Question
1: Critical Thinking
There
exist several problems associated with the utilization of a medical approach to
gain an understanding of etiology of most physiological disorders. One of the
challenges is the view of these disorders as a disease. This approach introduces
the problem of insufficient understanding of psychopathology. Additionally,
this model’s major crippling flaw is the fact that it’s incapable of making
provisions for neither the person as a whole nor data of a social or
psychological nature. In simple terms, biology cannot simply account for
psychological disorders. Problems of this nature require being accounted for by
the levels of processes and data. Examples of these levels include the social
and cognitive ones. While integrating knowledge from all levels it’s good to
note that each of the approaches has its benefits and challenges. Therefore,
reliance on biological measures alone cannot lead to sustainable solutions to
this challenge. Moreover, in this approach, issues are only explained in
relation to abnormal biological variables. A disorder is, therefore, viewed and
analyzed in relation to the underlying physical mechanisms which include
physiological and biochemical processes. This strategy also strives to reduce
various complex phenomena such as emotions, behaviors, and thoughts into a more
basic entity which is easily understood. This is because the concept embraces
the philosophy of reductionism which advocates for the reduction of a problem
to the basis of biological processes. Consequently, research and treatment are
also limited to employing only searching and altering biological variables.
Errors may usually arise in this process because most psychological disorders
require a combination of a wide range of knowledge for both treatment and
research to be carried out effectively.
A
perfect example why biological approach, just like any other single social or
psychological approach, can’t explain these disorders can be explained through
real life experiences. For example, a blush cannot be fully explained by
application of biological knowledge. At a biological level, a blush is a simple
vascular change in the human body. In reliance on medical knowledge, we could
analyze the physiological mechanism behind the occurrence of this act. This
approach does not offer sufficient explanation since it’s also critical to know
why the blush occurs. An effective psychotherapy model should offer insight on
both the reasons for occurrence and process itself. It’s also crucial to
understand the played by psychological events in the occurrence of this event.
For example, knowing that persons blush when they are in shame helps develop a
reliable strategy for dealing with this situation. On the other hand,
sociological variables must also be considered. For instance, the blush takes
place in response to shame when an individual is in a public setting. The
medical model of psychopathology cannot adequately explain the sociological and
psychological factors of the condition. Therefore, this approach is not
reliable in explaining complex situations which may lead to varying human
behavior responses.
The
most relevant approach towards addressing psychological disorders is the
integrative psychotherapy model. This is because it curbs the problems of
self-fulfilling prophecies, meta-messages, and victim blaming which are common
in both biopsychosocial and medical models. Unlike these other approaches, this
model does not conceptualize a patient as deficient or defective in any way. This
method is also reliable because it views a disorder as a product of the
interaction between various causal factors. As a result, the problem is addressed
fully through an analysis of all relevant factors including developmental,
social, emotional, and psychosocial influences.
Question
2: Discussion
I
feel that a person-centered therapy would be efficient in dealing with my
emotional difficulties. In this approach, the therapist would respond by giving
charge of the treatment process. He/she would assume a passive role. In this
case, I would be able to develop solutions to the psychological disorder. I
would be able to come up with the causes of the difficulties without feeling
like I am exposing my weaknesses to a second party. This therapy should also
take the form of a humanistic approach. In so doing, the therapist would
facilitate the process of understanding myself as a whole. My behavior would be
analyzed not only through the eyes of the observer but also from my opinion
being the person who is doing the behaving. This approach is also beneficial
because it leads to the easy identification of biological, behavioral, social,
and emotional factors associated with the disorder.
Question
3: Discussion
Diagnostic
labeling is not a good approach in treatment because it leads to people seeing
only the diagnosis and not the client. This may lead to downplaying of the many
positive traits of the client and concentrating on specific problems.
Additionally, labeling leads to a condition of all-or-nothing diagnosis. The
labeling of emotional, behavior and learning problems are always categorical.
Despite the fact that some of these problems run along a varying degree of
severity, decisions made regarding the threshold may serve as the final
determination of whether a person has a disorder or not. For example, labeling
students suffering from ADHD may be difficult because of the wide range of
traits associated with the disorder. On the other hand, if the labeling is
effective, an educator might be biased when passing information to the
learners. Nevertheless, labeling can be an effective tool for promoting
possibilities of treatment, enhancing academic treatment, and empowering the
parents and educators on matters related to the kids’ treatment.
