Psych 2510 1nd Edition Lecture 20 Outline of Last Lecture I. What are cognitive disorders? II. Features and EpidemiologyIII. Causes and PreventionIV. Assessment and TreatmentOutline of Current Lecture V. Becoming a Mental Health ProfessionalVI. Becoming a ClientVII. Treatment at the Individual LevelVIII. Treatment at the Community LevelIX. Limitations and Caveats about TreatmentX. EthicsCurrent LectureI. Becoming a Mental Health ProfessionalA. Professionals who work with people with mental disorders include psychologists,psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, marriage and family therapists, social workers, and special education teachers. Paraprofessionals without advanced degrees may also work with special populations under supervision.B. Becoming a mental health professional involves gathering different types of experiences, speaking to different people, and taking varied courses. II. Becoming a ClientThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.A. Finding the right therapist involves asking many important questions and identifying someone that best fits your personal needs. III. Treatment at the Individual LevelA. Active treatment ingredients improve outcome for clients; these include enhancing self-control, gaining mastery of symptoms, practicing new skills, exploring and gaining insight into problems, experiencing ongoing and reinforcingsuccesses, and receiving therapist feedback. B. Process variables are general treatment ingredients that improve outcome for clients; these include placebo effect, therapist experience, warm and respectful therapy environment, reassurance, effective therapist-client interactions, and catharsis.C. Does treatment actually work for clients? The overall answer is yes, as many types of psychotherapy seem effective and better than no treatment at all.D. Prescriptive treatment refers to specific therapies that match best with specific types of mental problems. Some clinical manuals have been developed to standardize prescriptive assessment and treatment.IV. Treatment at the Community LevelA. Community psychology treatments focus on enhancing quality of life for people and their relationships with different social structures.B. Self-help groups involve people who share a common problem the group tries to address. Advantages include reaching large numbers of people, having people who can empathize with a certain problem, and facilitating therapist-client treatment. Disadvantages include high dropout rate and risk of inadequate information. C. Aftercare services represent transitional help for people with severe mental disorders before they pursue independent living.D. People with pervasive developmental disorders have gradually moved to community-oriented and usually smaller facilities that more closely resemble normal life. E. Forensic psychologists address issues that intersect psychology and the legal system, including prisoner treatment, child custody evaluations, criminal profiling, jury selection, and assessment of dangerousness.F. Treatment at the community level intertwines with social change and public health policy toward people with mental disorders, including rights for those hospitalized. V. Limitations and Caveats about TreatmentA. Treatment for mental disorders is generally but not always effective. Ineffectiveness may be due to poor therapist client relationship, poor choice of treatment, treatment noncompliance, and therapist-client differences.B. One significant obstacle to treatment success occurs when significant personal differences exist between a client and therapist. Culture also affects therapy. C. Increased use of managed care means mental health services and confidentialityare often limited.D. Clinicians and researchers often differ in type of clients seen and treatments used, which has led to a gap in clinical practice between the two. E. Misuse of research sometimes occurs for less than honorable purposes, so one should always consult original sources of information when making clinical decisions.F. Published research articles are sometimes flawed, so one should always judge a study according to its methodological strength and applicability to the general population. G. Many people cannot afford therapy, do not have insurance to pay for therapy, cannot transport themselves to therapy, or have difficulty finding low cost services that are right for them or that are culturally sensitive. VI. EthicsA. Psychologists are expected to adhere to a strict code of ethics in their clinical practice, and this code is based on several key themes surrounding fairness and respect. B. Psychologists are expected to use assessment devices properly and explain limitations regarding their evaluation results. C. Psychologists are expected to provide informed consent to potential clients and research participants and keep information confidential. Confidentiality may be breached with the client’s permission or under certain conditions.D. An important ethical question in marital and family therapy is “Who is the client?” A therapist’s relationship with each party should be clarified at the outset of therapy.E. Sexual intimacy with clients is unethical, and psychologists are advised to avoid dual relationships.F. Important ethical guidelines also apply to termination of therapy, public statements made by psychologists, research practices, and resolving ethical issues.G. Psychologists must ensure that public statements are honest and not deceptive, and ethical guidelines such as informed consent apply to research as well as clinical practice.H. Media psychologists, such as Dr. Phil, must also comply with ethical