RUNNING HEAD: PSYCHOLOGY 1

Research Study
(Name)
(University)
PSYCHOLOGY 2

What are the main differences between a modern and a postmodern approach to truth?
Modernism can be used to define enlightenment assumptions that concerns logic, rationality, and
play in determining our overall knowledge on the human condition (Caren I, 2001).
Postmodernism is the complete opposite of modernism as it challenges the modern type of
human assumption. The following are some of the differences between modern and postmodern
approach to the truth:

 Logical and scientific reasoning are relied upon to provide accurate and reliable data for
knowledge in modernism while in postmodernism the logical reasoning and science are
assumed to be myths or stories created by man.
 In modernism, reasoning exists independently of the existence of an individual, their
cultural or historical facts. This type of reasoning is normally universal and also
considered to be true while in postmodernism all the judgment on truth can only exist
within a certain specified cultural constraints.
 In modernism, logical reasoning and freedom are relatively linked; laws are there to give
support to what reasoning dictates. In postmodernism pure reasoning or skepticism is
believed to be against the fundamental rights of human freedom (Caren I, 2001).
 Science in modernism is considered as the basis of true knowledge and that logical
reasoning should be able to help individuals in overcoming all their conflicts. In
postmodernism science is no longer universal.
 Language in Modernism is considered as transparent, that is, the language is a
relationship between the word and the concept while in postmodernism the language is
normally fluid and related to power (Dettmar, 2006).
Explain a couple of the ways we Conceptualize Phenomena, describing the possible pitfalls
associated with them.
Conceptualization of phenomena can be referred to the action of coming up with ideas to sort out
the solution to an upcoming problem. These ideas are usually generated from the idea that is
related to the product and overall definitions of the design problem that are clearly stated. In
most occasions, these ideas are brought about by the needs that are expressed by some certain
individuals who are in need of the required solution; often the terms that are desired to be used
might not be specific, as a sought-for objective. Conceptualizing phenomena will always begin
with some general rules that will act as the guidelines for that specific design. Conceptualization,
most of the times may include safety, familiarity, encouragement, support and simplicity. After
this, the next step involves coming up with the basic tools for conceptualization. These tools are:
(a) decision making, (b) brainstorming, (c) creativity tools and (d) concept optimization
How do you, personally differentiate mental health from mental illness?
Mental health generally refers to one’s mental well-being; this includes things like emotions and
feelings. Mental health is the ability of an individual to be able to solve problems and be able to
overcome any challenges. Mental health also entails a person’s ability to know his or her social
connections and be able to understand how the world around them works. Mental illness is a
disease that normally affects the mind of an individual, it changes how this particular individual
PSYCHOLOGY 3

thinks, interacts, feel or behave with things or people around them. There exist different types of
mental illness and each of these illnesses has different ways of affection individuals. An
individual can have a poor mental health but it does not necessarily mean that the same
individual has some form of mental illness (National Institute of Mental Health. U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, 2017).
Are we overpathologizing everyday life? If so, give an example
Most of the daily activities normally lead to genuine addiction, so it is true that people are
overpathologizing everyday life. A good example is a 27 year old woman, who is currently a 2nd
year PHD student at a well-known university. She has an outstanding academic record with
several reviewed academic articles. Despite her profile, this academic prodigy can be seen to be
constantly stressed with obsessive thoughts that are normally work related. This makes her to
check her mail box 24/7 anticipating good responses from her peers about some of her published
work. Since she began her second year, she has been spending most of the time researching
through the scientific network in order to compare her performance to other colleagues. She
always feels exited and content every time she gets new citations. When she feels disappointed,
she engages in editing her resume and constantly checks her bibliometric indicators as she
considers these as her source of quick relief. This may create conflicts between her and the
people around her as she might not have time for them. Over the years, she will realize that
spending time upgrading her academic qualification has made her loose some friends. This type
of behavior can fit into the “Research Addiction” criteria.
What do you see as the main benefit of research for the field of psychotherapy?
Research in psychotherapy has led to increase awareness to different theoretical goals and a more
reliable interest in the form of empirical evaluation. There are pragmatic theories and other mini-
theories that developed for assisting inquiries about the technique that are usually formulated
from the research, and the trend that is normally followed by these sort of mini-theories are
usually focused towards the specific problem fields of which empirical evaluations will have to
continue. During these modern times, there exist lesser classical analysts than there were in the
past. Therefore research in psychotherapy has improved the way patients are treated (Wright and
Jess, 1 December 2008).
The analysis and the combination of cognitive and behavioral psychotherapy is slowly becoming
a common occurrence. Behaviorists are now able to witness the importance of cognition. These
behaviorists are now able to include newer versions of the analogy of the unconscious methods
in their medications. Psychodynamic therapy is no longer a long term solution, specifically in the
US. The evidence that is normally collected after the research has managed to change the idea
that transference interpretation has become a major ingredient when it comes to the efficacy in
the psychodynamic related approach, but this is only attributed to shorter time limits. The
psychodynamic is daily becoming more and more similar to the cognitive-behavioral orientation.
The psychodynamic approach though tends to retain most of its focus on the depths of the
therapeutic relationship while using the clinical tools as its defenses.
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What is the greatest benefit of Evidence Based Therapy and why?

Evidence based therapy allows the medical staff to use the best existing evidence as a starting
framework to carry out their diagnosis on a patient while at the same time giving them the ability
to individualize the treatment (Andersson and Gerhard, 2016). This type of therapy needs the
medical provider to critically go through the data that is available and relate it to an individual
patient before applying it. If the evidence is fully understood and practically achievable, it is the
work of the providers to determine when and how to administer the therapy to the patient. In
addition using this evidence based therapy will allow the providers to determine the best
treatment plans for a specific individual.
What are the main things you see as problems in the current system of mental health care?

 Lack of support- according to investigations from “psychology today”, psychologists are

doing a very poor job when it comes to maintaining their mental health stability and the
mental stability of the people that are around them. These medical providers normally
face the same problems that any other person in the world faces. The providers most of
the times do not receive any medical assistance from their colleagues and they end up
suffering in silence.
 The Health care Law- There are laws that contain the provision for the treatments
regarding mental illness, however these laws can be greatly improved, for example, most
people do not know that their insurance policy also covers their mental illness treatment.
 Lack of funding- some of the hospitals offering mental health care have limited
resources.
What are the most important attributes or skills a therapist should have to be effective in
working with their clients?

 Empathy- A good therapist should be able to understand and identify themselves with
somebody else experience even if the person does not directly communicate their feelings
or their thoughts explicitly
 Listening skills- an effective therapist should be able to actively listen to the next person
and be able reflect their thoughts back to them.
 A good therapist should also have a good social and communication skills
 For a therapist to be able to administer an ethical therapy, an individual should be able to
establish a healthy boundary between them and their patients (Frankie and Kwong, 2019).
What is your favorite Misattribution, describe what it is, and use it to explore a particular
issue or concern in the field of psychotherapy. If you do not have direct professional
experience in this field, that is fine, just think of an issue you have heard about.
Misattribution in psychology is the ability of a person to remember an action correctly but gets
wrong on the source from where he or she got the information. A good example is when my
friend who was an eye witness to a bank robbery pointed out confidently to a black man in a line
up as the bank robber, but the man was actually driving a car past the bank at the same time the
bank was being robbed. The type of situation (misattribution) should be strongly considered in
such legal cases so that a personal cannot be wrongly accused.
PSYCHOLOGY 5

Describe your fantasy of the best possible mental health system. What would it include,
how would it be delivered, and how would it be paid for?
A good mental health system should be one that supports a patient through all the stages of their
recovery in order for them to live their best lives. The reimbursement and the policies that
govern the mental health care system should be able to reflect and maintain the need of
individualized care and maintain the flexibility to respond to the needs of a patient. The safety
and a treatment plan tailored to a specific individual when it comes to evidence based health care
system should be a top priority.
What is your favorite model of mental health/illness? Describe it and explain its strengths
and its weaknesses.
My favorite model of mental illness is learning and development (Psychological). In this type of
model the individual develops towards a consistent trajectory while trying to adapt to the
environment. However if this individual is not able to learn or acquire certain crucial elements,
or rather the individual learns the wrong responses to some new solutions, or the individuals
tends to adapt to short term solutions that can consist of long term consequences.
What do you see as the main strengths and weakness of Evidence Based Practice (as
opposed to specific Evidence Based Therapies)
By using research in clinical practice, the medical providers use the evidence they acquire
through research rather than relying on the opinion of an individual. This reduces the biasness
associated with the opinion based model. Evidence based psychotherapy can complement the
medical professionals when it comes to making the judgments. Evidence based psychotherapy
also ensures that the psychiatrists in a particular mental illness system uses the best known
existing evidence as a foundation of starting to treat their patients. Despite these many strengths
that comes with the use of the Evidence based psychotherapy, there are also some challenges that
should be considered. The main challenge that has always been raised concerns the normal
generalization of the findings after the research. This is because sometimes the characteristics
found in the randomized treatments found in the Evidence based psychotherapy might
completely differ with those that are in the real world
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References
Caren Irr (2001), "A Gendered Collision: Sentimentalism and Modernism in Dorothy Parker's
Poetry and Fiction" (review). American Literature, Volume 73, Number 4, December 2001 pp.
880–881.
J. H. Dettmar (2006), "Modernism", in The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature, ed. David
Scott Kastan. Oxford University Press, 2006 
Wright, Jesse H. (1 December 2008). "Computer-Assisted Psychotherapy | Psychiatric Times".
Psychiatric Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015
Andersson, Gerhard (28 March 2016). "Internet-delivered psychological treatments". Annual
Review of Clinical Psychology. 12 (1): 157–179. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093006.
ISSN 1548-5943. PMID 26652054
Li, Rita Yi Man; Chau, Kwong Wing; Zeng, Frankie Fanjie (2019). "Ranking of Risks for
Existing and New Building Works". Sustainability. 11 (10): 2863. doi:10.3390/su11102863
 Leach, Matthew J. (2006). "Evidence-based practice: A framework for clinical practice and
research design". International Journal of Nursing Practice. 12 (5): 248–251. doi:10.1111/j.1440-
172X.2006.00587.x. ISSN 1440-172X. PMID 16942511.
 "Any Mental Illness (AMI) Among U.S. Adults". National Institute of Mental Health. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017.
Retrieved 28 April 2017.