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Part of the Series : Understanding Psychology

Length: 30 minutes

ORDER CODE: BVL40122

ISBN: 978-1-60825-469-9

Copyright date: ©2003

Closed Captioned

What is abnormality? Using the case studies of two young women—one who has depression, one who has an anxiety disorder—as a springboard, this program presents three psychological perspectives on mental disorder. Section one considers it as a bodily disease, identifying underlying assumptions of the biomedical model and illustrating the treatments it offers. Section two looks at it as a disease of the mind, developing the view that the origins of some mental disorders may lie in people’s experiences. And section three outlines the basis of the constructionist perspective and the idea that mental disorder is socially defined. The increasing medicalization of behavior is also addressed. A part of the series Understanding Psychology. (30 minutes)


Contents

Mental Illness: Physical Treatment (04:03)
Definitions of normality vary over time. Early physiological treatment for mental disorders was often violent.

Mental Illness: Biological Treatment (03:35)
The bio-medical model is based on three key concepts: 1)Syndromes can be identified by symptoms. 2) Symptoms are evidence of underlying bodily disorders. 3) Treatments of these disorders should be medical.

Mental Illness: Biochemical Treatment (03:29)
Drug treatment for depression is somewhat controversial. Though anti-depressants help many depressed people, do biochemicals address the underlying causes of depression?

Mental Illness: Psychological Approach to Treatment (02:51)
WWI advanced the notion that mental illnesses are tied to life experiences. The name "shell shock" was given to men literally driven mad by war. Treatment of these psychological disorders lies in psychotherapies.

Psychotherapy: Cognitive Approach (04:38)
A young woman diagnosed as an agoraphobic has undergone psychological therapy for a year. This cognitive approach focuses on the thinking aspects of individuals.

Mental Disorders as Social Constructions (04:06)
According to the theory of social construction, a diagnosis of mental illness can be arbitrary. Mental disorders are defined by social norms.

Changing Views on Behavior (02:49)
Social constructionists argue that "abnormal" behavior is labeled as mental disorder because it is socially unacceptable. Bad behavior in school, once considered "naughty," is now classified as the mental disorder ADHD.

Medicalization of Behavior: Life as a Disease? (03:10)
The more people are labeled with disorders, the higher the profits for pharmaceutical companies and the more work for counselors and therapists. Medicalization takes away a person's responsibility to cope with his own experiences.