How are psychological disorders treated?

Fundamental & Powerful Concepts:

treatment – providing clients with relief from distress caused by their symptoms

Vocabulary:

biomedical therapy - attempts to correct the specific biological defects underlying disorders and alleviate symptoms, often using drugs

psychotherapy - process during which a trained clinician interacts with a client to help her/him feel, think, and behave differently

psychotherapeutic approaches – treatments based on the viewpoint of the therapist

evidence-based practice – treatment that incorporates the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and knowledge of the client’s sociocultural background, preferences, and values

eclecticism – not rigidly adhering to a single theoretical perspective, but instead drawing form a variety of techniques for therapy.