychology iii: treatment of mental disorders. Topic 02: the people and facilities that provide care. Assessment: individuals who may have a psychological disorder begin with an assessment designed to elicit their personal history and presenting symptoms, so the mental health professional can arrive at a diagnosis and construct a treatment plan. Psychological tests can be made up of pen and paper or verbal questions asking an individual to respond to statements or pictures or to solve a series of tasks or problems. Excess dopamine is associated with schizophrenia, too little is associated with some forms of depression: norepi(cid:374)ephri(cid:374)e: asso(cid:272)iated (cid:449)ith alert(cid:374)ess, arousal a(cid:374)d (cid:862)fight or flight(cid:863) respo(cid:374)se. Too little is associated with depression while an excess has been associated with schizophrenia: serotonin: plays a role in mood, sleep, appetite and impulsive and aggressive behaviours. Too little is associated with depression and some anxiety disorders, especially ocd: gamma-amino butyric acid (gaba): inhibits excitation and anxiety and induces relaxation.
