Psychopathology Syllabus

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RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
COURSE OUTLINE

Course: 19:910:507 Psychopathology section B1
Time: First Summer Session June 1-July 9, 2010.
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00am-12:40pm
Location: College Avenue Campus, Murray Hall 211

Instructor: Jeffrey Longhofer, Ph.D., PsyA., LCSW
Email: jlonghofer@ssw.rutgers.edu
Office: Phone: 732-932-8003, ext. 10
Fax: 732-932-8181


Office Hours: By arrangement
Office: 502 George Street (Social Work Annex, Green House south of School of Social Work)

How to find my office:
http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?id=287



Psychopathology Summer 2010

CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course explores major forms of emotional distress in adults, children, and youth, including classification trends, issues, and models. The course provides an introduction to clinical syndromes in terms of diagnostic methodology, research and social concerns and their implications for at risk groups.

COURSE OVERVIEW

This is an introductory course will familiarize social work students with the major mental disorders. Since mental health issues are ubiquitous in social work settings and practice, it is appropriate that social workers, regardless of concentration or specialization, be acquainted with the language, taxonomy, conceptualizations, and developments in the study of psychopathology. For those desiring to expand knowledge in this area, the advanced curriculum offers this opportunity. This course serves as the prerequisite for further study of psychopathology.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TR (DSM-IV-TR) is used as the organizing framework for this course. Though controversial, the DSM-IV-TR has become the standard diagnostic tool used by local, state and federal governments, major health insurance carriers and by several of the academic disciplines. In this course, however, we will critically examine the DSM and its relevance for social work practice.

DSM-IV-TR conceptualizes a mental disorder as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated with present distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning), or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. The adequacy and appropriateness of this conceptual framework to illuminate and enhance understanding of the human phenomena seen in social work practice is addressed throughout the course. Factors such as cultural differences, race and ethnicity, social class, gender and age are discussed in terms of their possible influence on clinical judgment and the diagnostic process. Thus, the selection of content areas has been based on several considerations:


1. Clinical syndromes social workers are most apt to encounter, either directly in micro practice, or indirectly in macro practice.

2. Clinical phenomena that are extensively dealt with in other curriculum offerings receive less focus, e.g., developmental disabilities, alcohol and other drugs, and mental disorders associated with the aging process.

3. Those conditions requiring medical sophistication for evaluation and treatment will also receive less attention e.g. mental disorders due to a general medical condition, organic brain disorders.

This is a required course for all students in the Professional Foundation year.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the DSM-IV-TR as the current representation of a changing classification model and its application for the diagnosis of children, youth, and adults.

2. To be able to arrive at a multi-axial diagnosis for children, youth, and adults and carry out a differential diagnosis for the above-named groups.

3. To appreciate the potential abuse of diagnostic classification as a means of social control, in general, and its significance for vulnerable populations, in particular.

4. To understand the social worker's particular contribution to the diagnostic process, and the policies and societal norms that promote and constrain the diagnostic-intervention process.

5. To recognize the possible conflict between social work norms, ethics, and values and the classification system.

6. To become familiar with the significant areas of empirical investigation concerning mental health and disorders, and understand the role of theory and how it relates to the empirical investigation regarding mental health and disorders.

7. To understand the increasing role of psychopharmacology in the treatment of mental disorders, and the professional knowledge, responsibilities, and limitations of the social worker’s role with respect to the use of psychopharmacology in treatment.

8. To understand and reflect on the stigmatizing patterns (language, media portrayal, discrimination) that exist in society towards individuals and their families with mental illness and the role of social workers in advocating for social justice outcomes in diminishing stigmatizing behaviors.

REQUIRED TEXTS

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Pomeroy, E & Wambach, K. (2003). The clinical assessment workbook: Balancing strengths and differential diagnosis. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole-Thompson Learning.

Sadock, B.J., & Sadock, V.A. (2007). Kaplan and Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry, Tenth Edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Readings from journals have been obtained from the Rutgers’s E- Journal website.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Students are expected to be active learners and collaborators. Students are expected to contribute knowledge and observations to discussions. Regular class attendance with active participation is expected. When students participate actively in class discussions learning is enhanced. It is important that reading assignments be completed prior to each session. Please take responsibility for seeking clarification of difficult material encountered in the text, readings, and lectures. At the end of each class session, readings for the subsequent class will be assigned.
Class attendance is not optional. Students are expected to notify the instructor prior to missing a session (see email and telephone numbers above). With 2 or more absences, the professor reserves the right to reduce the final grade. Students who leave during breaks will be marked as absent. You will not be penalized for missing class for appropriate reasons (e.g, illness and religious observances). If you are absent for medical reasons, you must bring a note from your doctor. Students are required to take the examinations on the designated dates. No make-up examinations will be given unless a physician has certified, in writing, that you are unable to take the examination.
All written work must be typed. Late assignments will not be accepted, unless the student has made arrangements prior to the assignment due date. The professor reserves the right to reduce the letter grade for late assignments. All written assignments must follow APA format. The professor reserves the right to reduce the letter grade for any assignment that does not confirm to APA format (see this website for a useful guide to APA, http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ssw/write/apastyle.html)

Student behavior in this course must comply with the university’s code of conduct.
The entire code of contact can be attained from Student Judicial Affairs Office or on-line at http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~judaff/code.htm. Students should be aware that violations of academic integrity, for example plagiarism of any kind, would result in expulsion from the program.

Please do not use cell phones or laptops during class, unless they are required for your learning. You’ll be dismissed from class if you use these devices for surfing the internet or answering email. This course is meant to be a conversation. Electronic devices easily disrupt attention interrupt the learning process.

Methods of Evaluation

1. Exercises and Quizzes (70 points). On the course outline, you will find a description of the exercises (to be completed at home) and the quizzes (in class) along with the quiz dates. There are seven quizzes, each worth 10 points. To prepare for the quiz, you should watch Faces Interactive and come prepared to answer questions regarding the case discussed (see course outline for dates). You can prepare for the quiz by answering all these questions on Faces Interactive. See Faces Interactive at: http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/psychology/faces/#

2. Film Case Study (15 points) For this case study, you will watch one of two films (to viewed outside of class) and complete a diagnostic formulation: 1) House of Sand and Fog and Fatal Attraction, due June 22. (See outline at the end of syllabus for format to be used).

3. Final Case Study (15 point) For the final exercise and case study (due on the last day of class, July 8), you will do a diagnostic formulation of a case-distributed on July 1. You should use the following outline in formulating your diagnosis

1. Client’s Stated Reason for Coming (infer, if necessary)
2. History of Present Illness
3. Past Psychiatric Illnesses, Treatment, Outcomes
4. Medical History
5. Psychosocial History
6. Drug and Alcohol History
7. Behavioral Observations
8. Mental Status Examination
9. Functional Assessment
10. Strengths
11. Diagnosis



Final grades will be determined as follows:

Grading Standards

A = Exceptional or outstanding work; student demonstrates full understanding of material, displays unusual analytical and/or creative ability; extremely thorough work; must be well organized and conform to accepted standards of writing including correct grammar, accurate spelling, etc.; cites material correctly. Work is completed by the due date.

B+ = Above average work in terms of understanding material and ability to apply material from lectures and readings to own proposed project. Work must be organized and conform to accepted standards of writing; cites material correctly. Work is completed by the due date.

B = Good work; demonstrates understanding of material; written materials well organized and conforms to accepted standards of grammar, spelling punctuation, etc.; cites material correctly. Work is completed by the due date.

C = Acceptable work, similar to C+ but reveals greater problems in applying the concepts and techniques to own work, fails to cover some important point(s). Some problems in organizing and presenting written materials; cites material incorrectly; too many direct quotes; fails to paraphrase and cite appropriately.

COURSE EVALUATION

Rutgers University evaluates both the course and the instructor. This survey is completed by students toward the end of the semester; all answers are confidential and anonymous. The instructor may also choose to conduct a midterm evaluation.


Resources and Important Links:

COURSE OUTLINE

Thursday, June 3

Coorigan, P. W. (2007). How clinical diagnosis might exacerbate the stigma of mental illness. Social Work, 52, 31-39.

Recommended Readings:

Gray, S. W., & Zide, M. R. (2008). Psychopathology: A competency-based assessment model for social workers, Second Edition, chapter 1.

Hinshaw, S. P. (2005). The stigmatization of mental illness in children and parents: developmental issues, family concerns, and research needs. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46 (7), 714-734.

Maddux, J. E., & Winstead, B. A. (2008). Psychopathology: Foundations for contemporary understanding, Second Edition, chapters 1 & 3.

Scott, S., Garver, S., Richards, J. & Hathaway, W. (2003). Religious issues in diagnosis: The V- code and beyond. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 6(2), 161-173.

White Kress, V.E., Eriksen, K. P., and Rayle, A. D., & Ford, S.J.W. (2005). The DSM_IV-TR and Culture: Considerations for counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 83 (1), 97-104.

Gabrielle, R., & Robinson Kirpius, S. (2000). Legal and ethical issues involved when counseling minors in nonschool settings. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78 (2), 130- 136.

Lewis-Fernandez, R. & Diaz, N. (2002). The cultural formulation: A method for assessing cultural factors affecting the clinical encounter. Psychiatric Quarterly, 73 (4), 271- 295.

Lopez-Ibor, J. J. (2003). Cultural adaptations of current psychiatric classifications: Are they the solution? Psychopathology, 36(3), 114-119.

Neighbors, H. W., Trierweiler, S. J., Brigeett, C., & Muroff, J. R. (2003). Racial differences in DSM diagnosis using a semi-structured instrument: The importance of clinical judgment in the diagnosis of African Americans. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 44 (3), 237- 256.


Tuesday, June 8