Depressed Willie
AP Psychology: Unit 2 Essay
Prompt:
Willie has been diagnosed as suffering from major depressive disorder. Describe the treatment he might receive from a psychoanalyst, a cognitive therapist, and a biomedical therapist.
Response:
Willie has major depressive disorder, a more specific disorder that falls under mood disorders. He probably suffers from lethargy, low levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, sluggishness, changed eating habits, chronic fatigue, and lack of interest in previously entertaining interests. These symptoms usually last more than 2-3 weeks without probable cause. If this depression were brought on by an extremely stressful event, it would not be diagnosed as major depression, but rather as dysthmic disorder. Willie's treatment for major depressive disorder differs depending on which therapist he goes to.
A psychoanalyst would probably attribute Willie's depression to his past childhood experiences. Psychoanalysts typically see psychological disorders as internalized conflicts between the id- ego- superego or pertaining to repressed impulses. He would probably allow Willie to freely talk about various problems (free association) until resistance is encountered. Resistance is defined as when the client avoids a subject due to the anxiety it creates from being in the client's consciousness. A psychoanalyst brings these problems to light, interprets them, and makes the client aware of them.
A cognitive therapist would probably use Albert Ellis' process known as rational emotive thinking. This allows the patient to talk freely as well, focusing primarily on his negative thought process. Depressives are known to attribute blame solely to themselves without the aid of self- serving bias. They perceive all negative events as stable, global, and internal. Cognitive therapists make their clients aware of such irrational thinking patterns and try to change it to produce a better thought process. This therapy appeals to Willie's logical side by showing him the stupidity of his repetitive bad thought that says 'I'll die if another girl rejects me because I'm not good enough for anyone. I should go eat worms.' Positive thinking replaces these negative self- concepts.
A biomedical therapist would probably prescribe an antidepressant drug to Willie. Biomedical therapy primarily focuses on biological causes and changes of a person's psychological disorder. Majorly depressed Willie, for example, has a low level of serotonin and norepinephrine, which accounts for his hopelessness and lethargy. To rectify the situation, he would undergo drug therapy, or more specifically, Prozac. If this does not help, ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) would be applied in the rarest of cases.
However, all therapists would help Willie by giving him more hope, a new perspective, and an empathic, caring relationship.
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