Abnormal Psychology Questions

Discussion Questions  

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1. Questionable Treatment Practices in Psychology

This week’s discussion touched on changes in perception regarding psychopathology in response to shifts in societal attitudes toward specific behaviors. Now, let us look critically at treatments in general. A number of treatments for currently diagnosable disorders have been discontinued, such as trepanning and lobotomies, because they were discredited and are now considered crude and/or barbaric. A number of disorders have been completely removed from diagnostic manuals and their corresponding treatments have been discredited and discontinued. For example, the treatment known as conversion therapy or reparative therapy for lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals is known to be ineffective and even harmful.

In this 250- to 500-word journal entry, you will consider current treatment methods (e.g., electroconvulsive therapy, exposure, and response prevention). Choose a current treatment method and comment on what ways future researchers might consider this current treatment barbaric or crude. Explain why you chose to comment on this treatment. What would need to happen for current acceptance of this treatment procedure to change? What are the ethical implications involved in using a questionable treatment option?

2. The Subjectivity and Art of Diagnosis

Although psychology prides itself on being a science, the art of diagnosis goes beyond a simple checklist of symptoms. Clinicians generally recognize that any diagnostic exercise must include a culturally sensitive interpretation and analysis of symptoms.
This week’s discussion touched on how an individual’s culture may influence the presentation of symptoms and syndromes. Keeping the discussion in mind, consider the importance and impact of a patient’s cultural background when making a diagnosis.

In this 250- to 500-word journal entry, begin by choosing one symptom or syndrome covered in the Wen-Shing (2006) article that resonated with you. Find at least one case study on the symptom or syndrome and briefly describe it for the reader. Google Scholar is not an acceptable resource for this journal. Explain clearly why you chose to comment on this symptom or syndrome instead of other options. If the symptom or syndrome appears to be similar to a condition found in the DSM-5, compare and contrast what is found in the DSM-5 with what is discussed in the Wen-Shing article.