Case Study: Mental Health - Definition, Causes, and Psychological Treatment Options

This case study explores the difficulties in defining abnormality and normality in the context of depression, the causes of depression from different psychological perspectives, and the different psychological approaches for treating depression.

Case study- mental health

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Question 1........................................................................................................................................3
Explain the difficulties in defining ‘abnormality’ and normality...........................................3
Question 2........................................................................................................................................3
Explain the causes of Mr. G depression from at least 3 different perspectives / approaches
within psychology..................................................................................................................3
QUESTION 3...................................................................................................................................5
Now that Mr. G has been diagnosed with depression he can undergo treatment for his
disorder. Explain the different approaches for treating depression from a psychological
perspective..............................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Depression is a mental disorder characterised by symptoms like persistent sad mood, loss
of interest and motivation, appetite fluctuations, persistent tired feeling, reduced or excessive
sleep (Conway et. al., (2021)). This report will have covered definition of abnormality and
normality in context of depression, causes of depression from approaches within psychology and
psychological treatment options for Mr. G (the subject of case study).
Question 1
Explain the difficulties in defining ‘abnormality’ and normality
Mental illness is a kind of disorder, detection of which is based on the abnormal
behaviour or changes in the normalcy of the patient. But deciding what is normal and what is
abnormal is quite a task because a person behaving completely fine might as well be suffering
from depression (Cervi et. al., (2020)). The stated societal norms for differentiating between
abnormality and normality are also not ubiquitously accepted because of diversity in the
perceptions among different people. As in case of Mr. G, resting on the days he calls in sick is
not something abnormal and it does not point towards someone suffering from depression but
when all his symptoms are combined and analysed they are definitely counted in the symptoms
of depression. People even consider the things not happening in their favour as abnormal but it
might be normal for an optimistic person it will be normal (Bernard et. al., (2018)). It has also
been observed that people also have a perception of normal being “good” and abnormal being
“bad”. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate proper norms to distinguish between abnormal and
normal behaviour, especially for those suffering from mental illness so that their illness can be
identified and accordingly helped (Singh, (2022)).
Question 2
Explain the causes of Mr. G depression from at least 3 different perspectives / approaches within
psychology
Mr. G is a children's social worker who has been experiencing depressed mood and lack
of interest for the past month. The causes of Mr. G developing can be explained by:
Behaviourists theory: This theory works on the basis that all the behavioural changes in a person
happens due to the interactions with the environment and states that every behaviour is shaped

based on the previous environmental interaction. As Mr. G is a social worker, he has to deal with
a lot of cases of injustice with the children on daily basis (Elder, (2018)). These cases might have
filled negativity in him which has led to his behavioural changes like lack of pleasure and
interest. Also it can be possible that he might be experiencing a high work load at his work place
which is leaving him exhausted and tired for the day. Excessive workload might also explain his
discontinuation of museum and gallery visits with his daughter (Liao et. al., (2019)).
Cognitive theory: As mentioned in the case study that Mr. G was feeling worthless and
guilty as if he is letting people down. This symptom of depression can be explained by the
cognitive theory. The cognitive theory explains that negative feelings about one self, world or
future contributes to abnormal thinking resulting in a person being obsessed with negative
feelings and impairing his cognitive skills like decision making and problem solving.
As explained in the above theory that his nature of work and increased work load are the reason
of his negative feelings (Strohmaier, (2020)). These negative feelings are resulting in him being
obsessed with negative thoughts about himself and the world. This is resulting in impairing his
efficiency of working and thus making him think less of himself and feel worthless. He is also
developing a negative self-image as he has got into a habit of eating beyond his appetite because
of which he is gaining a lot of weight (van Steijn et. al., (2019)).
Medical theory: Medical theory of depression is linked with the decreased release of
happy neurotransmitters which are serotonin, dopamine and endorphins in the brain. Decreased
amounts of these neurotransmitters in the body are directly related to depression. As mentioned
in the case study that his job is very demanding, therefore the high workload is releasing more
cortisol (stress hormone) in his body which is behaving as a contributor in causing depression.
Excess work load is also not letting him have time for exercising and other physical activities
which is the cause of less amount of happy neurotransmitters being released in his body (Choi et.
al., (2019)).
Humanistic theory: Humanistic theory is based on the concept of self- actualisation by an
individual. This implies that an individual sees himself as his best self. Self-actualisation
provides individual with the motivation for improvement because self-actualisation is achieved
after seven levels of physiological needs, safety and security needs, love and belongingness
needs, esteem needs, cognitive needs and aesthetic needs. Mr. G has also lost his interest and
motivation in everything which has been depicted in the case study by the facts that he has

discontinued spending time with his family and chooses to sleep on his day off (Rane et. al.,
(2018)).
QUESTION 3
Now that Mr. G has been diagnosed with depression he can undergo treatment for his disorder.
Explain the different approaches for treating depression from a psychological perspective
Psychological treatments for depression are therapies involving talking sessions with
professional psychologists. These therapies are proven to bring positive effects in patients of
depression (Cuijpers et. al., (2020)). These talk therapies can be organised by the psychologists
in groups or one to one sessions as per the comfort of the patient. Following are psychological
approaches used for treatment of depression:
Behavioural therapy: Behavioural therapy is a blanket term for all therapies used for
treating mental disorders. This theory is based on the theory that every behavioural change is
based on the environmental interactions and that behaviours can be formulated and learned.
Therefore, the theory aims at modifying all the negative behaviours into positive ones and
motivates the patient to learn those behaviours (Yuan et. al., (2018)).
Cognitive behaviour therapy: CBT therapy is based on analysing the thought process of
the patient and aims at rectifying it (Cohen et. al., (2018)). This therapy can be helpful for
treating depression in patients of any age group. The psychologists using this therapy listen to the
thoughts of the patient, analyses the thought pattern and eliminate the presence of any sort of
negative thoughts. These negative thoughts are then replaced with positive and optimistic
thoughts. Following this replacement for a significant time period changes the thought pattern of
the patient permanently and thus filling the patient with positive thoughts. CBT therapy is also
known to be helpful in treating eating disorders related to mental disorders (Regehr et. al.,
(2021)).
Interpersonal therapy: Interpersonal therapy or IPT is a short term form treatment of
depression of 12 to 16 sessions which focusses on relieving symptoms by interpersonal
functioning. Interpersonal therapy involves the idea of treatment to current difficulties in
everyday relationships with other people (Cuijpers et. al., (2020)). It is a treatment with
antidepressants for mild to moderate forms of clinical depression. But this depression occurs in
interpersonal contexts and it affects relationships and the roles of people within those

relationships. Interpersonal therapy is related to family, peers and person's relationship. In the
IPT, the main focus is on the treatment of rapid symptom reduction and improvement in social
relationships. The treatment is manual based which simply means that the therapist strictly
adheres to the treatment process whose effectiveness can be seen in the evidences. The treatment
involves in how an individual reacts with or doesn't react with people socially.
Mindfulness based on Cognitive therapy: MBCT is based on the therapy that combines
cognitive behavioural techniques with mindfulness thoughts in order to help individuals better
understand and manage their lifestyle, thoughts and emotions in order to lead a healthy peaceful
life (White et. al., (2019)).
CONCLUSION
From the above context, it is concluded that Depression is a mental disorder characterised
by symptoms like persistent sad mood, loss of interest and motivation, appetite fluctuations,
persistent tired feeling, reduced or excessive sleep. Difficulties in defining abnormality and
normality was explained. Causes of depression from at-least three perspectives/ approaches
within psychology were explained. Different approaches for treating depression from a
psychological perspective was also explained and elaborated.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Choi, K. W., Houts, R., Arseneault, L., Pariante, C., Sikkema, K. J., & Moffitt, T. E. (2019).
Maternal depression in the intergenerational transmission of childhood maltreatment and
its sequelae: Testing postpartum effects in a longitudinal birth cohort. Development and
psychopathology, 31(1), 143-156.
Cohen, Z. D., & DeRubeis, R. J. (2018). Treatment selection in depression. Annual Review of
Clinical Psychology, 14, 209-236.
Conway, C. C., Krueger, R. F., & HiTOP Consortium Executive Board. (2021). Rethinking the
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van Steijn, M. E., Scheepstra, K. W. F., Yasar, G., Olff, M., de Vries, M. C., & van Pampus, M.
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White, C. A., Uttl, B., & Holder, M. D. (2019). Meta-analyses of positive psychology
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Yuan, S., Zhou, X., Zhang, Y., Zhang, H., Pu, J., Yang, L., ... & Xie, P. (2018). Comparative
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