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Nadia Rivera
Comparing and Contrasting Models of Abnormality
Ivy Tech Community College
Comparing and contrasting different models of abnormality The term abnormal can refer to many things that most people are not used to seeing or experiencing. For example: witnessing a person talking to themselves, someone who has a strange addiction to sniffing gasoline, an individual that collects unusual objects like toenail clippings. For most of the population we might consider this interesting. We find ourselves wondering why certain individuals have these strange behaviors. This paper will mainly focus on the textbook literature and explore a few ways scientists have developed to explain why some of these behaviors might come about.
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To think how far we have come with medicine and technology is astounding. Looking into the biological model of abnormalities we learn that the focus is to connect a medical prospective to the variations in abnormal behavior. The text uses the case of Philip Berman, a person who exhibits a wide range of emotion when triggered with certain topics. In this case researchers are looking to find a glitch between his body chemistry and his behavior. The question here is: Can there be a connection between imperfect organisms within the body which in turn display abnormal behavior? We learn from the text that the brain has many parts that are designed to specific duties. If one of the nerves or cells is faulty, can it somehow be tied to the way a person acts? The answer is yes. We know that abnormal behavior is not just that of a mental disorder, and we know that certain chromosomal disorders have been proven to cause abnormalities within the human body. In Philip’s case, it is not necessarily a behavior that we know could be caused by a glitch in the system. We learned many facts about his life that can play a role in the way he carries himself. If we were looking into his genetic inheritance we might ask questions like the genetic makeup of the family history (i.e. has there been a history of mental disorder in the family?). Was Philip used to being an only child for so …show more content…
This type of therapy is “unique to the individual” (Comer, 2015). Is it just the individual’s thoughts that contribute to their behavior? While this type of therapy might be a good approach to helping someone get over their fear of spiders, heights or loss of a beloved, we could go back to the environmental factors that implemented them. We can appreciate the mindfulness aspect of the cognitive model and learn that it offers much insight to the causes of abnormality. It was interesting to read about an experiment that tested cognitive risk variables to episodes of major depression. The findings were that in most cases depression repeats itself (Mongrain, 2006). So does this support the cognitive therapy or redirecting thoughts for long term results? The behavior model still is the one that offers the most sense when learning
The case would be approached with the notion that a persons' way of thinking affects their feelings and actions regarding any particular situation. Approaching the case from this perspective forms the basis for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The CBT approach allows the individual to develop a positive response to life challenges even though the situation may tend to remain similar. CBT focuses on learning, unlike other psychotherapeutic approaches which rely in abundance on analyzing and exploring individual's relationship with their immediate environment. The therapist’s role in CBT is to guide the patient through a learning process on how to develop and implement new methods of thinking and behaving throughout
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) emphasizes the modification of thoughts that will invoke change in behavior (Nichols, 2014). There are two derivation causes for a distorted cognition: a structured schema, or map in the brain, that is too complex to handle the situation, and cognitive distortions of reality (Pajares, 2002). Schemas are materialized from life experiences, and the environment from birth, and direct how the brain translates these events (Bandura, 1989). The individual’s interpretation or
“There is no single cognitive-behavioral method or theory” a quote by McGuire, quoted by Pearson and Lipton et al. in their study of Behavioral/Cognitive-Behavioral Programs on Recidivism (Pearson & Lipton et al., 2002). According to the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists (NACBT), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviors, not external things, like people, situations, and events. The benefit of this fact is that we can change the way we think to feel/act better even if the situation does not change includes but is not limited to: social skill training (NACBT).
Hollon, S. D. & Beck, A. T. (2004). Cognitive and cognitive behavioral therapies. Bergin And Garfield’S Handbook Of Psychotherapy And Behavior Change, 5 pp. 447--492.
Biological Positivism has both its strengths and weaknesses, it changed the way of criminological ideas and opened up new theories that were based on scientific facts rather than philosophical ideas like in Classicism. It also highlighted the importance of looking into peoples genetic make-up as research such as Brunners' research into the extra 'Y' chromosome which led to the idea that genetic defects in a family can cause abnormal behaviours and also the Twin and Adoptions studies that showed a correlation between genetics and crime. In more modern approaches, researchers then started to look more into the brain and biochemical factors such as brain dysfunctions and imbalanced chemicals. These explanations showed the huge affect these problems had on an individuals behaviour and thought processes.
Cognitive behavior therapy has been proven to work in many different areas and presenting problems. One area that was not mention above that would significantly improve the outcome of any given therapy is the willingness of the client to accept treatment. The goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to focus on the present and to help the client identify their own strengths, learn new tools or techniques that they can use on their everyday life, and to be able to identify the different thought, emotional, and behavioral patterns that lead to undesirable
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy provides a collaborative relationship between the client and the therapist with the ultimate goal of identifying irrational beliefs and disputing those beliefs in an effort to change or adapt behavior (Corey, 2013). The developers of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy saw humans as capable of both rational and irrational thoughts and able to change the processes that contribute to irrational thinking (Corey, 2013). CBT is a more direct approach than some other therapy theories practiced today in that it challenges the client to identify aspects about their self through cognitions. This therapy, as discussed in Corey (2013) also provides an educational component such that therapist teach clients tools to effectively change the way they think to a healthier way. There are a multitude of techniques associated with CBT such as shame attacking exercises, changing ones language...
Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT combines both psychotherapy and behavioral therapy, in a goal-oriented treatment that attempts to change the patterns of thinking or behaviors. CBT is used to treat a wide variety of issue’s that a client may face, including substance abuse, anxiety, and/or depression. First introduced in the 1960’s by Aaron Beck who at the time noticed that clients appeared to have internal dialogues that appeared negative in nature (Martin, 2016). Beck would pick up that these negative thoughts were unrealistic in nature and attempt to dissuade the client from continuing with them and to develop strategies to address these thoughts. CBT is accomplished through short-term treatment, ranging from five to ten months on a weekly basis (Martin, 2016). The goal in utilizing CBT is to “increase control over problematic sexual interests and to equip them with the skills and attitudes necessary to achieve their goals in health and prosocial ways (Murphy, Bradford, Fedorff, 2014)”. Relapse prevention, in which our textbook briefly states as a learning to accept mistakes (Levine, 2016, p.175) does not appear to delve deeper into the treatment that is relapse prevention. In another search of this treatment method, goals of relapse prevention attempt to “identifying, anticipating, and coping with triggers that may lead to a potential relapse or re-offense (Murphy, Bradford, Fedorff,
In it's simplest form, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, (or CBT as it will be referred to from here on out), refers to the approach of changing dysfunctional behaviors and thoughts to realistic and healthy ones. CBT encompasses several types of therapy focusing on the impact of an individual's thinking as it relates to expressed behaviors. Such models include rational emotive therapy (RET), rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT), behavior therapy (BT), Rational Behavior Therapy (RBT), Schema Focused Therapy, Cognitive therapy (CT). Most recently a few other variations have been linked to CBT such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectic behavioral therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) (Harrington and Pickles, 2009). The main aspect that all of these branches of therapy share, is that our thoughts relate to our external behaviors. External events and individuals do not cause the negative thoughts or feelings, but, instead the perception of events and situations is the root cause (National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists, 2010).
Psychology is the deliberation of the mind and behavior and it pursues to assimilate people by comprehending mental function and social behavior. It reconnoiters the neurobiological and physiological developments that can initiative cognitive functions and behaviors. However, which motivates to apprehend mental procedures that thrusts psychologists to learn about the normal and abnormal behavior. And how we people adapt to these behaviors. Which bring us to question how we differentiate between adaptive and abnormal behavior? Both behaviors are completely different from each other because every society and culture has different understanding and perspective of adaptive and abnormal behaviors. What we believe as being adaptive and
Defining Abnormality One way of defining abnormality is in terms of characteristics or behaviours that are statistically infrequent (the deviation from statistical norms definition). However, this does not take into account the desirability of a characteristic or behaviour. The definition also fails to recognise that in all cultures large numbers of people may engage in behaviours that constitute mental disorders. A further problem is the failure to identify how far a person must deviate before being ‘abnormal’. Such decisions are difficult to make and then consequently justify.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy appears to be a new treatment, although its roots can be traced to Albert Ellis’s Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy, published in 1962. Cognitive therapy assumes that thoughts precede actions and false self-beliefs cause negative emotions. It is now known that most depression treatments have cognitive components to them, whether they are recognized or not. In the 1970’s many psychologists began using cognitive components to describe depression. From there, they developed cognitive forms to treat depression with impressive results (Franklin, 2003).
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of treatment that focuses on examining the relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviors (NAMI, 2012). It is designed to modify the individual’s normative dysfunctional thoughts. The basic cognitive technique consists of delineating the individual's specific misconceptions, distortions, and maladaptive assumptions, and of testing their validity and reasonableness (Beck, 1970). By exploring thought patterns that lead to maladaptive behaviors and actions and the beliefs that direct these thoughts, people with mental illness can alter their thought process to improve coping. CBT is different from oth...
When I think of abnormal behavior, the first thing that comes to mind is one of my aunt’s. She committed suicide when I very young, so early 1970’s. As I got older, inevitably stories of her would arise during holiday get togethers. She was married with three children and in her early thirties, residing in Florida, when she walked out and away from her husband and small children. For over a year, no one knew what happened to her, she made no effort to contact anyone. Eventually, the Salvation Army somewhere in Michigan called my grandmother and they sent her home on a bus. She never returned to her husband or children. The doctors diagnosed her as a paranoid schizophrenic. My mother told me that when she was on her medication she was fine, but once she felt “fine”, she would stop her medication. When the medication left her system, she became anxious and afraid. She once chased my grandmother, who was in her late sixties down the driveway with an ax, because she thought her mother was trying to kill her. After several inpatient stays in mental hospitals, she came back home again and she was doing good. She left my grandmother’s one night while everyone was sleeping, made it approximately fifteen miles away to a lake.
Cognitive is defined as a mental process; it refers to everything going on in your mind including your thought processes and the way you are thinking and feeling. Behaviour refers to everything that you may do; this includes any action that you may present or act out, this can also be an indirect action that is caused by other underlying behaviours. Therapy is a systematic approach to try and resolve a problem, illness, actions, irregular thought patterns or anything that may be a disturbance that distracts you from your everyday functioning. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a dynamic mode of holistic intervention that seeks to change thought processes that are linked with emotions through a goal-orientated process (Freeman and Ronen, 2007). Individuals have a three-step thought process; inferences, evaluations and core beliefs. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy looks into the dysfunctional thinking a client may have, which influences their thoughts, mood and behaviour. This theory is kept very loose and non-structured; depending on the client different theories will have to be applied depending on their needs and emotions.