Developmental Psychopathology Issues - Case Study Example

Lecturer: Topic: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY Part Basic Principles and Concepts Normal and abnormal behavior are a continuum As far as the continuum model of normality is concerned, all the behavior can be classified in a continuum that ranges from normal to abnormal and subjective judgments are made on where to develop boundaries between normality and abnormality (Preedy, Watson and Martin 1412). This means that there is a wide array of behaviors considered as normal or abnormal behavior different levels, which may be varying when different individuals are considered, or different situations are addressed. This can be linked to the argument of whether personalities exist or if the behavior that is associated by different individuals can be attributed to the situation they are in or to the discourse about whether intelligence is generalized or if it depends on varying skills, abilities as well as measurement approaches. Abnormal behavior is the behavior that is personally distressing, dysfunctional or culturally deviant that is considered by other people as being improper and maladaptive so that when an abnormal behavior goes to the extremes, the person seen with this behavior is said to have a psychological disorder. The difficulties that are associated with the evaluation of a psychological disorder are differentiating between normal and extreme behavior as well as the presence or significant absence of symptoms. The decision to state that someone is abnormal is generally subjective and dependent on clinical verdicts that are predisposed by several factors that consider the correctness of the behavior that people exhibit when in their environment. The effect that this behavior has on other is also considered as well as the behavior of the person that is making the judgment on whether the behavior is normal or abnormal. All the elements are vital but they cannot be applied singly in defining the behavior of a person as abnormal. Mental illness has multiple causes: biological (including genetic), psychological and social Professionals and experts have defined mental illness as a behavior that is clinically considerable or a psychological syndrome or pattern that is evident in an individual, which is linked to the present or a noteworthy escalation of the risk that is associated with death, disability or the loss of freedom (First and Tasman 410). The sources of mental illnesses are typically intricate and contrast depending on the nature of the disorder that is in question as well as the individual. In spite of the fact that the causes of some of the mental illness are not known, it can be stated that various Biological, Psychological as well as Environmental factors contribute to the growth and development of mental illnesses. Most of the illnesses are the outcome of a blend of various varying factors and not just one sole factor. Risk factors that are associated with mental illness comprise genetic inheritance that can be as a result of parents being depressed as well as repeating of generational patterns and the connections between mental illnesses and drug use include cannabis, alcohol and caffeine (Goldman and Hatch 987). Specific risk factors are associated with specific mental illnesses and examples are life events and drug use, which are linked to depression, family separation and bereavement, which are linked to schizophrenia and psychosis, and child abuse, temperaments and attitudes that are associated with anxiety. Majority of the disorders that are considered to be psychiatric entail the problems with impulse as well as other emotional controls. Difference between a diathesis and a stressful life event A diathesis-stress model is employed when attempting to arrive an explanation of a behavior as a predisposed weakness as well as stress that is derived from life experiences (Ghallab 267). Diathesis comes from a Greek term for temperament or weakness and it can be in the form of genetic, psychological, biological or situational factors whereby a wide array of particular dissimilarities is evident between people in their vulnerability to developing a disorder. Diathesis can be described as a physical condition that is inherited that predisposes to a particular disease or condition and majority of the conditions and diseases are believed to have an association with the Y chromosome since the male members of the society appear to be more vulnerable than female members. There is a possibility of a diathesis to be bilious and therefore demonstrate a propensity to the development of a GI distress that indicates a predisposition to accumulating urates in the tissues especially in the males who are mature. In actual sense, diathesis and vulnerability is the same thing meaning that there is a likelihood that the individual will succumb to the development of psychopathology if they experience a certain type of stress. Diathesis is considered to be latent since it is relatively hard to identify and recognize unless certain stressors provoke it and it basically includes genetic, biological cognitive as well as physiological factors. Examples of this are genetic features, which encompass irregularities in genes, which have an interaction that may escalate the susceptibility. Others entail experiences that a person may have gone through earlier in life like the loss of a parent and it can also perceived as situational factors that include low status socially and economically or having depressed parents. On the other hand, stress can be perceived as an occurrence in life, which causes a disruption of the balance associated with a person’s life for example; an individual may be susceptible to developing depression but cannot be depressed except if a particular stress presents itself. This may be what triggers a disorder that is linked to depression and the stressors can be in the form particular events like divorce of parents or other chronic factors like suffering from an illness that is long term or marital problems that are prevailing. Stress is important in the appreciation of the manner in which psychopathology is developed in individuals but the psychologists have been able to point out that not all the people who are stressed or experience events that are stressful end up with a psychological illness (Pennington 311). To get a good understanding of this, the theorists are well as researchers in this field looked at other factors that have impact on the development of a disorder and suggested that some of the individuals who are stressed develop a disorder while some do not. Therefore, some people are more susceptible than others are to the development a disorder in the event that a particular type of stress has been introduced and this necessitated the formation of a diathesis-stress model. Object-relation Object-relations is actually a set of theories that assume that relationships that start with the mother-baby dyad are crucial and intra-psychic, interpersonal as well as group experiences are the basis for developing an individual’s identity (Greenberg and Mitchell 13). The interpretation that an individual has as far as these relationships are concerned, whether conscious or unconscious goes on to be the foundation for later connections with other people who will be friends, in marriage as well as starting and raising a family. Object-relation is actually founded on the presumption that the main motivation attributes, which are in a person’s life, are associated with human connections instead of sexual or antagonistic stimulants. It is a deviation from the psychoanalytical theory, disagrees with Freud’s belief that the human beings are pleasure-seeking beings and in contrast suggests that human beings are after relationships. Since the connections that come from relationships are central to this method of therapy, the loyalty between the client and the therapy is vital to the success of the entire treatment. The object-relations theory proposes that in the process of formation of early relationships, the infant mind has the ability to identify part objects through their functions such as a breast that produces milk is considered to be a good breast while a hand that caress is perceived to be a friendly hand (Greenberg and Mitchell 161). On the contrary, the mouth that mostly yells and speaks hurtful things is considered to be a bad mouth and this identification of objects continue to develop through the years that the infants receive care as well as the occurrences that take place during this time. Even though such kind of depictions are bias and do not correctly represent the tangible object, they in the end develop to make a representation and this results in extreme ambivalence in an individual has experienced the good and bad parts of a person. Maladaptive schema The maladaptive schema is considered to be the most basic concept as far as schema therapy is concerned and it defines schemas as being wide, insidious themes that are associated with an individual and the relationship that the individual has with others. These are the relationships that were nurtured during their childhood and go on to be exhibited all through the life of the individual and become dysfunctional to a considerable level. Schemas are actually stable and enduring patterns that comprise of memories, sensations to the body, emotions among others and once they are triggered, emotions, which are very powerful, are felt (Teyber and McClure 16). When a person goes through an early maladaptive schema such as abandonment, they develop the memories of early abandonment as well as emotions that are associated with anxiety and depression that are connected to abandonment, sensations to the body and the perception that people are going to leave them. An early maladaptive schema can thus be said to be the most genuine degree of cognition, which contains memories and strong emotions when triggered, and consequently activated. Defense mechanism As far as psychoanalytic theory is concerned, defense mechanisms are the processes that take place mentally which allow the mind to arrive at solutions that are at a compromise in the case that is comes across the conflicts that it is not in a position to deal with (Hentschel 79). Under normal circumstances, these processes take place unconsciously and they mainly entail an individual concealing from oneself the feelings that might threaten to lower self-worth or generate anxiety. The concept comes from the psychoanalytic assumption that there are forces in existence in the mind, which oppose and fight each other. There are a number of defense mechanisms that are identified by professionals in the psychoanalysis field and they comprise of repression, the formation of reaction and projection. Repression involves withdrawing a hostile idea from one’s consciousness through pushing it down or suppressing it in to the part of the mind that is not conscious. For instance, in cases that involve hysterical amnesia and the victim has observed acts that were disturbing, the victim might forget the entire circumstances that surrounded the event as well as the act itself. On the other hand, reaction formation involves an ideas being etched into the consciousness of an individual and the idea is usually in contrast to the one that is feared. This can be demonstrated with the case whereby a mother bearing a child that is not wanted might develop a reaction to her feelings of guilt for not wanting the child by developing a domineering nature to convince the child and herself of her good nature. Lastly, projection is considered to be the kind of defense where the feelings that are not wanted are displaced onto another person where they will consequently be seen as threats that come from an external world. A general type of projection is evident when a person is threatened by the angry feelings that he harbors and he goes on to make accusations directed at a different individual for harboring thoughts that are hostile. Substance abuse in adolescence is a way of coping with other problems The use of alcohol as well as the abuse of the drugs that are meant to be used under prescription only is common among the teenagers and adolescents and they are reported to be using alcohol, tobacco, weed and pills that are not prescribed to them. The drugs that are not widely comprise of opiates, amphetamines depressants as well as performance enhancing drugs. Professionals have always had the belief that there are several reasons that make the youth use these drugs and substances. According to experts, the brain does not develop completely until person is in their mid twenties and the part of the brain that is last to develop is the pre-frontal cortex and this is tasked with making judgments and decisions. This therefore means that it could be a reason why behavior that is risky among adolescents can be seen regularly and why the adults are always surprised by the decisions that adolescents make. Adolescents begin using drugs and alcohol as a result of four main reasons that include attempts that are aimed at improving their moods, receiving social rewards; attempts are reducing negative feelings as well as avoidance of social rejection. The adolescents that drink for social reasons have likelihood to drink moderately while those seeking an improvement of their moods are associated with heavy alcohol use. The ones that seek to get rid of their negative feelings exhibit drinking patterns that are problematic, the professionals cite peer pressure as well as other social reasons for the first time use of substances, and they will do what their friends do to feel accepted and satisfy curiosity. Various traits of Borderline Personality Disorder reflect a basic pattern Borderline personality disorder has an important feature, which is a pattern of marked impulsivity as well as unsteadiness associated with interpersonal relationships and self-image, and the pattern is normally present in early childhood occurring across a variety of situations and circumstances (Dobbert 65). Since a personality disorder has a pervasive nature as well as an inflexible pattern of maladaptive experiences, there is usually an unwillingness to make a diagnosis of personality disorder in adolescents as well as in young adults. The people with this disorder experience emotions easily and deeply for a long time compared to those who do not and the emotions may repetitively resurge and continue for a considerably long-time. It takes patients with this condition a longer period to go back to a steady emotional state after an incident, as they will undergo emotional liability as well as changeability. Borderline personality disorder makes the moods of the people affected by it change more frequently between anger and anxiety as well as depression and anxiety. Impulsive behavior is general entailing the abuse of substances and alcohol, unprotected sex, as well as reckless spending and may include abandoning jobs and relationships self injury and also running away. The impulsive acts give the people with this condition immediate relief from the emotional pain that they experience and in the end, they suffer more pain that comes from that shame and guilt that is associated with the actions that they took. A cycle is therefore developed where the person will feel emotional pain, participate in impulsive behavior to get rid of the pain, develop guilt over the actions the get more urges to go back to the impulsive behavior to get rid of the resulting pain making it an automatic response. Part 2: Case study Functional analysis of cognition and behavior When looking at classical conditioning, the stimulus that is conditioned is a stimulus that was previously neutral that after it became associated with the stimulus that is unconditioned consequently triggers a conditioned response. In the case of the patient that is in question, the conditioned stimulus is nature that his mother had that is controlling to him and the unconditioned stimulus is the fact that the mother wants to come and live with him once he graduates. This develops a conditioned response that is manifested in the panic that he experiences in the process of playing his piano for the judges since the mother always focused on his mistakes in such occurrences. The thought of his mother when he is getting ready for a competition elicits the conditional response. The maladaptive schema that can be identified in his situation is the manner in which his mother cleaned his ears, as this is the first thing he ever remembers his mother doing while he was growing up. The mother cleaned his ears until he was older and the reasons for her doing this may be hard to understand since it could be a way of convincing herself as well as her son that she is a good mother. As far as operand conditioning is concerned, its antecedents and outcomes modify the behavior attributed to a patient and the behavior may experience changes in type, frequency as well as intensity. The patient in question develops an operand behavior that makes him panic when he is just about to play his piano as well as when he gets to the parts of his playing that he considers to be tough. This is as a result of the reinforcement and punishment to change behavior that was repeatedly instigated by his mother as he was growing up and this has made him develop anxiety and lack of confidence whenever he has to play the piano in a competition. Psychodynamic formulation of the patient’s panic attacks  Majority of the patients who have panic disorders are greatly frightened by the thought of getting angry with the people that they love including mothers, wives and even children. Therefore, the patients that are experience panic attacks will not want to associate the sources of the attacks that they often experience with the people that they love since this will make them develop a different perception of them. The fantasies and affects that are considered dangerous can be addressed through triggering defenses that are mental processes, which will render them unconscious and the panic patients greatly prefer particular defenses that may include the formation of reactions and denial. In the patient being considered, denial is evident since he does not want to consider that his mother can is actually the source of his panic attacks and therefore wants to push the reality to his unconsciousness. He uses this as a defense mechanism to convince himself that the mother does not play a part in his condition and is therefore loving and caring. The patient uses object relation to develop the notion that he has that his mother cannot be the source of the panic attacks that he has since whenever he thinks of his childhood, he relates his mother with care and concern. He looks as his mother as one who was concerned with his well being since she always wanted him to be clean so that he could be able to avoid infections. As a result of this, the thought that his mother might be the factor that triggers his panic attacks is not conceived in his mind and when it is, he pushes it to the back of his mind. Works cited Dobbert, Duane L. “Understanding Personality Disorders”. 1st ed. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2010. Print. First, Michael B, and Allan Tasman. “Clinical Guide To The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Mental Disorders”. 1st ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. Ghallab, Malik. “ECAI 2008”. 1st ed. Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2008. Print. Goldman, Marlene B, and Maureen Hatch. “Women And Health”. 1st ed. San Diego, Calif: Academic Press, 2000. Print. Greenberg, Jay R, and Stephen A Mitchell. “Object Relations In Psychoanalytic Theory”. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1983. Print. Hentschel, Uwe. “Defense Mechanisms”. 1st ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004. Print. Pennington, Bruce Franklin. “The Development Of Psychopathology”. 1st ed. New York: Guilford, 2005. Print. Preedy, Victor R, Ronald R Watson, and Colin R Martin. “Handbook Of Behavior, Food And Nutrition”. 1st ed. New York: Springer, 2011. Print. Teyber, Edward, and Faith H McClure. “Interpersonal Process In Therapy”. 1st ed. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2011. Print. Read More