Explain psychological health, disorder and treatment

What this dot point is asking

Defining normality and abnormality

There is no single definition of "abnormal" behaviour. Common approaches include:

• Statistical infrequency: behaviour that is rare in the population.
• Deviation from social norms: behaviour that breaks cultural rules.
• Failure to function adequately: behaviour that stops daily living.
• Deviation from ideal mental health: falling short of criteria such as self-acceptance and autonomy (Jahoda, 1958).

Each definition has limits; for example, rare behaviour can be desirable (high intelligence), and social norms vary across cultures, so clinicians use several criteria together. Mental health is best seen as a continuum rather than a simple healthy or ill split.

Models of mental disorder

• Biological (medical) model: disorders arise from physical causes such as genetics, neurotransmitter imbalance or brain structure. For example, low serotonin is linked to depression.
• Psychological models: the behavioural model sees disorders as learned (phobias acquired through classical conditioning); the cognitive model focuses on faulty or negative thinking (Beck's negative cognitive triad in depression); the psychodynamic model emphasises unconscious conflict.
• Sociocultural factors: poverty, isolation and discrimination contribute to disorder.

Stress

Stress is the response to demands (stressors) that tax our resources. Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome describes three stages: alarm (sympathetic arousal), resistance (the body copes) and exhaustion (resources deplete, increasing illness risk). Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model stresses cognitive appraisal: stress depends on how a person evaluates a situation and their ability to cope. Coping can be problem-focused (changing the stressor) or emotion-focused (managing feelings).

Anxiety and depression

Anxiety disorders involve excessive fear; specific phobias can be explained behaviourally, as in the conditioning of "Little Albert" (Watson and Rayner, 1920). Major depressive disorder involves persistent low mood, loss of interest and changes to sleep and appetite. Beck's cognitive theory explains depression through negative views of the self, the world and the future.

Treatments

Biological treatments include medication, such as SSRIs that increase available serotonin to treat depression and anxiety. These can be effective but may have side effects and do not address underlying thoughts.

Psychological treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which combines challenging unhelpful thoughts with changing behaviour, and is widely supported for depression and anxiety. Systematic desensitisation uses classical conditioning principles to gradually reduce phobias by pairing relaxation with a feared stimulus.

Promoting wellbeing

Protective factors include strong social support, exercise, adequate sleep, and resilience. Positive psychology focuses on building strengths and life satisfaction rather than only treating illness.

Understanding wellbeing draws together biology, learning and social development from across the course into a holistic view of mental health.