Summaries: the best scientific articles for clinical and health psychology summarized

What is nosology?

Nosology is the classification of (mental) diseases. Mental disorder classifications provide frameworks that underlie applied clinical treatments and scientific research in order to understand, assess, predict, prevent, and treat psychopathology. There are different classification frameworks, each with their own unique position on how mental disorders should be diagnosed, classified, and assessed.

What is this article about?

Before one can decide on diagnosis and interventions, accurate assessment is necessary. Assessment is defined as a process of hypothesis testing, which is designed to answer the questions that clients have, and to solve their problems. This is an important process, so it is better if this process happens in

How does Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) reinforce itself?

Individuals suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) show certain characteristics that maintain the cognitive and behavioral cycle of worry: a tendency to catastrophize negative events, difficulties with problem solving, worrying about worrying, a low tolerance for uncertainty, etc. Their constant worrying can lead to avoidance behavior creating

Why is comorbidity between major depressive disorder and physical diseases a problem?

People with major depressive disorder (MDD) have a

Psychological interventions in chronic diseases

The article shows a model in which an attempt is made to structurally represent the variety of psychological interventions in the case of chronic illness. We look at differences in terms of:

• Intervention goals.
• Intervention level.
• Intervention channel.

The intervention goals: the quality of life and self-management

Every psychological intervention is aimed at improving the quality of life and/or

In the current study the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions is reviewed. This theory is based on the genesis of positive psychology. Empirical and theoretical advancements are made in the understanding of upward spirals that are associated with positive emotions. Furthermore, the upward spiral theory of lifestyle change is explained. Deeper end more rigorous tests should be done to see reciprocal and prospective relations with positive emotions. This research can help translating theory into applications to improve health and well-being.

What is somatization?

In the ICD 10, somatization is defined as the constant presentation of symptoms that require investigation. There is no physical basis for these symptoms, nor a medical explanation. The most common complaints are muscle pain, pseudoneurology and vague unspecific gastrointestinal problems. Pseudoneurology includes fatigue, sleep problems and changes in mood. The complaints lead to many days of illness and visits to the doctor. Nowadays, the complaints are sometimes diagnosed as burnout, stress or irritable bowel syndrome.

What is sensitization?

The complaints that people have with somatization appear to be based on being oversensitive

What does the levels problem refer to? 

The levels problem in psychopathology refers to the fact that psychopathological disorders are investigated in different ways (or at different levels). Most frequently, these include the psychological level and the biological level. The boundary between these two levels is blurry, and it may be difficult at times to differentiate between them. For example, autism is not only a psychological disorder but also a biological one, so from what level should it be analyzed? As will be explained in the next

Emotions and Affect

Emotions are a subgroup of the class of affective phenomena. Emotions occur in a relatively short span of time, beginning with the assessment of a situation that triggers a variety of responses. Other than affect in general, emotions normally have an object they are referring to. Affect refers to all consciously available feelings, including emotions, but also physical sensations, attitudes, and other feelings. Positive affect is seen as facilitating approach behavior or continuous action. Positive affect is thus thought to be linked to higher levels of activity, for example by pursuing sensory pleasure or one´s approach behavior being fostered by a positive mood. Positive emotions

In 2014, 31% of working adults felt tension or stress, and 61% reported that they had enough resources to deal with this stress. A low salary and a lack of opportunities for growth were the most common sources of stress. Job insecurity is also in the top 5. Furthermore, uncertain job expectations and long working days were also in the top 5. With regard to interventions against work stress, the emphasis has probably been too much on 'red cape interventions' with the intention of stopping negative experiences, instead of on the 'green cape interventions', interventions with the aim of growing positive experiences. An example for the focus in this is increasing the employee resources. In this article, literature about stress management interventions is summarized, with an emphasis on green cape interventions.