1.1 Differences between biological and psychosocial interventions.
The clinical interventions that are used to maintain an individual’s mental health has two type
which are biological and psychosocial intervention. Accroding to Hecker and Thorpe (2015), the
treatments for mental illness that involves the medical fields such as anatomy, genetics, physiology,
and the entire range from neurosurgery to pharmacotherapy is called as biological intervention.
Psychosurgery, psychopharmacotherapy, brain implants and stimulations, and electroconvulsive
shock therapy are the examples of biological interventions towards psychological functioning (Kazdin,
2018). Based on Muse and Moore (2012), the therapies that involving mental health, using the
psychological or sociological intervention is called as psychosocial intervention. Din and Xavier (2013)
has mentioned that the psychotherapy, support groups, psychoeducation and social skills training are
some of the examples of psychosocial interventions. There are few differences between the biological
and psychosocial intervention such as view on mental illness, focus of treatment, period that take to
symptom-reduction, and chances of relapse occurs.
Firstly, the view on mental illness is one the differences found between the type of intervention
where the mental illness is mainly viewed as physical cause in biological intervention while as
psychological and social causes in psychosocial intervention. The psychological disorders also has
been seen in terms of certain abnormality in brain’s anatomy and chemistry and other biological
process, in medical model. (Bernstein, et al., 2013). Whereas, Bernstein, Pooley, Gouldthorp, Provost
and Cranney (2018) has mentioned that the deal with the psyche and mind is referred as mental
disorder in psychosocial intervention and which also prioritize the needs, wants, emotions, family
background, education experiences, and perspective towards world. For example, an individual is
having depression, and it is seen as the chemical imbalances in brain and dopamine are the cause in
biological model while in psychosocial intervention, it is viewed as emotional difficulties are the cause
of depression. Thus, the view on mental illness in both intervention are differs.
Moreover, the focus of treatment differs as in biological intervention it is focused on physical
treatment while in psychosocial intervention the coping strategies and adaptive thoughts are focused.
Friedman (2016) has mentioned that psychosocial intervention do involves many elements like
education of disease, providing emotional support, and the cognitive and behavioral coping strategy
training. The treatment is more towards how an individual can learn to handle the situation on their
own when facing the problem. For example, the cognitive-behavioral therapy is used to treat for
alcohol addiction where they learn to manage emotions and reduce alcohol consumption ( Riper,
Andersson, Hunter, de Wit, Berking, and Cuijpers, 2014). While in biological
intervention, the drug Naltrexone is used to reduce craving (De Sousa, 2010). Thus,
the focuses of treatment is difference in both intervention.
In addition, the period to that take to symptom-reduction longer in biological is
faster than psychosocial intervention. This is because, the biological model
emphasise more on symptoms than the root cause (emphasised in psychosocial
intervention). Pratt, Gill, Barrett, and Roberts (2013) has mentioned that the
psychotropic medications are given to schizophrenia and mood disorder patients as
primary treatment as it able to symptom and reduce the dangerous of the illness.
The biological intervention is do necessary for immediate reduction of symptom so
that further treatments can be given to patient by the psychiatrist or
psychotherapist compared to psychosocial intervention because if a psychotherapist
is trying to talk nicely and try to calming down a schizophrenia patient who is hyper
and could harm someone means would take more time which might put someone in
danger. Thus, the pace of symptom-reduction in biological intervention is faster than
the psychosocial intervention.
Lastly, the chances of the mental disorder relapse is lower in psychosocial
intervention than biological intervention. This is because, there are chances where
the patient who might facing side effects by taking medication or stop taking
medications that prescribed as biological intervention while in psychosocial
intervention they learn the coping strategies and adaptive thoughts which they can
remember and follow for more longer time where they can handle the [Link]
example, Alexopoulos and Kiosses (2011) has mentioned that in a study involving
bipolar patients and relapse of the disorder showed that the patients who were
treated under bipolar disorder medical care model (BCM) (psychosocial intervention)
was showed promising result than the medication adherence skills training (MAST-
BD). Thus, the chances of mental disorder is low in psychosocial intervention than
biological intervention.
In conclusion, the both biological and psychosocial interventions are important
in psychology field to treat mental disorders. The view on mental illness, focus of treatment,
period that take to symptom-reduction, and chances of relapse occurs are the few differences
between biological and psychosocial interventions.
1.5 References
Alexopoulos, G. S., & Kiosses, D. (2011). Geriatric Psychiatry: Advances and
Directions, An Issue of Psychiatric Clinics(Vol. 34). Philadelphia: Elsevier Health
Sciences.
Bernstein, D. A., Pooley, J. A., Gouldthorp, B., Provost, S., & Cranney, J.
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Bernstein, D. A., Pooley, J. A., Cohen, L., Gouldthorp, B., Provost, S., Cranney,
J., . . . Roy, E. J. (2013). Psychology: An International Discipline in Context:
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