Psychopharmacology (Drugs & Psychology) BPS302

 

Some Sample Course Notes

Psychological effects of drugs

Fortunately, as research shows, most people don't suffer any ill-effects to their mental health as a direct result of using most drugs, of course there are some drugs that may have a lasting change to the psyche. They may feel better, in the short term, and believe they benefit from a variety of social and other factors, in the long term. Trying to get them to stop, when they don't want to, is therefore unlikely to work.

For most people, taking drugs is a purely recreational activity. But for some, it offers a relief from other problems, and for others, it may be a symptom of problems rather than a cause. If you are concerned about someone who is taking drugs, you need to focus on their feelings, behaviour, and personal circumstances, and not on their drug use, in isolation. The most effective way of supporting a drug user who is having mental health problems is to see the drug as just one element affecting them, and not necessarily the major one. Their own feelings about their drug use, the reasons for it and its consequences need to be understood before any action is taken. If the person decides that their drug use is a problem, and they want to do something about it, the organizations, opposite, should be able to help.

Any drug will affect a user’s perceptions and behaviour, and may magnify their mood or their underlying mental state. But drugs affect people in different ways, at different times. Just because someone is taking a particular drug, doesn’t mean their mental health will be affected in the way but their chemical and psychological balance may be. Nor is it right to assume that someone demonstrating the effects listed is taking drugs.

Some people are fooled into believing that some substances are 'safe' because they're not physically addictive. It's the demands your mind can create which really prove hard to beat. Psychological dependence is a risk with any drug. A substance which affects your mood can easily become addictive, especially if you start thinking it's a better feeling than being straight.

Smoking a lot of marijuana leaves some people thinking they have to get stoned to cope with the world. It can be the mind which gets hooked on stimulants such as crack and cocaine rather than the body. This is because the "hit" is intense but doesn't last long, and so many users feel the need to 'chase the high' by taking more and more, all the while developing a resistance to a drug, so needing more and more to get the same effect.

While some people are more likely to develop a psychological addiction than others, it's impossible to predict as your state of mind is always changing. There are no guarantees.

Kicking a psychological addiction can be as testing as a physical withdrawal.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course is divided into eleven lessons as follows:

1. Introduction: A history of the use and misuse of drugs in society

2. Effects of drugs on the individual and society

3. Legally restricted drugs: Stimulants and narcotics

4. Legally restricted drugs: Hallucinogens and marijuana

5. Legally restricted drugs: Steroids

6. Legal drugs: Alcohol 

7. Legal drugs: Tobacco, caffeine and solvents

8. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs

9. Sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs

10. Prescription drugs for schizophrenia and affective disorders

11. Treatment and preventative education

 

AIMS

• To understand the origins and changes in drug use in society;
• To identify patterns of drug-taking behaviour;
• To identify social, psychological and physical consequences of drug-taking on the individual;
• To understand the effects of stimulants and narcotics on the individual;
• To understand the effects of hallucinogens and marijuana on the individual;
• To understand the effects of anabolic steroids on the individual;
• To determine health and behavioural outcomes of alcohol use and mis-use;
• To determine health and behavioural outcomes of nicotine, caffeine and solvent use and misuse;   
• To understand the effects of the major categories of OTC drugs and prescription regulations;
• To understand the effects of sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs on the brain and behaviour;
• To understand the effects of different types of anti-psychotic and anti-depressant drugs on the brain and behaviour;
• To describe different methods of treatment and prevention of drug-abuse and to discuss ways of educating the public as to the outcomes of taking drugs.

WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE

• Explain through case studies the difference between drug abuse and drug misuse;    
• Explain through examples the difference between recreational and instrumental drug-taking;
• Describe major changes in drug taking behaviour from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century;
• Investigate why some people are more likely than others to engage in drug abuse behaviour;
• Contrast the difference of attitudes to drug taking between cultures;    
• Differentiate between drug tolerance and behavioural tolerance;
• Differentiate between physical and psychological drug dependence;
• Describe factors contributing to physiological effects of a drug on the body;
• Learn how psychoactive drugs affect neurotransmitters;          
• Consider how personal expectations influence the effects of drug taking;        
• Learn how cocaine affects the mind and body;
• List side effects of long and short-term amphetamine use;
• Explain how to treat cocaine and amphetamine users;
• Explain how  heroin affects the mind and body;
• Describe how narcotics been used successfully in medicine;
• Describe how opiates affect the brain;
• Discuss the effectiveness of the main approaches to treating heroin abuse;
• Discuss the negative effects regular marijuana use has on quality of life;
• Discuss the use of steroids in sport and drug control of athletes;  
• Identify health, behavioural, and lifestyle outcomes of alcohol use and misuse;
• Develop a case study of a person being treated with anti-anxiety drugs;
• Consider how  anti-psychotic drugs work in the brain; 
• Identify the three main types of anti-depressants;          
• Identify drugs used to alleviate panic attacks and bipolar disorder;
• Consider dilemmas faced when trying to test out new drugs for schizophrenia;
• Discuss the ‘bio-psychosocial’ approach to treatment of drug abuse;
• Describe the stage theory of treatment and recovery.

 

Other Options

Are you interested in how the mind and body work together? Have a look at these courses -

Biopsychology I http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Biopsychology-I-312.aspx

Biopsychology II http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Biopsychology-II-348.aspx

Neuropsychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Neuropsychology-358.aspx

Certificate in Biopsychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Certificate-In-Biopsychology-397.aspx

Or if you are not sure if psychology is for you, why not try our Introduction to Psychology - http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/product.aspx?id=359

If you would like to see our range of psychology books, please visit - http://www.acsbookshop.com/books_productcategory.aspx?id=14

For more information on the range of careers available in psychology, have a look at - http://www.thecareersguide.com/articles.aspx?category=14

We have some interesting articles on psychology and counseling at - http://www.acs.edu.au/psychol/

The history of drugs is shrouded in the beginnings of the human race. Alcohol was made, drunk, and used to excess as far back as memory and records go. Tobacco (Nicotiana), hemp (Cannabis sativa), opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), and other plants containing drugs have been chewed and smoked almost as long as alcohol, and coffee has been served in the Middle East throughout that area's history.

“Drugs” is a word used by the medical profession to refer to medicines that can cure or arrest disease or alleviate symptoms, ease pain or provide other benefits. Powerful drugs may have side effects, but commonly used drugs with less potential to harm can be sold over the counter. More powerful drugs often require a medical practitioner’s prescription. Another definition of drugs is those substances upon which a person may become dependent. These range from mild stimulants eg. Caffeine, to powerful drugs that alter mood and behaviour. The term “drug” is therefore any substance which is psychoactive – that is, mind altering.

Develop your skills in understanding the effects of legal, illegal and prescribed drugs on the mind, body and behaviour. Topics covered include stimulants, narcotics, hallucinogens, marijuana, steroids, alcohol, tobacco, caffine, solvents, sedatives, prescription drugs, etc.

Approximate duration: 100 hours

Cost: $759.00 inc GST

Enrolment: Click here to enrol in this course