C2- Psychopathology

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the development, breadth, manifestation, and

impact of psychological disorders.
Psychological disorders are treated using a medical, social and counseling model. Most
mental disorders are first treated using the medical model. My biggest concern with the medical
model is that it fails to view patients from a holistic approach therefore only providing solutions
in a form of pharmaceuticals. An example of the consequences of failing to consider individuals
from a comprehensive approach is illustrated by seeing the main character of the movie Precious.
Precious was the identified patient in her family and her community. Her anger and depression
that causes her to go into her fantasy world stem from her inability to feel in control of her world.
As we learned in Dr. Stensrud, Trauma Informed Care class, when people experience a highstress situation, they either freeze, fight or flee. Precious froze and went into a fantasy world in
which she had control and felt safe.
As I conclude my educational journey at Drake, I am thankful for having had read the
book The Whole-Brain Child. This book changed my parenting style and my ability to connect
with other professionals. Another book that reinforced the messaging of the importance of having
social supports when encountering an manic episode was the book The Bipolar Survival
Guide. According to the author people who have had a manic episode are 60% more likely to
have another one within the next 2 years, 70% of having another episode within the next 5 years.
This statistic, reaffirmed the struggle my dad and family dealt for 10 years, dealing with at least
one manic episode every 2 years. In summary I plan on continuing to read more books similar to
the Whole Brain Child and the Bipolar Survival Guide because it has proven to be
professionally and personally beneficial.