UNDERSTANDING AND TREATING MENTAL DISORDERS

By: Dr. Allan Moore

An Outline
Presented to
MA’AM KHRISTINE JOY B. GARCIA, RPSy
Department of Psychology
College of Arts and Social Sciences
University of Southern Mindanao
Kabacan, Cotabato

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in

APsych 10
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

3 AB PSYCHOLOGY – A
Yap, Bea Meven V.

AUGUST 2024
Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders

I. Introduction
A. Introduction to the four D's: Distress, Dysfunction, Deviance, and Dangerousness
B. Diagnosis in psychopathology relies on observing signs and symptoms, as there isn’t a
straightforward blood test or definitive biological marker for most mental disorders.
C. Complexity of Psychopathology
a) When we diagnose mental disorders, we’re dealing with syndromes—collections of
symptoms that tend to occur together.
b) Unlike diagnosing a specific disease (where we might identify a specific pathogen or
malfunction), mental health diagnoses rely on patterns of behavior, emotions, and
cognition.
D. Definition of a Mental Disorder
a) It is characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition,
emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction, and there's significant
distress or disability.
II. Introduction of Multipath Model
A. Overview of Multipath Model
a) Mental disorders result from interactions across four dimensions: biological,
psychological, social, and sociocultural.
b) These dimensions aren’t isolated; they often influence each other. A disorder may
stem from factors in more than one dimension
B. Some Assumptions of the Multipath Model
a) Multiple pathways and influences contribute to the development of any single
disorder
b) Not all dimensions contribute equally
c) There are individual differences and the model is integrative and interactive
d) Different combinations within the four dimensions may cause development of a
particular condition
III. Biological Factors
A. Introduction to Brain Structures and Function
a) Highlight the importance of examining brain regions and their impact on behavior.
b) The three major divisions of the brain: forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.
B. Forebrain: The Seat of Higher Mental Functions
a) The cerebrum (largest part of the brain) and its advanced functions.
b) The cerebral cortex (layers of neurons) responsible for information transmission.
c) The prefrontal cortex (executive functioning, emotions, decision-making).
d) Limbic System: Emotions and Memories
 The limbic system’s role in linking emotions to memories.
 Key structures: amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus.
C. Neurons and Synaptic Transmission
a) Process of how neurons send information via electrical impulses.
b) Process from dendrites to axon terminals across synapses.
c) Neurotransmitter release and reuptake.
D. Neuroplasticity
a) Ability of the brain to evolve and adapt
b) Neurogenesis—the birth of new neurons throughout life.
c) Neural stem cells have capacity to generate new neurons needed for new skills or
experiences.
d) Chronic stress results in negative changes in the brain activity
E. Genetics and Heredity
a) Genetic transmission of traits
b) Chemical compounds outside the genome control gene expression (whether or not
genes are “turned on” or “turned off”
c) Genotype vs. Phenotype
 Explain that our genetic makeup (genotype) interacts with the environment to
produce observable physical and behavioral characteristics (phenotype).
 Emphasize that inheriting a gene doesn’t guarantee its expression; other
factors come into play.
d) Genetic Mutations
 Errors during cell reproduction can lead to genetic mutations.
 Highlight the role of mutations in certain disorders
e) Epigenetics: Beyond Genes
 Epigenetics as the study of biochemical activities outside our genes.
 Environmental factors (toxins, stress, nutrition) influence gene expression.
F. Sex Differences in Brain Development
a) Discuss brain structure (size of the brains) variations between men and women
(e.i. Corpus callosum are larger in women compared to men)
b) Acknowledge that sex-related brain differences may contribute to varying
disorder patterns.
 Frequency and progression of mental disorders differs for example
disorders involving reactivity to stress higher among women, and
disorders involving risk-taking higher among men.
G. Biological Treatments
a) Psychopharmacology: Medication categories and their effects
b) Medication Categories: Anti-anxiety drug, Anti-psychotics, Antidepressant, Mood
stabilizer
c) Antidepressant Categories: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs),
Tricyclic Antidepressant, Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs), Others
(buproprion)
d) Other approaches: ECT, Neurosurgery, Vagus Nerve Stimulation
H. Multipath Implications
a) Biological Dimension: Provides compelling insights but isn’t the sole explanation.
Rejects the simplistic “one gene, one disease” model.
b) Gene-Environment Interaction: Diathesis-Stress Theory: Predisposition to illness,
not a specific abnormality. Environmental stressors activate predisposition
c) Criticisms of Biological Models and Therapies
 Fail to consider an individual’s unique circumstances
 Rapid growth in sale and marketing of psychotropic medications
 Drug-drug interactions possible
IV. Psychological Factors: A Four Major Perspectives
A. Psychodynamic Models
a) Freud's theory of personality (Id, Ego, Superego)
b) Defense mechanisms and psychoanalytic therapy (association, dream analysis,
resistance transference)
c) Critique: Need for outcome studies and social and cultural relevance
B. Behavioral Models
a) Classical and operant conditioning
b) Observational learning and behavioral therapies (exposure therapy, systematic
desensitization)
c) Critique: Focus on outward behaviors
C. Cognitive-Behavioral Models
a) ABC Theory of Personality and schemas
b) Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and its applications
c) Critique: Role of therapist as an authority figure
D. Humanistic-Existential Models
a) Philosophical attitudes: Freedom, meaning, personal responsibility
b) Critique: Lack of scientific grounding
V. Social Factors
A. Social-Relational Models
 Importance of healthy relationships
B. Family Systems Model and its implications
 Behavior of one family member affects entire family system
C. Critique: Potential negative consequences of family involvement

VI. Sociocultural Factors

 Emphasizes importance of several factors in explaining mental disorders
1. Race
2. Ethnicity
3. Gender
4. Sexual Orientation
5. Religious preference
6. Immigration and Acculturative stress
7. Socioeconomic status
 Importance of cultural understanding in diagnosis and treatment
 Impact of Socioeconomic Class (e.i limited sense of personal control, poorer physical
health, higher incidence of depression)
 Poverty exposes people to multiple stressors, and mental health outcomes
VII. Conclusion
a) Integration of Perspectives
 All perspective had strengths and weaknesses
b) Value of a multipath approach to understanding mental disorders
 Evidence-based understanding of mental disorders has evolved
c) Future Directions
 Diathesis-stress theory and epigenetics
 Cultural neuroscience and its implications for treatment