What Is Narrative Therapy Definition and Techniques

Narrative therapy is a psychological approach that seeks to adjust the stories one tells about one’s life in order to bring about positive change and better mental health. It considers people the experts on their own lives and views them as separate from their problems. Narrative therapy was developed by social worker Michael White and family therapist David Epston in the 1980s. Key Takeaways: Narrative Therapy The goal of narrative therapy is to help clients adjust and tell alternative stories about their lives so they better match who and what they want to be, leading to positive change.Narrative therapy is non-pathologizing, non-blaming, and sees clients as experts on their own lives.Narrative therapists view people as separate from their problems and strive to have clients view their problems that way too. That way a client no longer sees a problem as an unchangeable part of them, but as an external issue that can be changed. Origins Narrative therapy is a relatively new, and therefore lesser known, form of therapy. It was developed in the 1980s by Michael White, an Australian social worker, and David Epston, a family therapist from New Zealand. It gained traction in the United States in the 1990s. White and Epston developed narrative therapy to be a non-pathologizing form of therapy based on the following three ideas: Narrative therapy respects each client. Clients are treated as brave and agentic individuals who should be commended for recognizing and working to address their issues. They are never viewed as deficient or inherently problematic.Narrative therapy does not blame clients for their problems. The client is not at fault for their problems and blame is not assigned to them or anyone else. Narrative therapy looks at people and their problems as separate.  Narrative therapy sees clients as experts on their own lives. In narrative therapy, the therapist and the client are on equal footing, but it is the client who has intimate knowledge of his or her own life. As a result, therapy is meant to be a collaboration between the client and the therapist in which the therapist views the client as having all the capabilities, skills, and knowledge necessary to address their problems. Narrative therapists believe people’s identities are shaped by the stories they tell about their lives. When those stories become focused on specific problems, the person often begins to view the problem as an inherent part of themselves. However, narrative therapy views peoples problems as external to the individual and seeks to adjust the stories people tell about themselves in ways that let them see their problems this way too. Narrative therapy’s stance is quite different from many other forms of therapy in which the therapist takes the lead. It can be uncomfortable and take a lot of practice for clients to successfully separate themselves from their problems. The Stories of Our Lives Narrative therapy positions stories as central to the way people understand and evaluate their lives. Humans use stories to interpret events and experiences. Each day many stories occur at the same time as we go about living our lives. These stories may be about our career, our relationships, our weaknesses, our triumphs, our failures, our strengths, or our possible futures. In this context stories consist of events that are linked in sequence across time. Together these linked events create a plot. The meaning we assign to different stories is based on the context of our lives, both as an individual and as a product of our culture. For example, an elderly African American male will likely tell the story of an encounter with a police officer very differently from a young, white female.   Some stories become dominant in our lives and some of these dominant stories can be problematic because of the way we interpret the events weve experienced. For example, perhaps a woman has a story of herself as unlikeable. Over her lifetime she can think of numerous times when someone didn’t want to spend time with her or didn’t seem to enjoy her company. As a result, she can string together numerous events into a sequence that she interprets as meaning she is unlikeable. As the story becomes dominant in her mind, new events that fit the narrative will become privileged over other events that dont fit the narrative, such as when someone seeks her out to spend time with her. These events might be passed off as a fluke or an anomaly. This story about being unlikeable will impact the woman’s life now and in the future. So, for instance, if she’s invited to a party, she may decline because she believes no one at the party will want her there. Yet the womans conclusion that shes unlikeable is limiting and has negative consequences on her life. Narrative Therapy Techniques The goal of the narrative therapist is to work with the individual to come up with an alternative story that better matches what they actually want from their lives. There are several techniques that are often used by narrative therapists to do this. They are: Constructing a Narrative The therapist and the client work together to tell the client’s story in the client’s own words. In the process, the therapist and the client look for new meanings in the story that may help them alter the clients existing stories or create new ones. This process is sometimes referred to as â€Å"re-authoring† or â€Å"re-storying.† This is based on the idea that one event can have many different meanings and interpretations. In narrative therapy the client will come to recognize that they can make new meanings from their life stories. Externalization The goal of this technique is to change a client’s perspective so they no longer see themselves as problematic. Instead, they see themselves as a person with problems. This externalizes their problems, reducing the influence they have on the individual’s life. The idea behind this technique is that if we see our problems as an integral part of our personality, they can seem impossible to change. But if those problems are simply something the individual does, they feel far less insurmountable. It’s often challenging for clients to embrace this perspective. However, doing so can be empowering and make people feel like they have more control over their issues. Deconstruction Deconstructing a problem means making it more specific in order to zero in on the core of the issue. When a story has been dominant in our lives for an extended period of time, we may begin to overgeneralize it, and therefore, have difficulty seeing what the underlying problem really is. A narrative therapist helps clients reduce the story to its parts in order to discover what the problem theyre struggling with really is. For example, a client may say he feels frustrated because his colleagues at work don’t value his work. This is a very general statement and it’s hard to develop a solution to this problem. So the therapist would work with the client to deconstruct the problem to get an idea of why he’s constructing a narrative in which hes being devalued by his colleagues. This can help the client see himself as someone who has a fear of being overlooked and needs to learn to better communicate his competencies to his colleagues. Unique Outcomes This technique involves looking at one’s story from a new perspective and developing more positive, life-affirming stories as a result. Since there are many stories we could potentially tell about our experiences, the idea of this technique is to reimagine our story. That way, the new story can minimize the problem that became overwhelming in the old story. Critiques Narrative therapy has been shown to help individuals, couples, and families with problems including anxiety, depression, aggression and anger, grief and loss, and family and relationship conflict. However, there are several criticisms that have been leveled at narrative therapy. First, because its been around for such a brief period of time in comparison to other forms of therapy, there isn’t a great deal of scientific evidence for the efficacy of narrative therapy. In addition, some clients may not be reliable or truthful in their narration of their stories. If the client is only comfortable putting his stories in a positive light with the therapist, he won’t get much out of this form of therapy. Moreover, some clients may not want to be positioned as the expert on their lives or to help drive the therapeutic process. People who are less comfortable expressing themselves in words may not do well with this approach. Moreover, the approach will be inappropriate for individuals who have limited cognitive or language skills, or who are psychotic. Sources Ackerman, Courtney. 19 Narrative Therapy Techniques, Interventions Worksheets. PositivePsychology, 4 July, 2019. https://positivepsychology.com/narrative-therapy/Addiction.com. Narrative Therapy. https://www.addiction.com/a-z/narrative-therapy/BetterHelp. How Can You Benefit From Narrative Therapy? 4 April, 2019. https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/therapy/how-can-you-benefit-from-narrative-therapy/?Clarke, Jodi. What is Narrative Therapy? Verywell Mind, 25 July, 2019 https://www.verywellmind.com/narrative-therapy-4172956Cline King, Laney. What is Narrative Therapy? HealthyPsych. https://healthypsych.com/narrative-therapy/GoodTherapy. Michael White (1948-2008). 24 July, 2015. https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/michael-white.htmlMorgan, Alice. What is Narrative Therapy? Dulwich Centre, 2000. https://dulwichcentre.com.au/what-is-narrative-therapy/

Thomas Aquinas vs. Descarates Essays - 673 Words

THOMAS AQUINA’S V. DESCARATES Meditation III Several hundred years ago, two great philosophers Thomas Aquinas’s and Rene Descartes used the method of ontological argument for the existence of God and used intuition and reason alone to get to each other’s theory. Rene Descartes wrote out several mediations, but the one we’re going to touch base on is meditation III that he wrote in the 1600’s; While Thomas Aquinas’s wrote his five proofs of God in 1270 that specifies God’s existence in each proof; the one that gives the best argument is the existence of God in his III proof. While both philosophers provide great information about their reason about God, Thomas Aquinas’s and Rene Descartes both attempt to prove the existence of God, but†¦show more content†¦Than there has to be something that already existed to make everything exist and for that to happen that had to be someone, so that is God. Aquinas also pointed one in one of his earlier proofs of the First Mover. Aquinas says that anything moved is moved by another, so there must be a first mover (a mover that is not itself moved by another) and that first mover is God. Both of the philosophers used great methods to come to their conclusion about how god came into existence. They both used different thinking methods to get to their well respected arguments but did come to the conclusion that God does â€Å"exist†. I believe the key difference about the two philosophers was the time difference between the philosophers, Thomas Aquinas wrote his proofs in the medieval ages around the 1200’s while ( with no disrespect) Rene Descartes wrote his meditation in the 1600’s. There is a big 400 year gap between ideas are compared but that came down to the same conclusion So in the end, Thomas Aquinas and Rene Descartes both attempted to prove the existence of God, but they differ in respect to the different thought processes to obtai n the existence of God. An still to this day both Philosophers are regarded as key factor in the world of philosophy and their arguments were so influential that they were able to land a spot in our textbook â€Å"THE GREAT CONVERSATION†. But thanks to these gentlemen and their contributions to their works were able

The Prescriptive and Emergent Approaches to Strategic Management free essay sample

Various definitions, approaches and theories have been put forward by scholars to explain strategic management, all looking at the process of strategy at different angles, from two approaches, the emergent and the Prescriptive approaches, trying to propose superiority on either approaches. Some scholars like Porter even advocate other alternative to strategic management. The truth is that, there is no best approaches just a management effort to seek out the best way for survival in this changing and dynamic business world and now in this period of economic turbulence. What is Strategy? From the Greek word ‘strategos’ which means ‘what the general do’, the word strategy dates back to the 1960s where scholars differentiated the schools of thought which has been influencing business life since then. Various definitions have been given to the term ‘Strategy’, according to Johnson and Scholes, strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term which achieves advantages for the firm through its manipulation of resources within a changing business environment to satisfy stakeholders. James Quinn (1998) saw strategy as the pattern or plan that integrates a firm’s major goal, policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole. To organize and allocate the firm’s resources efficiently based on its internal strengths and weaknesses, predictive environmental changes and competitors. Kenneth Andrews (1998) explains corporate strategy as the pattern of decisions in a company that determines and reveals its objective, purpose or goal, produces the principal policies and plans to achieve those goals, and defines the range of business to be pursued.. Lynch (2009), believes it’s the identification of the purpose of an organisation and the plans and actions to achieve that purpose. Porter (1996) says it’s about achieving competitive advantage through being different. Rowe et al. (1986) says it is the decision process that conjoins the internal capacity of the organization and the opportunities and threats from its business environment. And so on, the list of definitions is endless, but I believe that however strategic management is defined, the major issue is using available company resources to compliment the firm’s external business environment i. e. PESTLEC Model. Methods of approach may differ, but the end result for any firm should be same, to satisfy its stakeholders. The essence of strategic management is to address the over-all long term directions of the company, using SWOT analysis to create the appropriate strategy to cushion changes in the future of the business. Stoner identifies 5 stages of a logical decision making process; the investigative stages (gathering all relevant information on the situation of the business environment   factors), alternative decision development stage, evaluation stage, selection stage, and implementation and follow-up stage. The whole framework of strategy management is integrating corporate objectives with management activities supported by efficient operation functions to achieve effective organizational growth and development at all times especially in these present tough turbulent economy. The corporate management is involved in strategic management; they set the goals and objectives of the firm, stipulate the business culture of the organization, leadership style, agree on the business motives and define the stakeholders of the business. The middle management is then responsible for strategic planning, interpreting the corporate objectives and putting in place strategies to meet these objectives and coordinating operations management to implement it. It’s also used for budgeting and control, long ange planning, future strategic planning and management. According to Aaker (1984), it can also lead to market orientation; understanding, forecasting, and provision of customer’s needs especially in times of market turbulence like we have today, feeds information back to the firm, allow for better knowledge of factors, exposure to opportunities in international markets, improve decision making, help take advantage of available opportunities with company resources at less risks, improves operational process and development, bases for long term planning, and internal efficiencies. All these can also be seen as the advantages of strategic management planning to include managerial value, appraisal of present status, competitive advantage, encourage logical thinking in environmental turbulence, creates alternative approach to business and objectives achievement, allows for continuity, efficiency, growth and development of the firm and finally cushions effect from unforeseen events in the business arena. Strategy may be distinguished in content (what is involved), process (how it is done) and context (where it is done: the business environment). There are two schools of thought on how strategic management can be developed, the emergent and prescriptive approach, anchored by the works of Michael Porter (prescriptive) and Henry Mintzberg (emergent). Mintzberg and Waters(1985) also acknowledged various other types of strategies, but for this paper we’ll consider only the emergent and Prescriptive Approach: this is from the view of long term monitoring and control of business plans for the future, this approach analyses the resources available to the organisation internally (McKenzie’s 7s) and the external environment (Porter’s 5 forces and the   Factors), using the mission and objectives of the firm to formulate various strategies that can support the business in future, from which the most suitable is picked and implemented. It takes into account the organisations position for the future using SWOT analysis, strategic planning, environmental scanning and scenario playing. It is a top-to-bottom management process. Prescriptive approach uses market intelligence, classified objectives, well chosen enemy in this case a dynamic environment, to create an attack strategy and innovates the strategy to predict and cushion the effects of the changes in its business environment. It identifies the purpose of the organization and plans to achieve them. This approach can be likened to a football match, were the coach knows his opponents and forms a strategy to win the match. Prescriptive approach is pre-planned and set in motion to achieve its objectives. The approach also borrows theories from economists like Adam Smith in suggesting that the rationality of man and profit maximization were capable by management. It uses the BCG matrix to allocate resources to its SBUs. Singapore airlines, Spiller foods and Google are firms that engaged in prescriptive approach, unforeseen environmental activities like Sept. 11 and the SARS virus affected the airline, the Spillers was acquired but the approach didn’t fail and Google had to switch to the emergent approach to battle fast growing changes in its industry. Emergent Approach: this approach is constantly active, continuously learning, adapting and adjusting to changes as they come along with the aim of gaining competitive advantage in its industry. It combines recent environmental analysis with available capacity, innovations and technology, to achieve its goal using trials of strategic options to controls changes in its business environment. The approach follows an incremental process reviewing the patterns of the organization and learning from combined experiences from many sources. Mintzberg et al. 1998, argues for emergent rather than planned strategic approach. This approach combines new ways of thinking with available resource and technology to innovate various designs which can be implemented to create competitive advantage. It seeks new market opportunities, experiment and develops market share and growth. The fast changing environment calls for faster updatable changes in strategic management, emergent approach proposes continual revisit to strategy, changing company objectives and enemies and adapting to present consumer needs using technology and innovations. Prescriptive Vs. Emergent There is no 100% emergent approach, there has to be a plan which the emergent approach is built on. The prescriptive approach is based on long term management, has a quick over view of the company making managers plan ahead, it plans ahead, allows for market leading, reduces risks and prepares for setbacks which allows the firm to react quickly to the changes it has planned for. While the Emergent approach is on short term bases, can be costly if failing strategies are always picked, has no fixed time length and definite plan, its ongoing until the need for change arises, not immediately useable by large capital intensive organizations or financial investments, and it’s still based on initial prescriptive approach. On the other hand, the emergent approach is flexible, quick to adapt to market changes, short termed so it can be easily modified, it’s not over dependent on environmental changes but market, uses innovation and technology, managers who uses this approach are quick thinking and create competitive advantage, it is quick and simple to revert when risks occurs, takes immediate actions, create room for market growth and development and finally the approach is not over dependent on its old strategies. While the prescriptive is rigid, uses old thinking, analysis rather than synthesis, the approach may create wrong strategies which are slow to revert, it has no short term plan, the anticipated environmental change are really not predictable, seeks to influence change rather than react to them and office politics may lead to wrong choice of strategic plan. The emergent dynamics has two approaches, nature and intensity of industry competition. The prescriptive uses the â€Å"3S† framework of dynamic development or the aggressive planning competitive strategic management approach. The prescriptive looks at the purpose of the business, the unstable environment, the moving market and the firm’s resources to plan ahead. The emergent seeks new competitive advantages, creates aggressive competing and cooperative strategies to move with change. The content of emergent is trials and experimentation to arrive at different strategic plans which are selected using past learning and technical innovations to gain competitive advantage in a turbulent market with optimal solution and continuity. Changes in the present situation of the market environment is its context, and it follows the process of identifying the problem, proposing strategic plans, picking a suitable plan which will be continued based of success or failure of the plan. The prescriptive involves planning for the future using available resources and analysis of the business environment to achieve corporate objectives. Its context is the firm’s internal resources (7s theory), micro (Porter’s 5 forces) and macro- economic environment.

Types of Psychological Disorders

Psychological disorders are set of mental illnesses that primarily cause distress to individuals’ hence, negatively affecting all spheres of their lives. These disorders are manifested by a set of behavioural or psychological symptoms exhibited by individuals under undue distress. In most cases, psychological disorders result from an alteration on an individual’s normal development process, caused by an interaction between genetic factors and environmental stressors.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Types of Psychological Disorders specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to the World Health Organisation and other Global Psychiatric organisations, there exist more than one hundred and fifty types of psychological disorders that fall into different classes that include: eating, somatoform, factitious, cognitive, learning, trauma, disruptive, psychotic, dissociative, psychiatric, schizophren ia, adjustment, anxiety, and ,impulse control disorders (World Health Organisation 24-42). As research studies show, as compared to other health problems, globally, psychological disorders are the most common form of body disorders that affect most individuals. For example, in the United States alone, more than 46% of individuals have been victims of a mental illness at one point of their lives; of these 26.2% adults of over eighteen years. Further, by 2005, the global mental illness actual lifetime prevalence was almost 85% (Kessler, Berglund, Demler, Jin, Merikangas, Walters 593-599). Therefore, considering the detrimental effects of psychological illness on every aspect of an individual’s life, it is important for individuals to seek quick intervention measures, once they experience any psychological distress. Types of psychological disorders Eating Disorders Majority of individuals with eating disorders are compulsively concerned with their body weights and sizes. Hence, these individuals will do anything at their disposal to make sure they maintain or reduce their body sizes to sizes they or the society perceives to be the most appropriate. The common types of eating disorders include bulimia nervosa, obesity, compulsive eating, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating. Individuals suffering from bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are obsessively concerned with any weight they gain; hence, these individuals excessively control their eating habits, to avoid fattening. It is important for individuals to note that, sufferers of anorexia nervosa are the worst affected, because most of them are thin and exhibit signs of amenorrhea; hence, most of their weights are below the standard body weight.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Due to this obsession, most sufferers of these conditions may involve themselves in abnormal behaviours, for example, abuse of laxatives and anorectics, self-induced vomiting, binge-eating, starvation, avoidance of certain foods. Bulimia nervosa is common in more than 4.6% of women globally, whereas anorexia nervosa affects approximately 2% and 0.2% of women and men respectively. These psychological problems that may result due to continuous family conflicts between spouses, the need for self-identity, societal and media influences, or in some cases they can be learned behaviours. Unless controlled, these disorders can cause anaemia, malnutrition, and death (mostly in starvation cases). Contrary to bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, obesity and compulsive eating sufferers are obsessed with eating. These individuals have poor eating habits; hence, they always find themselves consuming beyond recommendable quantities, which unless controlled can cause excessive accumulation of fats in the body. Such accumulations are detrimental to an individual’s wellbeing; as this may result in other complicati ons for example, type two diabetes, stroke, the heart, liver, and gallbladder complications. Therefore, because of the complex nature of health complications that may result from these disorders, it is important for individuals to seek treatment, which can be inform of mental health and cognitive behavioural therapy, or nutritional counselling (National Institute of Mental Health: NIMH 1). Dissociative Disorders Dissociative disorders are a class of disorders that affect the normal functioning of individuals’ consciousness and acuity of their immediate environments, because of trauma. These disorders may also affect an individual’s memory identity, which can be gradual or impulsive, temporary or persistent. Therefore, most sufferers of these disorders are faced with problems of coping with life’s challenges. Common types of dissociated disorders include depersonalisation disorder, depersonalisation NOS, dissociative fugue, recovered memories and false memory, ga nser, and cultural syndromes, and dissociative amnesia. Most suffers of Dissociative amnesia have a tendency of forgetting their personal information, whereas those suffering from dissociative fugue sometimes forget about their surrounding; hence in most cases their state of mind will be in an imagined world. In addition, Individuals suffering from the depersonalisation disorder will tend to assume their personalities hence, they will take an external observers’ personality and read their mental processes and characters.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Types of Psychological Disorders specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The worst type of the dissociative disorders is the dissociative identity disorder, as most suffers of this condition have high suicidal tendencies. Primary treatment remedies to these disorders include psychotherapy and counselling, as most of these conditions need careful handling and proper understanding of a patient’s state of mind (Nijenhuis 7-17). Somatoform Disorders Somatoform disorders are a group of disorders that have symptoms that almost resemble those exhibited by individuals suffering from some form of physical diseases. However, unlike physical illnesses that has physical causes, this form of disorders lack physical causes. Symptoms associated with somatoform disorders are triggered by mental factors; hence, to diagnose these individuals, medical doctors must perform all required diagnostic tests. The most common types of somatoform disorders are conversion disorder (a severe condition caused by psychological problems, with no recognisable physical cause), undifferentiated somatoform disorder (conditions that illicit signs of some form of physical illness, which are non-existent in reality), and Hypochondriasis (a mental state characterised by fear of underlying diseases that do not exist). Other somatoform disorders include body dimorphic and somatoform NOS disorders. Common characteristics of these disorders include vomiting, body aches, and vision problems. To deal appropriately with this conditions, suffers have to undergo cognitive therapies and education trainings on how to cope up with the condition (Wise and Fava 1002-1003). Factitious Disorders Unlike in somatoform disorders where individuals exhibit signs of some non-existent physical illness, individuals suffering from fictitious disorders exhibit faked symptoms of physical illnesses for psychological contentment. Most of these patients can move from one healthcare centre to another in search of medical care, although in reality they are not sick. This condition can result because of an early traumatic or deprivation experience that individuals might have suffered during their early stages of life. Majority of these sufferers have higher likelihoods of becoming drug abusers, as most of them do not mind the risk of taking multiple medications. Common types of this disorder include malingering (a premeditated faked sickness), Munchausen syndrome (involves deliberately mentioning of a person when they fake sicknesses for consideration purposes), and Munchausen syndrome by proxy (a condition where individuals force their close family members or friends to fake illness for attention purposes). Due to the severe nature of consequences that may result from this disorder, it is important for sufferers to seek psychological help, which may include psychotherapy (for purposes of reforming the thinking way of the sufferer), family therapy (for warning purposes on the dangerous nature of these condition), and cognitive –behavioural therapy (for purposes of helping the suffers deal with the condition) (Taylor and Hyler 82-92).Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Cognitive Disorders Cognitive disorders are mental illnesses that impair the brain from performing its cognitive functions, which include memory processing, acuity, and problem solving. as research studies show, these from of disorder are the primary causes of other complications, for example, dementia, delirium, phobias, anxiety stress, and other anxiety disorders. In extreme cases, these disorders can cause other complex medical problems, for example, growth of malignant tumours, kidney problems, and schizophrenia. Main types of cognitive disorders include Huntington’s disease (a condition that is caused by the wearing out of the brain cells), mental retardation, Parkinson’s disease (a brain nerve anomaly that results in problems of muscle movement), and Amnestic disorder (a medical condition characterised by memorising problems). Because of the complex nature of medical complications associate with this condition, it is important fro caretakers and families to offer this individuals the kind of help they need, as most of these individuals are prone to many health complications (Long 1). Anxiety Disorders As research studies show, approximately 18% of United States adults have been victims of anxiety disorders once in their lifetime. These are a form of mental illnesses that are primarily characterised by too much fear, worry, and nervousness. Due to heightened anxiety, most sufferers of this disorder may have heart palpitations, sweat excessively, feel dizzy, have chest pains, and experience heart problems. As research studies show, this is a condition that be caused by the hypersensitivity of the locus or effects of a stressful childhood experience. There exist three common types of anxiety disorders namely phobias (characterised by intense fear of occurrences such as death, failing in a test, certain animals, suffocation, and addressing a multitude) and post traumatic stress disorder (mostly caused by a traumatic event; hence, characterised by traumatic dreams, hyper vigilance, lack of self control in some traumatic occurrences). Another common type is the Obsessive compulsive disorder (characterised by intrusive thoughts and recurrent longings to perform certain events). This condition can be caused by caudate nucleus malfunction or an early stressful experience. The primary treatment of these disorders is avoiding of stressful environment, which should be accompanied with psychological counselling and guidance (Long 1). Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is one of the most dangerous mental conditions, because the disorder can seriously affect the thinking process and emotional alertness of individuals. Its primary characteristics include auditory phantasms (accounts for 66% of schizophrenic cases), bizarre delusions (accounts for 44% of schizophrenic cases), and speech and thinking problems (accounts for 65% of all schizophrenic cases). Of all the mental illnesses, this is the most common mental illness that affects most in dividuals. This condition affects approximately forty million individuals globally, and d in most cases unless well diagnosed, it is very hard to give it the desired treatment remedy. As research studies show, approximately 50% of individuals with schizophrenia cases remain untreated, as individuals never discover that they are schizophrenic. The most common subtypes of schizophrenia include the paranoid, disorganised, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual type. To treat this illness completely, individuals have to go through an electroconvulsive therapy or numerous sessions of occupational psychotherapies, or they can use some medication to control the disease (NIMH 1). Learning Disorders Learning disorders are mental illnesses that affect the knowledge comprehending capacity of individuals, or their ability to correctly apply spoken or written language, or the capacity to control and coordinate movements in an appropriate manner. The most common types of leaning disorders incl ude attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (a condition characterised by lack of concentration), Dyscalculia (inability to solve mathematical problems), and dyslexia (reading problems). Primary remedies to these illnesses include speech and language, and psychological therapies, which should be accompanied with some medications (Schulte 598-608). In conclusion, considering the fact that, mental disorders are causes by either genetic anomalies or agents in the environment, individuals should reduce stressors in their environments, and in case they suspect an individual is suffering from a mental illness, it is important to help such individuals seek early medical intervention. Works Cited Kessler, Ronald, Berglund, Patricia, Demler, Olga, Jin, Robert, Merikangas, Kathleen and Walters, Ellen. Lifetime prevalence and age of onset distributions of DSM_IV disorders in the national comorbidity survey republication. Arch General Psychiatry, 62.6. (2005): 593-602. Web.. http://www. ph.ucla.edu/epi/faculty/detels/PH150/Kessler_DSMIV_AGP2009.pdf Long, Philip. Cognitive disorders. Internet Mental Health. 2009. Web.. http://www.mentalhealth.com/p20-grp.html National Institute of Mental Health. Eating disorders. NIMH. 2010. Web. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders/complete-index.shtml National Institute of Mental Health. Schizophrenia. NIMH. 2010. Web.. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml Nijenhuis, Ellert. Somatoform dissociation. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 1.4 (2000): 7-32. Web.. http://www.enijenhuis.nl/articles/Nijenhuis_somatoformdiss.pdf Schulte, Ann. Learning disorders. 2010. Web.. http://www.acnp.org/Docs/G5/CH44_597-612.pdf Taylor, Stuart, and Hyler, Steven. Update on factitious disorders. International Journal  of Psychiatry, 23.1 (1993): 81-94. Print. Wise, Thomas, and Fava, Giovanni. Issues fro DSM-V: psychological factors affecting either Identified or feared medical conditions: a solu tion to somatoform disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164 (2007): 1002-1003. Print. World Health Organisation. The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders. 1993. Web.. http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/GRNBOOK.pdf This research paper on Types of Psychological Disorders was written and submitted by user Sandman to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.