One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Psychology

1. Summary of the Story

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a film based on Jack Nicholson who plays a rebellious Randall P. (Douglas 1975) McMurphy who gets sent to a mental hospital because he was acting belligerent at the farm he worked on. After arrival at the mental hospital, he receives a psychological analysis from Dr. Speedy to determine if he is mentally ill. McMurphy goes in to the hospital thinking that he is sane, and will be out in no time, but the Doctor suddenly explains that he needs to be kept in the hospital until they can determine the necessary treatment for him. McMurphy displays many signs of antisocial personality including irresponsibility, disregard for others, impulsivity, and manipulation. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson,

Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 216) However, he seems to believe that nothing is wrong with him.

In the hospital McMurphy meets his match Nurse Ratchet, who both go toe-to-toe while trying to get the best out of one another. McMurphy is treated with many controversial therapies for his disorder such as group-therapy, electroconvulsive therapy and ultimately a pre-frontal lobotomy. Mr. McMurphy’s fun loving dominating personality brings out the free spirit of the other patients and eventually teaches them what life is all about. McMurphy’s rebellious demeanour, charming personality and strong leadership skills gets the other patients to believe his devious style in the mental institute. In all the patients mind, McMurphy was their hero and even in the end of the movie, he lead them all to believe he escaped. Although he dies, McMurphy changes the way the mental institution operates, and eventually gets the best out of

Nurse Ratchet. (Douglas, 1975)

2. Rationale for Choosing this Case

The reason I chose this film was because when I read the list of movies to my parents, my Dad told me that it was a great movie and that he had actually wrote a paper on in High School. He told me that it was an interesting movie because they aren’t sure if Jack Nicholson actually has a mental disorder, but by the time the movie is over, he ends up with one. My dad actually watched the movie again with me because it was one of his favorites and he hadn’t watched it in a long time. The main purpose of this paper is to allow me to have better learning about certain psychological disorders, and the rationales for diagnosing them based on the different perspectives. After writing this paper, I believe that I will be more educated on the signs of mental disorders, as well as different treatment options in which I can use to help me later on in life if I ever know someone with these disorders. Watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest also taught me about the different treatments, including many unethical ones, and that there are many better options compared to the ones used in the movie.(Douglas, 1975) This movie really opened my eyes about the old conditions of mental institutions, and how society has come a long way from that.
3. Description of the Character’s Disorder Based on the DSM-5
After watching the film, I have diagnosed Randall McMurphy with antisocial personality disorder. There are many signs and symptoms that show this personality throughout the movie. McMurphy is charming, deceiving, rebellious and lacks responsibility. He displays these symptoms throughout the time he is in the mental institution, while believing the whole time that he is sane.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, below is the criteria for diagnosing Antisocial Personality Disorder. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 217)
Diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder
A. A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
1. Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviours, as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
2. Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure.
3. Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead.
4. Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults.
5. Reckless disregard for safety of self or others.
6. Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behaviour or honor financial obligations
7. Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing or having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
B. The Individual is at least 18 years.
C. There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
D. The occurrence of antisocial behaviour is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 217)
After looking at this diagnostic criteria, I noticed that Randall McMurphy fit almost all of it.

In the mental institution he failed to comply with many social norms, and he constantly disrespected the rules of the institution. Along with this, another dominating sign of this personality disorder was that he was very impulsive and managed to disregard the safety and rights of others. McMurphy showed this when he managed to steal the patients away from the institution to go on a fishing trip without written permission. (Douglas, 1975) Another major symptom that McMurphy displayed was his constant lack of remorse. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 217) He was arrested and charged several times before being put in the institution, but he never seemed to feel bad about his actions. McMurphy also possessed many signs of irritability and aggressiveness, and several times he broke the glass in the nurse’s office in order to get his way. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 217). Lastly, McMurphy was very charming and was well-liked by the other patients. Oftentimes, in many circumstances a charming personality is linked to antisocial personality disorder. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 217) All the symptoms McMurphy displayed fit the criteria of antisocial personality disorder quite accurately. If they had diagnosed this correctly in the film, they could have treated him more

appropriately.

4. Theoretical Perspectives of the Identified Disorder
There are a number of different theories and perspectives related to antisocial personality, and research on this disorder still continues. However, there is no widespread agreement about what specifically causes it. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 218) The major perspectives include: Biological, Psychoanalytic, Behavioural, Cognitive, Sociocultural and Diathesis-Stress Model. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 232)
Biological Perspective
There are several biological factors that are related to antisocial personality disorder:
1. Lack of Emotional Responsiveness:
People with this personality disorder are able to maintain their composure in situations that would induce anxiety or stress in most people. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) Their lack of anxiety in response to threatening situations may be why people with this disorder usually fail to have remorse while being punished in order to control their behaviour. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) People with antisocial behaviour often have a hard time quitting impulsive behaviour that has led to punishment in the past. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) These people may never learn to inhibit their antisocial behaviour, because they experience very little fear of being punished. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) Some research explains that people with antisocial personalities are generally less aroused than other people, both at times of rest and in situations where they are faced with stress. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) In the text Essentials of Abnormal Psychology, the authors explain that “this lack of emotional responsibility may help explain why the threat of punishment seems to have little effect on deterring their antisocial behaviour. It is conceivable that the autonomic nervous systems of people with antisocial personalities are underresponsive to threatening stimuli” (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219)

2. The Craving-For-Stimulation Model:
Other research has explained that people with antisocial personality may have a lack of emotional response in terms of levels of stimulation necessary to achieve the optimum level of arousal. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) Antisocial personalities appear to have inflated cravings for stimulation. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220) People with this behaviour may require a higher-than-normal threshold, and this may mean that they need more stimulation than most other people to function normally. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220) This need for higher levels of stimulation may explain why these individuals become bored easily, and are attracted to potentially dangerous activities and situations. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220)
3. Lack of restraint on impulsivity:
Research on brainwave function has demonstrated that people with antisocial personalities have lower levels of activity in the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220) The authors in the text Essentials of Abnormal Psychology explain that “The frontal cortex plays a key role in inhibiting impulsive behaviour, which may help explain why people with antisocial personalities have difficulty controlling impulsive or aggressive behaviour.” (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220) Some researchers believe that the cerebral cortex may develop more slowly in people with these personalities. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220)

4. Limbic Abnormalities:
One of the most distinguishing features of this personality disorder is the dysfunctional processing of emotional information. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220) A study of the brain’s limbic system revealed that criminal psychopaths showed significantly less brain activity in the emotional parts of the brain, and overstimulation in areas of the frontal lobe. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220) This shows that emotional irregularities in people with antisocial personalities may be linked to reduced input from brain structures located in the limbic system. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 220)
Evidence from adoption studies have also shown that both genetics and environment play a factor in developing antisocial personality disorder. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 237) The studies found that both biological and adopted children of people with antisocial disorder were more likely to develop the disorder themselves. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 237)

Sociocultural Perspective
Antisocial behaviour exists in all racial and ethnic groups, and is not strictly tied to any specific group. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) Research has found that there is no evidence of racial differences in the rates of this disorder. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) However, they have found that the rates of this disorder are higher among people with lower socioeconomic status. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) An explanation for this may be the fact that people with this disorder may struggle occupationally because their personality disorder inhibits them from following social norms. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) It is also likely that people from lower economic status may have been raised by parents who also suffered or modelled some type of antisocial behaviour. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219) Nevertheless, this diagnosis may be misattributed to people living in rough societies who may use antisocial behaviours as a type of defense mechanism in order to survive. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 219)

Psychoanalytic Perspective

The psychoanalytic perspective of personality emphasizes the importance of early childhood experiences on the unconscious mind. (Cherry, n.d.) This perspective was created by Sigmund Freud, for he believed that things hidden in the unconscious mind could be revealed in a number of different ways through dreams, free association and slips of the tongue. (Cherry, n.d.) The unconscious mind is where people keep painful feelings and memories. Freud believed that these memories eventually end up causing the brain to create psychological defenses against them, which ultimately results in certain psychological disorders. (Cherry, n.d) Freud also believed that problems arising from the Oedipus complex was the basis for many personality disorders. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 232) Freud explained that many children normally resolve the Oedipus Complex by identifying with the parent of the same gender, and displaying incestuous wishes for the parent of the opposite gender. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 232) However, many factors may interfere with appropriate identification with parents, and this may sidetrack the normal developmental process. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 232) The most recent psychoanalytic theories focus on the early childhood pre-oedipal period of about 18 months to 3 years, for this is when children begin to develop personalities separate from their parents. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 232)

Behavioural Perspective

Behaviour theorists focus on the role of reinforcement in explaining antisocial behaviour. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 235) People with antisocial personalities may have failed to learn to respond to others as potential reinforcers. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 235) These people may not have been socialized because their early learning experiences lacked the steadiness that helped other children relate their behaviour with rewards and punishment. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 235) When these people become adults, they place no value on what other people expect of them because their behaviours were not reinforced appropriately in childhood. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 235) Social-cognitive theorist Albert Bandura also suggested that children may acquire antisocial behaviour such as cheating, bullying, or lying by direct reinforcement if they find that these behaviours help them to manipulate others. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 236)
Cognitive Perspective

Cognitive-behaviour psychologists have demonstrated that the ways which people with personality disorders interpret their social experiences influence their behaviours. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 236) Young adults with anti-social personality tend to incorrectly interpret other people’s behaviours as threatening. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 236) They also tend to presume that others think of them as ‘ill’. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 236) Antisocial personality disorder is also linked to the cognitive factor of failure to profit from punishment. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 236) Psychiatrist Aaron Beck also explains that people with these disorders usually act dysfunctional due to their core beliefs. (Cognitive-Behavioral Theory Of Personality Disorders, n.d) Childhood experiences, including abuse and trauma, tend to be important factors that contribute to establishing a person’s core beliefs. (Cognitive-Behavioural Theory Of Personality Disorders, n.d) Later on in life, these beliefs can potentially distort people’s perceptions and interpretations of certain experiences. (Cognitive-Behavioural Theory Of Personality Disorders, n.d) If core beliefs are distorted, this may cause people to frequently misinterpret situations, and this is a main factor in personality disorders. (Cognitive-Behavioral Theory Of Personality Disorders, n.d)

Diathesis-Stress Model

The Diathesis-Stress Model focuses on the fact that psychological disorders arise from the combination of a predisposition with stress. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 35) This model states that some people are vulnerable (possibly from genetics) to developing a psychological disorder. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 35) However, whether or not they develop a disorder is based on the amount of stress they face. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 35) In the text Essentials of Abnormal Psychology in A Changing World, the authors state “In some cases, people with a diathesis for a particular disorder may remain free of the disorder or develop a milder form of the disorder if the level of stress in their lives remains low or if they develop effective coping responses for handing the stress they encounter.” (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 35) This means that psychological disorders are inherently determined by how a person deals and perceives a threat of stress. However, the stronger the predisposition is, the more likely only a little amount of stress will contribute to the disorder. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 35)

5. The Best Perspective for Explaining the Development of Symptoms

Personally, I believe that no perspective is the best for describing this disorder. There are so many different opinions that try and explain it, but I do not believe that one is better than the other. However, if I had to choose based on the effectiveness of treatment, I would pick the behavioural and cognitive perspectives. The reason I choose these perspectives is because by watching the film I most certainly could recognize a problem in McMurphy’s thoughts and behaviour. He did not believe he had a problem, and this was one of the main signs I saw for having distorted cognitive processing. His behaviours were also very irrational, and he was most often rebellious and disobedient. These actions hold true for the behavioural perspective, because it almost seemed as if McMurphy was not properly reinforced as a child, and continued his irresponsible behaviour throughout adulthood. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 236) He also seemed to not ever be intimated by punishment, and this is another sign that he had a distorted thought process and unsuccessful reinforcement as a child. I chose both these perspectives because they are the ones that are most successful in trying to treat a patient with antisocial personality disorder. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) Cognitive-Behavioural Techniques can result in long-term improvement for patients with personality disorders. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) This proves that the cognitive and behavioural perspectives may be the most promising explanations for antisocial personality disorder, but I would not say that any perspective is better than the other because the factors of this disorder are quite broad.

6. Treatment Received by the Character and Its Effectiveness

There were several treatment methods seen in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and most of them I do not agree with. At first, McMurphy was arrested several times before being committed to a work farm. After several incidents at the work farm, he was then admitted to a mental hospital to undergo psychological evaluation. At the hospital, McMurphy received electroshock therapy for frequently being disobedient. He also received many group therapy sessions to help stabilize his emotions and disrupting behaviour. In these sessions, he was usually irritable and caused many of the group sessions to end in outbursts from the other patients. Ultimately, in the end McMurphy undergoes a prefrontal lobotomy after several unsuccessful electroshock therapies.

All the treatment that McMurphy received was flawed. Firstly, the punishment he received being arrested and electroshock therapy was proven to be ineffective for treating McMurphy. He continuously repeated his behaviour, even after being punished for it. Another factor was that Nurse Ratchet did not show any sort of positive-regard for McMurphy. She was constantly trying to get the best of him, and she never treated him with respect. This played no part in helping McMurphy’s condition, but only worsening it. The prefrontal lobotomy also caused no significant improvement for Murphy’s condition, and ended up turning him into a vegetable. Recent studies have shown that most people diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder lack grey matter in the brain’s frontal cortex. (Diagnosis of R.P McMurphy from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” 2001) Saying this, most likely the prefrontal lobotomy received by McMurphy would actually have worsened his condition by removing the remaining gray matter in the frontal lobe, instead of making him better. (Diagnosis of R.P McMurphy from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” 2001) Therefore, this proves that none of his treatment methods were very effective at all.

7. Recommendation of Any Other Treatment

I think it is hard to recommend any type of treatment to someone with a personality disorder, considering people with personality disorders don’t see themselves as having a disorder. People with personality disorders also tend to respond more poorly to treatment for their problems. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) However, I believe that the treatment methods used in the movie were not effective, and were very inhumane. If I had to recommend a different treatment for McMurphy, I would recommend a mixture of both psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural therapies. Recent evidence suggests that these therapies may be equally effective in producing long-term improvement for people suffering from personality disorders. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) Psychodynamic approaches help people with personality disorders become more aware of their self-defeating behaviour patterns and learn more adaptive ways to relate to each other. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) Researchers have reported that psychodynamic psychotherapy that averaged at least 40 weeks of treatment resulted in significant improvements in symptom complaints and social adjustment of people suffering from personality disorders. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) On the other hand, behavioural therapists seek to change their clients’ behaviour, rather than their personality. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) Most behaviour therapists focus on changing maladaptive behaviours through techniques like modelling, extinction, and reinforcement. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) Social-skills training may also be used to help clients function more effectively in certain social situations. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) Along with this, another technique dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), which combines behaviour therapy and supportive psychotherapy, can also be used to treat personality disorders. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 241) DBT includes several components such as: mindfulness techniques, distress tolerance, emotion regulation strategies and interpersonal effectiveness. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 241) All these behavioural techniques help clients develop more appropriate social and problem-solving skills. Many of these techniques may help clients improve their behaviours and ability to cope with negative events. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 241) Drugs such as anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication may also be used, however they are not as effective and only work for a short period of time. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 241) I also would suggest some type of Psychotherapy be used. Psychotherapy helps develop a positive relationship between the client and therapist, and allows the client to feel more comfortable in a therapy situation. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 82)

8. Prognosis Based on the Character’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Treating McMurphy with psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural therapies may be difficult due to weaknesses of his anti-social personality disorder. His personality disorder caused him to be irritable, violent, show no remorse, display a lack of guilt, and act rebellious. With all these negative traits, it would be very hard to get McMurphy to focus on taking his therapy seriously. Even in the film, McMurphy took none of the group therapy sessions seriously, and would usually just cause problems. I think it would be extremely hard to change McMurphy’s personality and behaviour, because he himself did not believe he had a problem. People with personality disorders also tend to respond more poorly to treatment for their problems. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 240) Unfortunately, I do not think the treatment would be successful for McMurphy in the long-run due to the weaknesses of his personality disorder. I think no matter what treatment method McMurphy received, he would still go back to his deviant, irresponsible ways just to prove a point. The only way that McMurphy would be successful would be to use his strength of influencing and charming others. He could use these traits to co-operate and receive proper therapy and prove to the others that therapy can help the rest of them. All the patients in the mental hospital looked up to McMurphy, so he could use these positive traits to influence the others to help themselves. However, ultimately I do not think that therapy would be effective enough to help McMurphy change his ways.
9. Humane Approach

If I was a therapist, I would use a better approach than Nurse Ratchet used in the film. Nurse Ratchet only drove McMurphy to eventually lose his mind due to her authoritarian personality. She proved to be just as manipulative as McMurphy, and this was not helpful to fixing his personality disorder. If I were a therapist treating McMcurphy I would definitely show more empathy and remorse towards him. It would be important to get him to trust me, rather than despite me, like he did Nurse Ratchet. For this approach, it is important to focus on the non-specific factors of psychotherapy which involve – the mobilization of hope, attention and support provided by the therapist, and development of a good working relationship between the client and the therapist. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 82) The effectiveness of psychotherapy receives strong support from research, and results have proven that clients who receive long-term psychotherapy are much better off than ones who don’t. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 82) Specifically, I would use the humanistic-existential therapy to focuses on the client’s subjective, conscious experience in the here and now. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 86) Person-Centered Therapy would also be a great technique to use because it possesses the qualities to patients of unconditional positive regard, empathy and genuineness. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 86) This is much better than using manipulation to help a patient with a personality disorder. Person-centered therapy creates conditions of warmth and acceptance in the therapeutic relationship between the patient and the client. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 75) This helps clients to become more aware and accepting of their true selves. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 75) Emotion-focused therapy would also be effective for transforming patients’ feelings into being more adaptive. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 86) By showing a patient unconditional positive regard, it would provide McMurphy with a sense of security that would allow him to explore his feelings without fear of disapproval, rather than to rebel. (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab, 2015, p. 75) The client-therapist relationship is extremely important in a patient’s recovery.

10. Learning Experience from this Assignment

I learned many skills and knowledge from this assignment and the film One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. These learning experiences include:
• Identifying the many clinical features of not only antisocial personality disorder, but also the other 9 personality disorders.
• Learning to diagnose a patient based on their behaviour and thought processes
• Recommending appropriate treatment options and why they would be effective for a specific disorder
• Learning about treatment that is inhumane and unethical
• Identifying the different theoretical perspectives, and discovering which ones are best for explaining personality disorders
• Learning the humane approaches for treating patients such as psychotherapy, person-focused therapy and emotion based therapy.
• Identifying with my own thoughts to discover the best way to treat somebody based on my learning from Psyc 389 – Abnormal Psychology

I think that this assignment was very valuable to me. At first I was scared to write this paper because I was unsure that I would be able to pick out the disorder that the patient in the film had. I actually surprised myself because when I went to write this paper, I knew exactly what the patient had just by remembering his specific behaviours and thought patterns. I definitel