Second General Meeting

Today is CPIC's second general meeting in year 2011. We have invited Ms Liu from CPCS to give us a talk about her experience as a clinical psychologist. Due to the smaller number of CPIC members who attended, the talk became a warm, sharing session. We all sat on the floor and chit-chatted with Ms Liu, gaining invaluable insights. A lot of questions have been posed, and Ms Liu answered them with great enthusiasm. Thank you Ms Liu, for your time and effort! And also to the members, thank you for coming for our second event this year! :-D We may be a small bunch but we'll grow!

Photos will be posted up soon, so, stay tuned! :-D

Member's Feedback

9^th March 2011                                       Second General Meeting   

Back and kicking! Second GM awaits you! :-D

Who said we're dead and gone?

CPIC is BACK with more goodies for members and non-members alike!

Join our sharing session with Clinical Psychologist Ms Liu Moy Yub this Wednesday, 9th March 2011, from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. Head over to L.H. 9.3 at Wisma HELP and DRAG YOUR FRIENDS ALONG! :-D

P/s: We've got games too!

First General Meeting 2011 -- Dissociative Amnesia

Yesterday was our first General Meeting and it was a BLAST! Aside from discussing about Dissociative Amnesia (the disorder with the most votes during Clubs and Societies Day), we had a few games; but on top of that, everybody enjoyed themselves to the max! Everybody became friends at the end of the session, which was the best part! :-)

Ice-breaking game: Animal Kingdom. Everybody was still rather reserved at that moment.

Members' Feedback -- 26th January 2011

Our first general meeting was considered a success! Although only a fraction of the newly registered members attended the meeting, but everybody had fun. :-) Updates will be posted soon, so stay tuned!

Remember that some us wrote something onto a piece of orange paper just now? We appreciate all the comments because they have given us a chance to look at ourselves.

The purpose of us having this at the end of every meeting is that we hope to see what we can do to deliver satisfaction to our members. We love hearing from our members, be it positive or negative comments; and we will love it even more if our members give us suggestions regarding the club as a whole, and future events or activities! We are practising a transparency policy with this activity, so we will not censor anything, unless vulgarities are included or when sensitive issues are raised. Don't be shy, but if you really are shy, you can also give us feedback through email! :-)

The original copy will be posted on our notice board on Level 8, Wisma HELP. This is the soft copy, and the orange italics are the replies to your comments! :-D

First General Meeting 2011

Clubs and Societies Day, January 2011

Two days ago was HELP’s Clubs and Societies Day. Six CPIC members arrived at 11:30am to set up the CPIC booth. Not something to be proud of, but we just managed to finish setting our booth up when HELP students started pouring in. Apparently, being FULLY prepared is something that we still have to work at.

Our team of six spent a lot of effort in introducing our club to the mass. I would say that this time round, the team has done a great, great job because the number of new members broke previous records – it doubled! So give yourselves a pat on the back for all the enthusiasm and hard work! We will be able to keep this up and better improve the CPIC!

Words are cumbersome, so I shall let the photos do the talking:

Xiang Yi introducing the CPIC potential 'customers'...

Diagnostic Tools

Diagnostic Testing (A Talk by Masters of Clinical Psychology students) Want to know how diagnostic testing are invented and how they are used? Come and find out more at Clinical Psychology Interest Club meeting! Date: 10 November 2010 Place: Wisma HELP L.H 9.5 Please confirm your attendance on our Facebook Event. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=129738650414097&num_event_invites=35

PsychoEducation Workshop

PsychoEducation Workshop.

We would like to invite all members and non-members of CPIC to join us for this coming PsychoEducation Workshop. This workshop will be conducted by HELP students who are currently pursuing their Masters in Clinical Psychology. In this workshop, you will learn about different approaches to psychotherapy, mainly on Albert Ellis and Carl Rogers in the real working world. The program of the day is as below:

Date: 27th October 2010 (Wednesday)

Time: 12.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.

Venue: Yet to be confirmed.

Workshop 1: October 27, 2010 (12.30-2pm)

Introduction Introduction to the objectives of the workshop and assess expectations of the workshop and the field of clinical psychology Part 1- Introduction on therapy An interactive discussion regarding their understanding of therapy Part 2- Video (Albert Ellis & Carl Rogers) Showcase of different approaches to therapy Part 3- Share experience and Q & A Dscussion on the differences between approaches and identify approaches that students prefer Sharing on Master's students' personal experience regarding the Clinical Psychology program

Becoming a Clinical Psychologist.

Do you want to be a clinical Psychologist?
If yes, what should you do after getting a degree in Psychology.
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a Clinical Psychologist? Do all clinical psychologist have to deal with mental-ill patients?
What are the job prospects in Malaysia?
Where can I work as a Clinical Psychologist?

The Clinical Psychology Interest Club committee understands that many students who are at the crossroads have the same probing questions as you. So, we've arranged a talk tailored to answer your questions.

We are truly honored to have our in-house lecturer, Dr. Ng Wai Sheng to give us a talk on "Becoming a Clinical Psychologist!" After Dr. Ng has shared her working experience, a group of Master's student will conduct a Q&A session with you where you can ask anything pertaining to the topic. That's one good news. The other good news is that we will be giving free refreshment towards the end of our program. Feel free to mingle around with us.

Here is the details:
Wednesday, September 29 · 12:30pm - 2:00pm
Location Wisma HELP (exact venue to be confirm)

For more information, please proceed to our Facebook link http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110308122361806&ref=ts and confirm your attendance. We look forward to seeing you.

Phobia.

Hi everyone.

At this point of time, you'd be done with assignment deadlines and preparing for Finals of this short semester. I know, it has been tough for some of us, having to juggle between different deadlines and presentations all at once. Last meeting, we had an interesting discussion on the topic "Phobia". Kah Yan, the coordinator took us through the topic of fear at the start of the meeting. We thought this would of interest for you because all of us have fears and so, we can relate to this topic. For example, we have fear of exams. We have sweaty palms before entering the exam hall. We worried about the end result, whether we would pass with flying colors or fail to meet our expectations. On the other hand, we have unreasonable fear that gives rise to the phobias we experience. So, what is phobia? We heard of it many times...but really, do we have the right understanding for it?

What is phobia?

A phobia is an irrational and persistent fear of certain objects, activities or people. People with phobias will typically go to great lengths to avoid the feared object, situation or person. A diagnosis of an anxiety disorder may be made if the daily functioning of the individual is compromised by his or her excessive fear.

There are three types of phobia:

1. Specific phobia which is the most common type of phobia.

Specific phobia is marked and persistent fear that is excessive or reasonable. It can be caused b the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation (e.g. flying, heights, animals, seeing blood, receiving injection.) This stimulus usually triggers an immediate anxiety response which may give rise to predisposed panic attack. So, the person stays away from situation and stimulus to avoid intense anxiety and distress.

Specify type:

-animal type

-natural environment type (e.g heights, storms,water)

-blood-injection-injury type

-situational type (e.g. airplanes, elevators, enclosed places)

- other type (e.g., phobic avoidance of situation that may lead to choking, vomiting or contracting an illness, in children, avoidance of loud sounds or costumed characters)

2. Social phobia

This is marked with persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations where the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny of others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing. The person usually avoid performance situation to avoid enduring with intense anxiety or distress.

3. Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia means fear of being in places where it may be difficult or embarrassing to get out quickly especially when you think you will experience another occurrence of panic attack. Because of this fear, the person avoids the places where one think he or she may have a panic attack or panic-like symptoms. Commonly feared places and situations can be elevators, lines, bridges, driving, shopping mall and airplanes. Because the fear is too overwhelming, the person will choose to stay at home and avoid public places. It is painfully challenging and it robs you from an enjoyable life.

Top 10 Common Specific Phobia

•Acrophobia (height)

•Nytophobia (dark)

•Claustrophobia (confined space)

•Ophidiophobia (snake)

•Arachnophobia (spider)

•Trypanophobia (medical needle)

•Astraphobia (Lighthing)

•Nosophobia (disease)

•Mysophobia aka Germophobia (dirt or contamination)

•Triskaidekaphobia (fear of number 13)

Now, guess what does this phobia mean? Ahh.. without using google.

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

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It's fear of LOOOOONNNGG WORDS!

How about this?

Phagophobia

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It's fear of swallowing. Abnormal fear of eating.

Thankfully, in most cases, there is a remedy especially for those who has irrational fears that robs them from functioning normally.

Treatment

1. Systematic desensitization and exposure (for specific phobias) and cognitive behavioral therapy (for social phobias).
2. Beta-blockers may be effective in treating performance-anxiety symptoms.
3. Drugs used in generalized social phobias include SSRIs (doses higher than those used in depression) or an MAOI (such as phenelzine). See also Panic Disorder for detailed description of medication issues.

For the second half of our meeting, we had a brief explanation on what 'Laugh Therapy' is about and its benefits.

Laughter therapy, which is also known as humor therapy is a therapeutic process which claims beneficial effects from using positive emotions associated with laughter. After all, laughter is the best medicine.

According to laughtertherapy.webs.com, laughing can help in:

a) lowering blood pressure

b) reducing stress hormones

c) increasing muscle flexion

d) boosting immune function by raising levels of infecting-fighting T-cells, disease fighting proteins called Gammainterferon and B-cells, which produce disease destroying antibodies.

e) triggering the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers that produces a general sense of well-being.

Other benefits include internal workout. Good news for us who wants to shade some calories. Laughter also gives us a positive perspective when we are caught in a gloomy situation. It allows us to think of the bright side of things, sometimes. Laughter also bonds us together with our family and friends. No wonder it's always good to laugh together. Happy people attracts people together! =)

Here are some videos. Hope it will tickle your funny bone.

Have a great weekend ahead. We look forward to see you in the next semester!

Reference:

Psychology Net: http://www.psychologynet.org/dsm/specphob.html

NO Meeting on 16th June 2010 (Wed)

Hi everyone,

Due to an unforeseen circumstances. we, the committee members have decided that there will be no CPIC General Meeting this week. However, the meeting will be resumed on the 30th June 2010, 12-2 p.m. The venue has yet to be confirmed after a reservation has been made. Please come and join us as we explore a new topic on "Phobia".

See you there.

Antisocial And Psychopath

Is Hitler a psychopath?

What is ASPD & Psychopath?

Antisocial Disorder

A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15, as indicated by at least 3 of the following:

Failure to conform to social norms and repeated lawbreaking; deceitfulness; impulsivity of failure to plan ahead; irritability and aggressiveness; reckless disregard for safety of self or others, consistent irresponsibility; lack of remorse

The individual is at least 18 years of age

There is evidence of Conduct Disorder with onset before age 15

Psychopathy

Affective and interpersonal core of disorder and reflect traits such as lack of remorse or guilt, lack of empathy, superficial charm, grandiose of self worth and pathological lying

Behaviour that involves antisocial, impulsive and socially deviant lifestyle such as need for stimulatin, poor behaviour controls, irresponsibility, and a parasitic lifestyle

The difference is…

Characteristics of Psychopath

• Charming
• Intelligent
• Polite
• Manipulative
• Narcissist

Prevalence

• Rare - 1.23 % - 3.46 %
• ASPD – Higher – 3 % male, 1% female

Causal factors

• Genetic
• Social contribution
• SES, constraints on choice, and motivation
• Attachment
• Family variables and parenting

Come Join Us!

Hi everyone, thank you for dropping by at our booth on Club and Society Day. We appreciate your support. Good news is we've got over 20 students to sign-up on that day. Our first general meeting kicked off last Wednesday, 2nd June. The topic of the day was Antisocial, disorder. Kah Yan, our coordinator had came up with a creative way of communicating the disorders to our new and existing members. She introduced to us an episode of Criminal Minds about a psychopath person, who has multiple sex partners and is a con man. And like most psychopath, he is charming, violent, narcissistic and feel no guilt after murdering his lovers.

If you've missed this meeting, don't worry. We want you to look forward for the upcoming activity. On the 16th June 2010, come and join us for our second general meeting. We'll be discussing about phobia. Everyone has a phobia to a certain extend. It will be fun knowing each others' phobia and how we cope with it. :) Get to know new friends and enjoy yourself.

Drop us an e-mail at helpcpic@gmail.com if you're interested to know more about us or confirm the venue for the next meeting. If you've signed up on the Club and Society Day, you will receive an e-mail notification from us soon.

See you there!

Date	Activities
2nd June 2010	Antisocial	Finish
16th June 2010	Phobia & Coping Skills
30th June 2010	Gender Identity Disorder and Sex Education

Get To Know Us

Do you have interest in Clinical Psychology?

Do you want to know what Clinical Psychology is all about?

Do you want to know what CPIC has in store for you for this semester?

Do you want to be a member of CPIC?

Do you want to know more about Psychological Disorders such as depression, psychopath and schizophrenia?

If you say yes to all of these questions, come and visit our booth (B5) on Club and Society Day at DSA, Level 5, Wisma HELP on 26th May 2010 from 12-2 p.m.. It is our pleasure to warmly welcome new members to join us. To our existing CPIC members, spread this good news around. Feel free to lend a hand to us on the day itself too. Looking forward to see all of you!

Our Blog with A Facelift.

Hi! Welcome to our blog. Our blog has been given a new facelift.
This blog serves the purpose of posting announcements on our fortnightly meetings and all the exciting events for the next coming semester from May-July 2010.

Don't miss out our featured posts (just below our blog heading). This gadget highlights a few good, interesting articles such as "How to make a friendship grow" written by our seniors. There will be more new articles on the way!

Also, check out our new links. Now, online articles are just at your fingertips with "Link me to" gadget! Learn more about what Abnormal Psychology is all about. Good news is that we will have more links to other websites soon! We're still in the quest of finding good, reliable sources for your reading.

We hope you'd like the new layout. Have a good study break. All the best for your finals and Happy Holidays in advance. If you would like to give us your feedback on this blog or suggestions to improve it, feel free to contact us at helpcpic@gmail.com.

Bipolar Disorder

Symptoms of bipolar disorder
People with bipolar disorder experience both depression and periods of mania (Benneth, 2006).
What is Depression and Mania?
Depression
According to World Health Organization (WHO), depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood. DSM-IV-TR defines a major depressive episode presence for at least two weeks (Benneth, 2006).
The following are the symptoms in depression:
• Loss of interest or pleasure
• Feelings of guilt or low self worth
• Disturbed sleep or appetite
• Low energy
• Poor concentration.

Mania
According to DSM-IV-TR, mania involves at least three of the following:
• Inflated self-esteem
• Decreased need for sleep
• More talkativeness than usual or pressure to keep talking
• Flight of ideas or the experience that thoughts are racing
• Distractibility
• Increase activity or psychomotor agitation
• Excessive engagement in high-risk activities

There are two types of bipolar disorder as described in DSM-IV-TR
Bipolar disorder I
• Occurrence of depression and mania are experience by individuals alternately (Benneth, 2006).
• Whereby, some people may experience multiple episode of depression or mania with a period of “normality” between the gaps (Benneth, 2006).
• Besides, there are some people may experience both episode depression and mania in a day (Benneth, 2006).
Bipolar Disorder II
• Occurrence of depression is dominated (Benneth, 2006).
• Episode of mania is NOT experienced by the individual (Benneth, 2006).
• Individual with this disorder may swing between episodes of hypomania and severe depression (Benneth, 2006).

Hypomania: A raise in daily activities which beyond the normal but not as extreme as mania.

Causes for bipolar disorder

Genetic Factor
When talking about biological causes, the first issue is whether bipolar disorder can be inherited. This question has been researched through multiple family, adoption and twin studies. In families of persons with bipolar disorder, first-degree relatives (parents, children, siblings) are more likely to have a mood disorder than the relatives of those who do not have bipolar disorder. Studies of twins indicate that if one twin has a mood disorder, an identical twin is about three times more likely than a fraternal twin to have a mood disorder as well. In bipolar disorder specifically, the concordance rate (when both twins have the disorder) is 80 percent for identical twins, as compared to only 16 percent for fraternal twins. (Identical twins occur when one fertilized egg splits in two, so they share the same genetic material; fraternal twins come from separate fertilized eggs, so the mixtures of genetic material are different.) There is overwhelming evidence that bipolar disorder can be inherited and that there is a genetic vulnerability to developing the illness.

Neurotransmitters
However, exactly what is inherited? The neurotransmitter system has received a great deal of attention as a possible cause of bipolar disorder. Researchers have known for decades that a link exists between neurotransmitters and mood disorders, because drugs which alter these transmitters also relieve mood disorders. Some studies suggest that a low or high level of a specific neurotransmitter such asserotonin, norepinephrine or dopamine is the cause. Other studies indicate that an imbalance of these substances is the problem, i.e., that a specific level of a neurotransmitter is not as important as its amount in relation to the other neurotransmitters. Still other studies have found evidence that a change in the sensitivity of the receptors on nerve cells may be the issue. In short, researchers are quite certain that the neurotransmitter system is at least part of the cause of bipolar disorder, but further research is still needed to define its exact role.

Stress Triggers
These can range from a death in the family to the loss of a job, from the birth of a child to a move. It can be pretty much anything, but it cannot be precisely defined, since one person's stress may be another person's piece of cake. With that in mind, research has found that stressful life events can lead to the onset of symptoms in bipolar disorder. However, once the disorder is triggered and progresses, "it seems to develop a life of its own." Once the cycle begins, psychological and/or biological processes take over and keep the illness active.
Putting it all together
When we look for the cause of bipolar disorder, the best explanation according to the research available at this time is what is termed the "Diathesis-Stress Model." The worddiathesis means, in simplified terms, a physical condition that make a person more than usually susceptible to certain diseases. Thus the Diathesis-Stress Model says that each person inherits certain physical vulnerabilities to problems that may or may not appear depending on what stresses occur in his or her life(4). Durand and Barlow define this model as a theory "that both an inherited tendency and specific stressful conditions are required to produce a disorder."

So the bottom line, according to today's thinking, is that if you are manic depressive, you were born with the possibility of developing this disorder, and something in your life set it off.

Treatments for bipolar
Pharmacotherapy 3 types of medication:
Antidepressant
Antidepressant was first introduced in the 1950s (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). It is known then, as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Just as the name suggested, it inhibits enzyme monoamine oxidase from working and without this enzyme, norepinphrine and serotonin would not breakdown (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). However, there is a deadly risk in taking this drug. It reacts with food that contains amino acid tyramine (e.g. red wine, salami) (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). From 1960s to 1990s, tricyclic antidepressant was used (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). It increases the neurotransmission of norepinephrine and serotonin (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). However, there is only a 50 percent that this medication might work (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Besides that, its side effects are very unpleasant to some of the patients (e.g. dry mouth, constipation, sexual dysfunction) (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Because of the side effects of the two medications, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) was introduced (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). It has lesser side effect compare to tricyclic antidepressant but, its effectiveness is the no better than tricyclic antidepressant (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). For bipolar disorders, the antidepressant only treats its depressive symptoms. Thus, it has to be paired with other treatments to treat its manic symptoms.
Lithium and mood stabilizers
Lithium is a widely use treatment for bipolar disorder as it deals with the manic and depressive symptoms (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). It helps to avoid recurrent episodes of manic and depression. However, not all of the patients have the same effect (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Only one-third of patients react to the treatment (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Plus, there are negative side effects as well, such as, weight gain, lethargy, cognitive slowing, decreased motor coordination and gastroinstestinal difficulties (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Patients that do not react towards lithium will be given anticonvulsants, for example, carbamazepine, divalproex and valproate (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010).
Antipsychotics drugs
Patients that show symptoms of hallucinations and delusions will be given antipsychotic drugs as well to treat the psychosis symptoms (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010).

Biological Treatments
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Only patients with severe bipolar disorder where drugs have no effects will be given this treatment option (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Electrical current will be delivered to the patients’ brain in which it will cause brain seizures (Hoeksema, 2004). However, it causes a decrease in patients’ cognitive performance (Hoeksema, 2004). Furthermore, the patient may have a high percentage in relapse (Hoeksema, 2004).
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Intense pulsating magnetic field is delivered briefly to the cortex to encourage electrical activity in the brain (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). There will be no pain and it takes only 2 to 6 weeks for a positive result (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). It is better than ECT as the treatment does not decrease cognitive performance and it may even increase its performance (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010).
Bright Light Therapy
This therapy is used for seasonal affective disorders; however, study has shown that this therapy is effective against depression (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). The therapy changes the brightness of the environment such as by letting in sunlight to the room or use artificial light (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). This will help to change the circadian rhythm of the patient (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Once again, these biological treatments are only effective against the depressive symptoms (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). These treatments would be paired with other treatments that deal with bipolar (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010).
Psychotherapy
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy
The main function of the therapy is to defy the autonomic thoughts that the patient has (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). For example, the therapist might ask the patient to challenge their idea of being worthless. For bipolar disorder, it has to be paired with medication to enhance its effectiveness (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). There is another type of CBT known as mindfulness based cognitive therapy (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). This therapy focuses on the acceptance or the awareness of the autonomic thoughts of the patient (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). This therapy is effective on patients with between episodes (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010).
Interpersonal Therapy
Interpersonal therapy focuses on the interpersonal relationship issues that the patients have (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). It helps the patient to be more understandable towards their communication styles and why they failed in adapting the situation (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Bipolar patients would be treated by having a stabilize interactions with other people (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010).
Family and Marriage Therapy
In this therapy, family members are a very important aspect (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Family members would be educated with patients’ disorders and what intervention should be used to help the patients (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). This would help the patients’ family member to be more understanding and to prevent any negative views or perspectives of the family members towards the patient (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010).

References

Bennett. P. (2006). Abnormal and Clinical Psychology; An Introductory Textbook. Butcher, J.N., Mineka, S. & Hooley, J.M. (2010). Abnormal Psychology (14th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Hoeksema, S.N. (2004). Abnormal Psychology (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. England: McGraw-Hill education, Open University Press. Read. K., 2007, http://bipolar.about.com/cs/bpbasics/a/what_causes_bp.htm, retrieved at 29 October 2009. Bennett. P., 2006, Abnormal and Clinical Psychology, Open University Press, New York: United States. Ge