What are the drawbacks of drug treatments for mental health problems?

Drugs can have side effects, such as weight gain or drowsiness. Drugs treat symptoms rather than causes, and symptoms may return when they stop.

What is psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is a talking treatment in which a trained therapist helps a person understand and change their thoughts, feelings and behaviour. CBT is one widely used form.

How is psychotherapy used to treat schizophrenia?

A therapist helps the person examine unusual beliefs and cope with symptoms such as voices. Psychotherapy is usually used alongside medication.

OCR GCSE Psychology J203

Criminal Psychology

Topic overview Types of crime and how crime is measured Social learning theory of crime and Cooper and Mackie's study Eysenck's criminal personality theory and Heaven's study Punishment, rehabilitation and restorative justice

Development

Topic overview Stages of development, the brain and IQ tests Structure of the brain Piaget's theory of cognitive development Piaget's conservation of number study and education Dweck's mindsets, Willingham and Blackwell's study

Psychological Problems

Topic overview Mental health, prevalence and changing attitudes Stigma, discrimination and the effects of mental health problems Schizophrenia and its explanations Clinical depression and its explanations Treatments and neuropsychology

Social Influence

Topic overview Conformity, crowds and culture Obedience and Bickman's uniform study Personality, the brain and the August riots Minority and majority influence on mental health stigma

Memory

Topic overview Information processing and the multi-store model Amnesia and the Clive Wearing case Reconstructive memory and Braun's Disney study Memory in advertising and the Wechsler Memory Scale

Sleep and Dreaming

Topic overview Sleep stages, functions and body clocks Freud's theory of dreaming and the Wolfman Activation synthesis theory and bizarre dreams Insomnia and its treatment

Research Methods

Topic overview Hypotheses, variables and experimental designs Sampling and ethical guidelines Experiments, interviews and questionnaires Observations, case studies and correlations Descriptive statistics, tables and graphs Reliability, validity and bias The five core areas of psychology

Psychological Problems

Treatments and neuropsychology

3 things to know
Component 01

Overview

Antipsychotics and antidepressants, psychotherapy for schizophrenia and depression and the drawbacks of each, and how neuropsychological tests and brain imaging are used.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

How do antipsychotic drugs treat schizophrenia?

Key term

How do antidepressants treat clinical depression?

Key term

How do drug treatments improve mental health?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
How do antipsychotic drugs treat schizophrenia?
Model answer
Antipsychotics block dopamine receptors in the brain, reducing the effect of too much dopamine. Positive symptoms such as hallucinations are often reduced.
2
How do antidepressants treat clinical depression?
Model answer
Many antidepressants increase the amount of serotonin available at synapses. The change in brain chemistry is thought to lift mood.
3
How do drug treatments improve mental health?
Model answer
Drugs change the actions of neurons and the way they interact at synapses. The changes can reduce symptoms so the person can function better.
4
What are the drawbacks of drug treatments for mental health problems?
Model answer
Drugs can have side effects, such as weight gain or drowsiness. Drugs treat symptoms rather than causes, and symptoms may return when they stop.
5
What is psychotherapy?
Model answer
Psychotherapy is a talking treatment in which a trained therapist helps a person understand and change their thoughts, feelings and behaviour. CBT is one widely used form.
6
How is psychotherapy used to treat schizophrenia?
Model answer
A therapist helps the person examine unusual beliefs and cope with symptoms such as voices. Psychotherapy is usually used alongside medication.

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