Prerequisites: Criminology or Psychology or teacher approval
Course Description: This course will provide an introduction to the field of abnormal psychology. It will explore abnormality within historical, social, and cultural contexts. Major disorders, symptoms, and preferred treatment strategy will be examined, using case material to supplement basic information. The course will look at the causal factors of each disorder and the current treatments, interventions and research. Course content will be presented using a combination of lecture, interactive activities, and current video resources. This course will provide a foundation in the diagnostic categories as well as the various ways which one can research, understand and treat psychopathology. The course will allow you to gain an appreciation for the complexity of human behavior, and an understanding of individuals with mental illnesses.
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY CP level Syllabus
Prerequisites: Criminology or Psychology or teacher approval
Course Description:
This course will provide an introduction to the field of abnormal psychology. It will explore abnormality within historical, social, and cultural contexts. Major disorders, symptoms, and preferred treatment strategy will be examined, using case material to supplement basic information. The course will look at the causal factors of each disorder and the current treatments, interventions and research. Course content will be presented using a combination of lecture, interactive activities, and current video resources. This course will provide a foundation in the diagnostic categories as well as the various ways which one can research, understand and treat psychopathology. The course will allow you to gain an appreciation for the complexity of human behavior, and an understanding of individuals
with mental illnesses.
Course Requirements:
Case Studies: Students will read and react to four case studies, submitting a one-page reaction paper for each.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon Completion students will be able to:
Discuss and interpret definition of abnormal behavior
Provide a historical overview of abnormal psychology
Interpret and explain research methods used to describe and explain abnormal psychology.
Define and discuss classification, diagnosis and assessment.
Identify and discuss assessment techniques.
Outline of Instruction:
I. Abnormal behavior
A. Definition of abnormality
B. Epidemiology of abnormality
1) Incidence
2) Prevalence
II. Historical Perspective
A. The Ancient Greeks
B. The Middle Ages
C. The reform Movement
III. Theoretical and research perspectives
A. Research methods
B. Biological perspective
C. Psychoanalytic perspective
D. Behavioral perspective
E. Cognitive Perspective
F. Humanistic/existential perspective
IV. Identification and classification of abnormal behavior
A. Assessment
B. Diagnosis
V. Stress
A. Vulnerability to access
B. Coping methods
C. Prevention and treatment of stress-related disorders
VI. Psychology of health and disease
A. Psychopathological disorders
B. Somatoform disorders
C. Treatment alternatives
VII. Anxiety based disorders
A. Panic disorder
B. Generalized anxiety disorder
C. Phobia
D. Obsessive-compulsive disorder
E. Post-trauma stress disorder
F. Etiologies
G. Treatment
VIII. Dissociative disorders
A. Dissociative fugue
B. Dissociative identity disorder
C. Depersonalization disorder
D. Etiologies
E. Treatment
IX. Mood disorders
A. Depression and depressive disorder
B. Bipolar disorder
C. Etiologies
D. Treatment
X. Personality disorders
A. Classification of disorders
B. Behavioral manifestations
1) Eccentric behaviors
2) Erratic/dramatic behaviors
3) Anxious behaviors
C. Etiologies
D. Treatment
XI. Schizophrenia
A. Symptoms
B. Types
C. Etiologies
D. Treatments
XII. Substance related disorders
A. Alcoholism
B. Other drugs
C. Etiologies
D. Treatment
XIII. Organic disorders
A. Delirium
B. Dementia’s
C. Etiologies
D. Treatment