Methods for Treatment of Psychological Disorders

Psychological disorders are treated through the use of two basic practices: biomedical and psychotherapy. There are many approaches to psychotherapy; however, each category contains four characteristics that are indispensable:

1. Organized interpersonal communication between therapist and client

2. Therapy is rooted in psychological research and theory

3. Therapy is provided with the goal to better adjust to problems and stressors, treat disorders, and encourage personal growth and insight

4. Therapy is intended to positively influence the feelings, thought patterns, and behaviors of the client.

There is no one type of therapy that is right or will work for everyone; each individual must be evaluated to determine which approach will appropriately meet the client’s needs.

Biomedical

Though not psychological in nature, biomedical therapies are thought to be more successful when combined with psychological therapies. Biomedical therapies include psychotropic or psychotherapeutic drug therapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and psychosurgery. Psychotropic drug therapy, the most frequently used of the biomedical therapies, uses antianxiety drugs, antipsychotic drugs, and antidepressant drugs, as well as lithium. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

Antianxiety drugs, also known as minor tranquilizers, are in the benzodiazepine chemical class, and include Valium, Librium, Xanax, and Serax, to name a few. Antianxiety drugs reduce feelings of anxiety by slowing central nervous system activity, but tolerance to the drugs may build quickly causing a need to increase dosage to maintain effectiveness and may lead to physical dependence. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

Antipsychotic drugs are neuroleptics or major tranquilizers and are used with some success in treating symptoms of schizophrenia. Many antipsychotic drugs fall in the phenothiazine chemical class such as Mellaril, Thorazine, and Clozaril and are believed to work by blocking dopamine receptors. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

Antidepressants are used to treat depression as well as eating disorders, social anxiety, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and they are thought to work by altering the chemical balances in the brain that regulate emotions and appetite and increase availability of some neurotransmitter such as serotonin and norepinephrine. There are three main classes of antidepressants: MAO inhibitors like Nardil which block the breakdown of noradrenaline and serotonin between nerve cells; tricyclic antidepressants like Elavil which prevent the reabsorption of norepinephrine and serotonin; and SSR inhibitors like Zoloft and Prozac which work by also blocking the reabsorption of serotonin. SSRIs are widely preferred due to the less severe side effects associated with the drugs. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

Lithium was first prescribed via mineral water containing lithium by ancient Greeks and Romans. Lithium is a metal that has been shown to stabilize mood disorders such as bipolar or manic-depressive disorder. Lithium is believed to work by altering the neurotransmitter functioning. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

ECT and Psychosurgery are very controversial methods of biomedical therapy. ECT, also known as electric shock therapy, is very rarely used and clients are generally put to sleep through the procedure. Psychosurgery is nearly extinct, because of the severe side effects such as impaired ability to learn, seizures, and death, and there is very little evidence that it has been successful. ECT and psychosurgery are usually only considered after all other treatments have been tried and have failed. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

Psychodynamic

Psychodynamic therapy assumes that unresolved and unconscious conflict is the root of mental problems, frequently arising from childhood; the goal is to provoke self-insight. Traditional psychodynamic therapy focused on the id (the aspect of personality Freud believed to be the sometimes irrational and emotional primitive mind focused primarily on pleasure), was client directed, and used three methods: interpretation of transference, free association, and dream analysis. Though some analysts hold fast to traditional Freudian psychodynamic therapy, most modern psychodynamic therapy focuses more on the ego (the aspect of personality Freud believed was the rational part of the mind that denies the instant gratification demanded on the id), is more structured, therapist directed, and is much shorter in duration. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

Humanistic-Existential

Humanistic-Existential therapies follow the existential philosophy that one has freedom of choice. Humanistic-Existential therapies are primarily focused on the quality of the individual’s present. Humanistic-Existential therapies, both client-centered therapy (client directed), and Gestalt therapy (therapist directed), focus on the client’s self-awareness, self-acceptance, and integration of all personality aspects. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

Behavior

Behavior therapy or modification is use of learned response to teach or effect behavioral changes. Behavior therapies have been useful in treating phobias, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and smoking, as well as teach desired social skills. There are many methods used in behavior therapy: fear-reduction methods including flooding, gradual exposure, systematic desensitization, and modeling; aversive conditioning; and operant conditioning include the token economy, social skills training, and biofeedback training. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

Cognitive

Cognitive therapy works on the premise that beliefs and thoughts affect behaviors. Cognitive therapy is basically replacing negative self-talk with positive self-talk. Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy follows the belief that it is one’s perceptions of events that dictate emotional reactions to the events and not the events themselves. (Nevid & Rathus, 2005)

References

Nevid, J. S., & Rathus, S. A. (2005). Psychology and the challenges of life: Adjustment in the new millennium (9^th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.