The Biomedical The Biomedical TherapiesTherapies

Therapies aimed at the Therapies aimed at the altering of the body’s altering of the body’s

chemistry.chemistry.

PsychopharmacologyPsychopharmacology

• The study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior.

Emptying of Mental Hospitals

Drugs and Hospitalization

Main Categories of Drugs

Anti-anxiety Drugs

Antidepressants

Antipsychotics

Antianxiety Antianxiety DrugsDrugs

• Includes drugs like Valium, Xanax, and Librium and other tranquilizers

•Effects - Like alcohol, they depress depress nervous system activitynervous system activity

• Most widely abused drugs.

•taken for panic disorder and anxiety or stress

Antidepressant DrugsAntidepressant Drugs• Lift you up out of

depression.

• Often given for depression, anxiety, phobias, and OCDMost increase neurotransmitters in the brain like serotoninserotonin

Therapeutic LagTherapeutic Lag

•Medication must be taken for about a month before becoming fully effective

•No known reason why

Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft• Work by blockingblocking serotonin reuptakereuptake.

How do Antidepressants work?How do Antidepressants work?

They affect brain neutransmittersThey affect brain neutransmitters They don’t work. People’s moods They don’t work. People’s moods

improve on their own because of the improve on their own because of the cyclical nature of depressioncyclical nature of depression

They work because users expect They work because users expect them to work (the placebo effect)them to work (the placebo effect)

It’s a Mystery - - the It’s a Mystery - - the answer is not knownanswer is not known

Antipsychotic Antipsychotic DrugsDrugs

• used to treat psychosis and other mental and emotional conditions.

•These drugs are beginning to help schizophrenics

They often block dopaminedopamine activity

Criticisms of Drug Criticisms of Drug TherapiesTherapies

• The effects only last as long as the drug is given

• Side effects can be more severe than the disorder

• Patients may only respond because of the placebo effect

• Therapeutic windowTherapeutic window – use varies by age, gender and ethnicity – making it hard to determine right dose of a drug

• New drugs are only tested on a few people

Other Types of Biomedical Therapy

• Electroconvulsive Therapy

– Brief electric current is sent through the brain

– Most often used for severely depressed

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

• The application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain

• Used to stimulate or suppress brain activity

• Also used for depression

Psychosurgery• Surgery that removes or destroys brain

tissue in an effort to change behavior.

•Egas Moniz developed the lobotomy in the 1930s.

Ice pick like instrument through the eye sockets cutting the links between the frontal lobes and the emotional control centers.

Lobotomy

Effectiveness of TreatmentEffectiveness depends on the disorder being Effectiveness depends on the disorder being

treated and the skill of the therapisttreated and the skill of the therapist

Ways of Assessing EffectivenessWays of Assessing EffectivenessClient TestimonialsClient Testimonials

– clients often say that treatment works – but clients often say that treatment works – but this may be unreliable – why???this may be unreliable – why???

• Extreme distress naturally may decreaseExtreme distress naturally may decrease– Regression toward the meanRegression toward the mean

• The tendency for events to return toward The tendency for events to return toward their average state - “Time is a great their average state - “Time is a great healer”healer”

• ““Life itself still remains a very effective Life itself still remains a very effective therapist” - Horneytherapist” - Horney

• Placebo effect and ones own expectationsPlacebo effect and ones own expectations• Justification of effortJustification of effort

– they have taken the time and money so it they have taken the time and money so it better have workedbetter have worked

Effectiveness of Treatment – cont.

Specific DisorderSpecific Disorder Most Effective Most Effective TreatmentTreatment

Panic DisordersPanic Disorders Cognitive TherapyCognitive Therapy

Specific PhobiasSpecific Phobias Systematic Systematic DesensitizationDesensitization

OCDOCD Behavior Therapy or Behavior Therapy or MedicationMedication

DepressionDepression Cognitive TherapyCognitive Therapy

AgoraphobiaAgoraphobia Exposure TreatmentExposure Treatment

Who Benefits and Who Doesn’t Benefit From Treatment (Therapy)

Those motivated to Those motivated to get betterget better

Those with family Those with family supportsupport

Those who have a Those who have a tendency to deal tendency to deal actively with actively with problems rather problems rather than avoid themthan avoid them

Those with hostility Those with hostility and negativityand negativity

Some with personality Some with personality disordersdisorders

Some with psychotic Some with psychotic disordersdisorders

Who BenefitsWho Benefits Who Doesn’tWho Doesn’t

Can Therapy Be Harmful??If therapist engages in unethical If therapist engages in unethical

behavior – having sexual behavior – having sexual relationships with clientsrelationships with clients

If therapists act according to If therapists act according to personal prejudices or are ignorant personal prejudices or are ignorant of cultural differencesof cultural differences

If therapists coerce clients into If therapists coerce clients into doing things they don’t want to dodoing things they don’t want to do

If therapists use techniques If therapists use techniques research has not backed up as research has not backed up as effectiveeffective

If therapists lead clients to produce If therapists lead clients to produce false memoriesfalse memories

Barriers to Getting Treatment

• Concerns about the cost of treatmentConcerns about the cost of treatment

• Lack of health insuranceLack of health insurance

• The stigma associated with getting The stigma associated with getting psychological treatmentpsychological treatment

• Cultural or racial barriersCultural or racial barriers– Religious beliefs against some types of Religious beliefs against some types of

treatmenttreatment– Language barriersLanguage barriers– Treatments based on the needs of white Treatments based on the needs of white

middle-class clientsmiddle-class clients