The Biopsychosocial Model

Summary

This video discusses the biopsychosocial model, which considers biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding health. Historically, healthcare focused on the biomedical model, which solely emphasized biological causes of disease. However, George Engel introduced the biopsychosocial model, arguing that health is influenced by the interaction between biology, psychology, and social context. The video explains how these factors contribute to conditions like depression and how a holistic approach can improve patient care. This model encourages patient-centered care by addressing multiple dimensions of health, leading to better outcomes.

Takeaways

• 🔬 The biopsychosocial model integrates biological, psychological, and social factors to explain health outcomes, unlike the reductionist biomedical model.
• 💊 The biomedical model focused on biochemical alterations as the sole cause of illness, emphasizing diagnosis through signs, symptoms, and lab tests.
• 🧠 George Engel introduced the biopsychosocial model to bring a more holistic, human-centered approach to healthcare, considering the patient's subjective experience.
• 🧬 Biological influences on health include genetic makeup, neurochemistry, physical health, diet, lifestyle, and immune responses.
• 🧑‍⚕️ Psychological factors include personality, coping skills, emotions, self-esteem, and mental health issues like depression or anxiety.
• 👥 Social factors such as socioeconomic status, work, relationships, culture, and societal pressures can heavily impact health and contribute to conditions like depression or stress.
• ⚖️ The interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors determines health outcomes; none of these factors alone is sufficient to explain illness.
• 📊 The biopsychosocial model shows that health issues like depression can stem from a combination of genetic predisposition, negative thinking, and stressful life events.
• 🔄 Each factor in the model influences the others, making it crucial to address all aspects—biological, psychological, and social—when treating health issues.
• 🎯 The ultimate goal of the biopsychosocial model is to create patient-centered care plans that promote better health outcomes by addressing all influencing factors.

Q & A

What is the biopsychosocial model?

The biopsychosocial model is a holistic approach to understanding health, which considers the dynamic interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors in determining overall health outcomes.

How does the biopsychosocial model differ from the biomedical model?

The biomedical model focuses primarily on biological factors like biochemical changes, emphasizing physical symptoms and lab tests for diagnosis. In contrast, the biopsychosocial model includes psychological and social influences along with biological factors, offering a more comprehensive view of health.

What are some limitations of the biomedical model?

The biomedical model is linear and reductionist, focusing only on biological causes of illness. It overlooks the subjective experiences of the patient and ignores psychological and social factors that can influence health.

Who introduced the biopsychosocial model, and why?

George Engel introduced the biopsychosocial model as an alternative to the reductionist biomedical model. He believed that to adequately understand and treat patients, clinicians must consider biological, psychological, and social dimensions of illness.

What are some biological factors that influence health according to the biopsychosocial model?

Biological factors include genetic makeup, physical health, neurochemistry (e.g., neurotransmitter levels), and the immune and stress responses. For example, genetic vulnerability and neurotransmitter imbalances can influence mental health conditions like schizophrenia and depression.

How do psychological factors contribute to health outcomes in the biopsychosocial model?

Psychological factors include personality traits, emotions, attitudes, beliefs, coping skills, and self-esteem. For example, a person with low self-esteem or negative thought patterns may be more prone to conditions like depression.

What role do social factors play in determining health outcomes?

Social factors encompass socio-economic status, family circumstances, interpersonal relationships, cultural beliefs, and environmental influences. Stressful life events, social norms, and cultural expectations can contribute to mental and physical health issues, such as depression or eating disorders.

Can you provide an example of how biological, psychological, and social factors might interact in a specific health condition?

In the case of depression, biological factors like genetic vulnerability and neurotransmitter imbalances, psychological factors such as negative thinking and low self-esteem, and social factors like stressful life events or lack of support can all interact to influence the development and severity of the condition.

What is the significance of integrating biological, psychological, and social factors in patient care?

Integrating all three factors allows healthcare providers to develop a more personalized and comprehensive treatment plan. This approach can improve patient outcomes by addressing not just the biological symptoms, but also the psychological and social issues that may contribute to illness.

What are some potential limitations of the biopsychosocial model?

While the biopsychosocial model provides a more holistic approach, its complexity can make it difficult to apply consistently in clinical practice. Additionally, it may require more resources and time to fully consider all factors involved in a patient's health.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Introduction to the Biopsychosocial Model

This paragraph introduces the biopsychosocial model and its relevance in understanding the interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors in health. It contrasts this model with the older biomedical model, which focused narrowly on biological components of illness, such as biochemical changes and lab tests, and led to the dehumanization of patients. Engel’s biopsychosocial model highlights the importance of addressing all three dimensions—biological, psychological, and social—to provide a holistic understanding of health.

05:02

🔄 Interaction of Biological, Psychological, and Social Factors

Engel argued that a singular focus on biology is insufficient for understanding health. The interplay between biological, psychological, and social factors must be considered as each affects the other. The biopsychosocial model embraces the idea that health is determined by a dynamic interaction between a person’s mind, body, and social context, moving away from the binary nature vs. nurture debate. The model aims to bring more empathy and compassion into medical practice.

10:02

⚖️ The Components of the Biopsychosocial Model

This section elaborates on the three key components of the biopsychosocial model. Biological influences include genetics, physical health, neurochemistry, drug effects, and lifestyle. Psychological influences focus on personality traits, emotions, and coping skills, while social factors include socio-economic status, relationships, and cultural pressures. The paragraph emphasizes how these factors combine and overlap to determine an individual’s overall health and influence risk for various conditions.

🔬 Biological Factors of Health

This paragraph deep dives into biological factors that influence health, such as genetic predispositions, neurochemical imbalances, and physical conditions like disability or illness. Examples include schizophrenia’s genetic risk and how neurotransmitter levels affect conditions like depression. Biological influences also encompass lifestyle choices like drug use, diet, and stress responses. The physiological responses to emotions can be viewed as biological factors that impact overall health.

💭 Psychological Influences on Health

Psychological influences on health include an individual’s personality, self-esteem, emotions, coping skills, and attitudes. These factors can exacerbate or mitigate health outcomes. The paragraph highlights how emotions such as sadness or irritability, personality traits like neuroticism, and stress responses can influence mental and physical health. Negative thinking and poor social skills can further contribute to mental health issues, linking psychological states to physical outcomes.

🏘️ Social Factors and Their Impact on Health

Social influences on health include socio-economic status, interpersonal relationships, and cultural expectations. Events like job loss or relationship breakdowns can increase the risk of illness, while societal norms, such as beauty standards, can lead to disorders like eating disorders. This paragraph also explains how culture influences the expression of mental illnesses, such as anorexia being less common in non-Western societies where thinness is not emphasized. Social pressures, abuse, and education are other significant social factors affecting health.

🌍 Cultural and Societal Influence on Health

This paragraph explores how cultural and social factors, such as beauty standards and societal expectations, can contribute to health problems. It discusses how pressure to achieve certain ideals, especially those promoted by media and fashion industries, can lead to eating disorders and other health issues. Cultural differences also play a role, as non-Western cultures exhibit lower rates of disorders like anorexia due to different societal values.

🧬 Biological and Psychological Interactions

This section discusses the interaction between biological vulnerabilities and psychological factors in shaping health outcomes. For example, individuals with genetic predispositions may be more prone to negative thinking, increasing their risk for conditions like depression. The paragraph also illustrates how psychological factors, like depression, can exacerbate biological issues, such as leading to substance abuse and, consequently, physical health problems.

⚖️ Application of the Biopsychosocial Model to Depression

This paragraph applies the biopsychosocial model to depression, discussing how genetic factors, neurotransmitter imbalances, and personality traits can contribute to the condition. It also explores how low self-esteem, negative thinking patterns, and stressful life events increase the risk of depression. The interaction between these factors, including social influences like a lack of support, highlights the complex causes of depression.

🔗 The Interconnected Nature of Depression's Causes

This paragraph explains how the various factors contributing to depression are interconnected. Social stressors can trigger biological responses, such as changes in brain chemistry, while biological factors like genetic predisposition can make individuals more susceptible to psychological or social stress. The biopsychosocial model underscores the need for a comprehensive understanding of all contributing factors to effectively treat depression.

📋 Integrating All Factors for Holistic Treatment

This final paragraph emphasizes the importance of integrating biological, psychological, and social factors in treatment. The biopsychosocial model advocates for a patient-centered approach, which improves engagement in health-promoting behaviors like taking medication, eating properly, and exercising. It also gives an example of treating chronic pain using a combination of biological treatments, psychological therapy, and social support. Engel's model remains influential in creating holistic healthcare plans.

Keywords

💡Biopsychosocial model

The biopsychosocial model is a holistic approach to understanding health by considering the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors. Unlike the traditional biomedical model, which focuses only on biological aspects like diseases and symptoms, the biopsychosocial model includes mental and social influences on health outcomes. In the video, this model is presented as an alternative to reductionist medicine, advocating for empathy and understanding of the patient's full experience.

💡Biomedical model

The biomedical model is a traditional approach in medicine that focuses exclusively on the biological factors of health, such as biochemical changes and physical symptoms. It treats diseases by addressing the physical aspects of illness, often overlooking psychological and social dimensions. The video highlights this model's limitations, such as its reductionist nature and lack of attention to patients' subjective experiences.

💡George Engel

George Engel was a psychiatrist who proposed the biopsychosocial model as an alternative to the biomedical model. He believed that illness should be understood by considering the biological, psychological, and social dimensions simultaneously. In the video, Engel's work is presented as a response to the dehumanization in healthcare, emphasizing patient-centered care and empathy.

💡Holistic approach

A holistic approach refers to the practice of considering the entire person—mind, body, and social environment—when diagnosing and treating health issues. In the biopsychosocial model, this approach is key, as it goes beyond physical symptoms to include psychological and social influences on health. The video emphasizes this approach as essential for better patient care and outcomes.

💡Psychological influences

Psychological influences refer to the mental and emotional factors that affect an individual's health. These can include personality traits, self-esteem, beliefs, and emotional responses. The video explains that emotions, coping skills, and psychological conditions like depression play a significant role in health, demonstrating the importance of addressing mental health in treatment.

💡Social factors

Social factors are the external, environmental, and cultural influences that affect health, such as socio-economic status, relationships, and societal norms. In the video, social elements like work stress, peer pressure, and cultural expectations are shown to impact mental and physical health. For example, social stigma surrounding mental illness can prevent people from seeking help.

💡Genetic vulnerability

Genetic vulnerability refers to an individual's inherited risk of developing certain diseases or conditions. The video highlights genetic vulnerability as part of the biological component of the biopsychosocial model, using schizophrenia and depression as examples of conditions that can be influenced by genetics. However, the model suggests that genetics interact with psychological and social factors in health outcomes.

💡Neurochemistry

Neurochemistry involves the levels of neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain, which influence mental and physical health. The video discusses how imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine can contribute to mental health disorders like depression. This biological influence is often addressed through medications that regulate these chemicals, but the video also stresses the interaction with psychological and social factors.

💡Depression

Depression is a mental health disorder that can be influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. The video uses depression as a key example of how the biopsychosocial model applies to health, showing how genetics, neurotransmitter levels, personality traits, and life events all interact to affect a person’s mental and physical health. It also explains how social stressors, like job loss or relationship issues, can trigger or worsen depression.

💡Patient-centered care

Patient-centered care is an approach to healthcare that focuses on the patient's overall experience, including their physical, mental, and social well-being. The video promotes this concept as a key goal of the biopsychosocial model, where healthcare providers take into account all aspects of a patient's life to create more personalized and effective treatment plans. This approach contrasts with the more detached and purely medical treatment strategies of the biomedical model.

Highlights

The biopsychosocial model addresses the dynamic interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors in health.

The biomedical model, dominant since the mid-20th century, focused exclusively on biological causes of illness, leading to a reductionist and limited view of health.

George Engel introduced the biopsychosocial model to counter the dehumanization of medicine and emphasize a more holistic approach.

Engel argued that health outcomes result from the interplay of biology, psychology, and social context, rather than just one factor.

The biopsychosocial model emphasizes the mutual influence of mind and body, where physical health affects mental health and vice versa.

Biological influences on health include genetic makeup, neurochemistry, drug effects, and physical health conditions such as disabilities or chronic illnesses.

Psychological factors like personality, beliefs, emotions, and coping skills are key components in the biopsychosocial model's approach to health.

Social factors, including socio-economic status, relationships, and cultural beliefs, have a significant impact on an individual’s health.

The model highlights how stress, peer pressure, and cultural expectations can lead to health issues like depression or eating disorders.

Examples of how the biopsychosocial model can be applied include depression, which can be influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors.

Biological factors influencing depression include genetic vulnerability, neurotransmitter imbalances, and substance abuse.

Psychological factors contributing to depression include negative thinking patterns, low self-esteem, and coping difficulties.

Social influences on depression may stem from traumatic experiences, lack of support, and societal expectations, all of which can trigger or exacerbate mental health issues.

The biopsychosocial model is essential in designing comprehensive treatment plans, addressing both biological treatments and psychological and social interventions.

Despite limitations, Engel’s biopsychosocial model has revolutionized how illness and healing are approached in healthcare, advocating for patient-centered care.

Transcripts

hello and welcome to shorts in

psychology

in this video we'll be discussing the

biopsychosocial model

what it is and how it can be applied to

understand the dynamic interaction

between biological psychological and

social factors in overall health

since the mid 20th century healthcare in

industrialized societies was dominated

by the biomedical model

in other words clinicians believe the

illness is as a result of a biochemical

alteration therefore when assessing

patients

emphasis was placed on disease and its

associated biological components

including

signs and symptoms and the use of

laboratory tests for diagnosis

this limited treatment of a person's

poor health almost exclusively to

medicinal remedies

as a result the biomedical approach has

many limitations

the main one being that it is a very

linear and reductionist model of the

cause of disease

this narrow focus subsequently led

clinicians to regard patients as

objects and ignore the possibility that

the subjective experience of the patient

was worth studying

george engel believed that to understand

and respond adequately to patients

suffering

and to give them a sense of being

understood clinicians must attend

simultaneously to the biological

psychological and social dimensions of

illness

he offered a holistic alternative that

tried to reverse the dehumanization of

medicine

and disempowerment of patients engel

argued that any one factor such as

biology is not sufficient

it is the interplay between people's

biology psychology and social and

cultural context

that determines the course of their

health-related outcomes

rather than nature vs nurture engel said

that it is

a dynamic and interactional mutual

influence of mind and body

what affects the body will often affect

the mind and vice versa

what affects the mind will also often

end up affecting the body

wellness or illness is not simply a

matter of someone's physical state

but is also influenced by that person's

psychological and social status as well

his model struck a resonant chord with

those sectors of the medical profession

that wish to bring more empathy and

compassion into medical practice

engel's new model came to be known as

the bio-psychosocial model

the biopsychosocial model bio for

physiological pathology

psycho for psychological including

thoughts emotions and behaviors

and social for the social environmental

and cultural aspects such as work issues

family circumstances and socio-economic

status

again angle iterated that any one factor

alone

is not sufficient it is the interplay

between people's genetic makeup

mental health and behavior and social

and cultural context that determines the

course of their health related

outcomes let's deep dive into each of

these components and what they encompass

biological influences on health include

an individual's genetic makeup

many disorders have an inherited genetic

vulnerability

the greatest single risk factor for

developing schizophrenia for example

is having a first degree relative with

the disease

physical health and whether the

individual has a disability

or history of physical trauma or

infection can also play a role

neurochemistry so the levels of certain

neurotransmitters or hormones

also play a key role in health other

examples of biological

influences on health include drug

effects diet and lifestyle

the immune and stress responses as

emotions involve a physiological

response they can also be considered a

biological

influence the psychological component of

the virus psychosocial model

seeks to find a psychological foundation

for a particular symptom

or array of symptoms there are a wide

range of possible psychological

influences

some of the main ones include the

individual's personality

perceptions self-esteem attitudes and

beliefs

emotions such as irritability and

overwhelming sadness could also play a

role

other examples of psychological

influences include coping skills

social skills grief and trauma

social factors include socio-economic

status

work school and interpersonal

relationships

for instance losing one's job or ending

a romantic relationship

may place one at risk of stress and

illness

such life events may predispose an

individual to developing depression

which may in turn contribute to physical

health problems

peer group lifestyle and societal norms

can also have a big impact

for example the fashion industry and the

media promote an

unhealthy standard of beauty that

emphasizes thinness over health

this exerts social pressure to attain

this ideal body image

despite the obvious health risks and

could lead an individual to develop an

eating disorder

also included in the social domain are

cultural factors

for instance differences in the

circumstances expectations and belief

systems of different cultural groups

contribute to different prevalence rates

and symptom expression of disorders

for example anorexia is less common in

non-western cultures because they

put less emphasis on thinness in women

culture can vary across a small

geographic range

such as from lower income to higher

income areas

and rates of disease and illness differ

across these communities accordingly

there are many other social factors that

can influence overall health

some others include education family

circumstances

abuse and neglect this diagram

shows how biological psychological and

sociological factors

overlap to determine overall health for

example

individuals with a genetic vulnerability

may be more likely to display negative

thinking that puts them at risk for

depression

alternatively psychological factors may

exacerbate a biological predisposition

by putting a genetically vulnerable

person at risk for other risk behaviors

for example depression on its own may

not cause liver problems

but a person with depression may be more

likely to abuse alcohol

and therefore develop liver damage

increased risk taking leads to an

increased likelihood of disease

let's now examine a specific

psychological disorder using the

bio-psychosocial model

the example we use is depression

biological influences could include

genetic inheritability

as depression can run in families

research is also being conducted to

identify genes that contribute to

depression

low levels of neurotransmitters such as

dopamine and serotonin also contribute

to depression in some people

dopamine creates positive feelings

associated with reward and reinforcement

and serotonin is the feel-good chemical

in the brain

many antidepressant medications aim to

increase

serotonin levels in the brain having a

disability

particularly if the individual is

lacking social support

and poor physical health whether it is a

chronic illness or a condition like

obesity can also contribute to

depression

another biological factor is substance

abuse

psychological factors influencing

depression include personality

some people have a more general lifelong

tendency to experience

unpleasant emotions and anxiety in

response to stress

psychologists use terms like neuroticism

and negative effectivity to refer to

this tendency

and people who have it are also more

likely to experience major depression

other psychological factors include

characteristic negative patterns of

thinking

low self-esteem deficits in coping

skills

judgment problems and impaired emotional

intelligence

the ability to perceive understand and

express emotions

that depressed people tend to exhibit to

some degree

these psychological factors can be

influenced by biology

people's innate temperament or their

biologically based personality

characteristics

can influence whether they're more or

less likely to act

in ways characteristic of depression and

by social factors such as what coping

behaviours are modeled for people for

example

by their parents and teachers as they're

growing up

people can also come depressed as a

result of social factors such as

experiencing traumatic situations

early separation lack of social support

or harassment

research has shown that stressful social

events are capable of serving as

triggers for turning genes on and off

causing changes in brain functioning by

this path a social

stressor can trigger a physical cause of

depression

environmental and social causes of

depression can also be far more subtle

than actual trauma

it is not necessary for people to have

been abused as children

to grow up feeling negatively about

themselves or their prospects

because of how they learned to think

about their self-worth

or their ability to successfully respond

to this

tasks and stresses present in daily

living

low socioeconomic status and work

environment can also contribute to

depression

work environment could contribute in a

variety of ways

including due to stress workplace

bullying

lack of stability in the form of

short-term or casual contracts or even

unemployment

social norms relating to expectations of

achievement

sexual preference marital status and

other stereotypes could also be a

contributing factor

furthermore the stigma surrounding

mental illness and the perception that

sufferers are weak

lazy or inadequate could prevent someone

suffering from depression from seeking

help or speaking to others of their

condition similarly

cultural beliefs and expectations could

also contribute to depression

for example if the individual doesn't

meet these expectations

the biopsychosocial model suggests and

the scientific evidence has tended to

confirm

that these inter interdependent factors

all end up influencing each other

depression can be caused by any number

of factors that could appear to be

independent from one another

but are really related as one factor

tends to influence the other factors

it is possible to have a body reaction

to social or mental stress

the opposite is also true where you can

have a social or mental reaction to a

bodily problem

the way that the various causes of

depression affect one another

make it very important that all factors

be taken into account when trying to

form

a complete explanation of depression

recognizing and understanding and

responding to all factors that affect

health requires the health care provider

to integrate the biological aspects of

the disease

with the psychological and social

aspects of the patient

if this occurs the patient is more

likely to engage in health-promoting

behaviors like

taking medication proper diet or

nutrition

and engaging in physical activity

ultimately

the goal of the biopsychosocial model is

to develop a patient-centered care plan

that is realistic in order to achieve

the best possible health

outcomes for example if the model was

used to develop a treatment plan for

chronic pain it might encompass a

variety of approaches at each

level including patient education

biological treatment

such as medication and acupuncture as

well as psychological interventions such

as cognitive behavioral therapy and

mindfulness

while there are limitations to engel's

model its enduring contribution

is that it has changed the way illness

suffering and healing are viewed by

clinicians

i hope this video has helped you to gain

a better understanding of the

biopsychosocial model

and how it can be used to examine some

of the influencing

factors in overall health and develop a

comprehensive treatment plan

thanks for listening