Psychiatrists and Clinical Psychologists

Psychiatrists and Clinical Psychologists

Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists work in close relation with each other especially in dealing with severe cases of mental illness such as psychoses and some neurosis.

The psychiatrists is a physician with a medical degree (M.D.) Who

Specializes in psychological problems. He is qualified to prescribed drugs and other medical treatments. Some psychiatrists are also psychoanalysts,

receiving this designation because they specialize in the use of psychoanalytic procedures.

The clinical psychologists is usually a PH.D. in psychology ,although some also have an M.D.His major training and clinical experience is in psychology, with emphasis in behavior disorders .He may be accredited by a national or state board in clinical psychology .His function is to administer and evaluate psychological tests ,thus facilitating diagnosis .

Less serious behavior disorders, including problems of school or home adjustments ,are usually dealt with in psychological clinic .Here,

the clinical psychologists is responsible for no medical aspects of diagnosis and therapy .If the clinical psycholologist suspects the presence of the severe mental disorder ,he sends his client to a physician for medical diagnosis. Medical doctors, when they come across no psychotic behavior, disorders, and problems of adjustment ,refer their patients to a clinical psychologists. More serious disorders are referred to a psychiatrist.

Chapter 2

DETERMINANTS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

All human beings are more or less like each other in physical equipment .They vary considerably though in such factors as size,strength ,color of skin ,facial characteristics ,and intelligence .

How can we seem to be alike ,and yet so different from each other?

This is a question that must be answered before any attempt is made to understand the basis of human behavior.

Psychologists know that much of our behavior is shaped by events that happened long before our earliest childhood memories .They also study how we develop and grow all of our lives .Even during old age ,we still develop and much of it can be studied and understood. This chapter and the rest that follow will reflect our entrest in the entire life -span which is from conception to death.

Cause of individual differences

Heredity. Heredity is the process by which various characteristics are transmitted to the individual at the time of fertilization, two living germs

(sperm and egg). Unite to produce a individual. Within each of the germ cells or gametes are genetic materials consisting of chromosomes and genes.

The chromosomes (meaning colored bodies) are found within the nuclei of cells. Chromosomes are found in pairs. they carry the genes determine hereditary characteristics.

Chromosomes and genes.

the hereditary units we receive from our parents and transmit to our offspring are carried by structures, known as chromosomes, that are found in the nucleus of each cell in the body. most body cell contains 46 chromosomes. At conception, the human being receives 23 chromosomes from the father's sperm and 23 chromosomes from the mothers ovum.these 46 chromosomes from 23 pairs, which are duplicated each time the cells divide.

Each chromosomes is composed of many individual hereditary units called genes. a gene is segment of DNA has (deoxyribonucleic acid) which is the actual carrier of a genetic information. The DNA molecule looks like a twisted ladder or double stranded helix. A helix is spiral. all the DNA has the same chemical composition. it consists a simple sugar (deoxyribose), phosphate , and four bases. adenine, guanine, thyionine, and cytosine (A,G,T,C). the two strands of the DNA molecule are composed of phosphate and sugar, and the strands are held apart by pairs of bases. Due to the structural properties of these bases, a always pairs with T, and G always pairs with C. the bases can occur the sequence along the strands,and these sequence constitute the genetic code..

Genes, like chromosomes, occur in pairs. one gene from each comes from the sperm chromosomes and one gene from the ovum chromosomes, thus. A child receives only half of each parent' total genes. the total number of genes in each human chromosomes is around 1,000 perhaps higher. Because the number of genes is so high. It is extremely unlikely that two human beings would have the same heredity, even if they siblings. One exception is identical twins, who, because they develop from the same fertilized eeg, have exactly the same genes.

Genes have an important attribute which is called dominance or recessiveness. he genes determining the color of eye, for instance, act in a pattern of dominance and recessiveness. When both members of a gene pair are dominant, and individual manifests the form of trait specified by these dominant genes. When one genes is dominant and the other recessive. The dominant gene again determines the form of the trait. Only if the genes contribute by both parents are recessive is the recessive form of the trait expressed. Blue eye is recessive. Thus, the blue eye chilled may have two blue eyed parents, or one blue eyed parent or one brown eyed parent, each of whom are carries a recessive gene for blue eyes. Brown eyed child, in contrast, never has two blue eyed parents.

Sex-linked genes.

Male and female chromosomes appear the same when examined under the microscope, except for pair number 23, called X chromosomes. Normal male has one X chromosomes in pair 23 and one that looks slightly