Treatments of Disorders– Psychotherapies

• Psychoanalysis• Humanistic• Behavioral

– Sci Amer Frontiers Video -- Systematic desensitization for arachnophobia

– Operant conditioning – e.g., treatment of autism, behavior modification

• Cognitive– Beck’s approaches to altering “dark glasses”

• Group and family• What do psychotherapies offer to demoralized people?

– Hope, a fresh perspective, empathy…. – What else?

Drug therapy Pharmacotherapy &

Natural therapy (e.g., herbs)

Benefits? Drawbacks?

Drug therapy Pharmacotherapy &

Natural therapy (e.g., herbs)

Benefits? Drawbacks?

Biological Treatments

Dishes piling up in the sink?

ZoloftZoloft

Exercise (my master’s thesis) Exercise (my master’s thesis)

Biological Treatments

ECT

• History

• Current uses

• Efficacy & side effects

Other brain interventions

• Psychosurgery• Deep brain stimulation

– areas (e.g., Area 25) associated with depression may be overactive in certain people. Sending electrical impulses to these areas may "reset" them to normal functioning

• Neurofeedback• Transcranial magnetic stimulation

– magnet placed above right or left eyebrow to stimulate right or left prefrontal cortex

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Treatment Effectiveness

• Treatment illusions– natural improvement– nonspecific treatment effects

placebo effects

– reconstructive memorymisremembering symptom severity

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Treatment Studies

• Outcome studies– evaluate whether a particular treatment works– treatment and control conditions– Empirically validated therapies (Segment 41 of Psychology: The

Human Experience)

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Therapy’s effectiveness

• Either psychotherapy or medication appear to be more effective than placebo

• Some research (on social phobia) shows that effective psychotherapy or medication affect the same brain areas

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14.4 Which Treatments Work

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14.4 Which Treatments Work

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Dangers of Treatment

• Some treatments cause unintended harm

• Side effects, potential drug interactions, dependence, complications

• Iatrogenic illness

• Client in therapy is vulnerable

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Ethics in treatment

• Set of ethical standards– strive to benefit client and do no harm– establish relationship of trust– promote accuracy, honesty, & truthfulness– seek fairness in treatment and take precaution to avoid

bias– respect dignity and worth of all people