Psychology / Unit 9: Personality and Psychological Disorders
9.6 Treatments
Notes
Treatment for psychological disorders often combines approaches.
- Psychotherapy: talk-based treatment with a trained therapist.
- Psychodynamic: explores unconscious conflicts and past experiences.
- Humanistic (Rogers' client-centered therapy): supportive and nonjudgmental.
- Behavior therapy: uses learning principles; exposure therapy gradually faces feared situations.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): changes unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It is among the best-supported treatments for anxiety and depression.
- Biomedical therapies: medication prescribed by a doctor (antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers). Other approaches exist, such as brain stimulation, and are used in specific cases.
- Many people do best with therapy, medication or both. Support groups help too.
- Anyone who is struggling should talk to a trusted adult, school counselor or doctor.
Practice
A therapist helps a client notice the thought "I always fail" and replace it with a more balanced one, then practice new behaviors. This is:
CBT changes unhelpful thinking and behavior.
A person with a fear of dogs slowly practices being near calm dogs with a therapist. This is:
Gradually facing the feared stimulus is exposure therapy.
Which mental health professional can prescribe medication?
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medication.
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