Unit CMH 302 - Understanding Mental Health problems
Outcome 1
Q1. Describe the main types of mental ill health according to the psychiatric (DSM/ICD) classification system:
Mood disorders – Major depressive disorder/Bipolar disorder
Personality disorders - Narcissistic personality disorder
Anxiety disorders – General anxiety disorder
Psychotic disorders – Delusional disorder
Substance-related disorders – Alcohol abuse
Eating disorders - Anorexia nervosa/Bulimia nervosa
Cognitive disorders - Alzheimer's disease
Q2. Explain the key strengths and limitations of the psychiatric classification system
The classification system provides a means for the multiaxial assessment and includes Primary Diagnosis, Relationship Disorder, Medical and Developmental Disorders and conditions, Psychosocial Stressors, and Functional Emotional Development Level. Some approaches are less familiar to clinicians than other approaches and there would be no agreement on the choice of dimensions.
Q3.Explain two alternative frameworks for understanding mental distress
Biological and medical frameworks (sometimes referred to as the disease model) view psychological problems as resulting, in the main, from physical causes such as brain defects, hereditary factors or as the results of accidents or injury.
Behavioural frameworks are closely aligned to learning theories and have long been associated with early exponents of conditioning theories. Symptoms of mental distress, considered to be learned habits, arise from the interaction between external stressors and the individual's personality.
Q4 Explain how mental ill health may be indicated through an individual’s emotions, thinking and behaviour.
Signs and symptoms of mental illness can vary, depending on the particular disorder and other factors. Mental illness symptoms can affect emotions, thoughts and behaviours. Sometimes symptoms of a mental health disorder appear as physical problems.
Abnormal