Homework: Psychological Disorders and Treatment
Abnormal behavior is defined as "behavior that causes people to experience distress and prevents them from functioning in their daily lives" (Feldman, 2020, p. 412). You have probably experienced mood swings or moments of depression in your life, yet this does not necessarily mean you have a major depressive or mood disorder. To be considered a psychological disorder, behavior must be disabling or lead to dysfunction.
Anxiety, mood, and personality disorders are some of the more common psychological diagnoses. Years of research has taught us that many genetic, environmental, and social-cultural factors impact diagnosis of psychological disorders. With such diverse influences, the line between normal behavior and psychologically disordered behavior may be hard to draw and in a clinical setting, these factors influence how both patients and psychologists understand disorders and consequent treatments. For example, the biomedical model has traditionally viewed psychological disorders as illnesses that must be cured. In contrast, the psychotherapeutic approach has traditionally recognized that culture and one's environment and life experiences also influence the circumstances by which we understand psychological disorders. Ultimately, the same problems may be treated in different ways depending on each individual's needs and each psychologist's theoretical approach to treatment. This week you examine several different psychological disorders, as well as various perspectives on what causes these disorders and how best to treat them.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
o Reflect on course concepts as they relate to professional and academic development, and social change
o Demonstrate comprehension of different perspectives about abnormality
o Define major psychological disorders
o Recognize major approaches to psychotherapy
Task: Blog: Reflection
Think when you were asked to describe your beliefs about the field of psychology. How have your beliefs changed? Throughout you have learned to think like a psychologist by taking a scientific approach to understanding observable behaviors and internal experiences such as emotions, perceptions, and cognition. You may find that you now see the field somewhat differently. For example, you may realize that some of your beliefs from the start of this class were incorrect. You have expanded your knowledge and become more confident in your understanding of the science of psychology. Hopefully you have begun to uncover the secrets of how the brain is connected to our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Take some time to reflect on how you've grown and learned this term, and plan how you will incorporate your new knowledge into your everyday life.
With these thoughts in mind, create a blog entry that responds to the following:
Reflecting on what you have learned over the past 6 weeks, explain how your perception of psychology has changed. Next, describe how at least three specific topics or theories you've learned about this term can be applied to your personal and professional life. Finally, explain how what you learned in this course will impact your approach to social change. Feel free to comment on each other's blog postings; responses to peers will not be graded. Support your blog homework post with at least one reference (textbook or other scholarly, empirical resources).
For specific details refer to the Blog Homework located in the Course Information area.
1) Explanation of how your perceptions noted have changed.
2) Description of how the three selected topics/theories will be used in your life.
3) Impact approach to social change.
4) Quality of writing.
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
1. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.