PYB 5500 – Psychopathology
Understand, Diagnose and Treat Clients Struggling with Mental Disorders Appropriately and Effectively.
Format: Online
Duration: 12 weeks (Summer)
Credits: 3
Required Prerequisites: Must be admitted to the Antioch Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program
In professional practice, it’s understood you’ll come across clients with a mental health disorder. For you to effectively help them, you need an array of tools, and knowledge of how and when to use them. First, you need to have a strong grasp of the nuances between disorders, and information on the types of assessments you can run and the factors you need to determine a proper diagnosis. Treating someone with a mental health disorder can include a blend of psycho-social and pharmacological interventions, so these topics are studied in depth as well. By the course’s end, you’ll be well prepared to help clients with a clinical mental health disorder.
Course Description
This course addresses individual psychopathology from a variety of perspectives: biological, developmental, cultural and interactional. It will provide students with a broad theoretical base for understanding psychopathology from not only an individual descriptive, symptom logic perspective as presented in the DSM V, but also from a contextual, systemic perspective including developmental hallmarks, familial patterns and sociocultural contributors. Students will learn to perform individual, relational and larger systems assessments, including but not limited to a mental status exam, a medical genogram and diagnosis using the DSM V.
What Kind of Work Will I Complete?
Your understanding of mental health disorders will be learned through readings, class discussions, case studies and a final project.
Final Project: Presentation on a Chosen DSM-5 Disorder
You’ll design a four-part presentation of a pre-approved DSM-5 disorder by examining a case study of someone struggling with the disorder. Using this working example, you’ll correlate your theoretical knowledge, and pay particular attention to the reason this person was referred for counseling, how their issues presented in their assessment, and examine the client’sbackground and Precipitating factors.
Your presentation should demonstrate that you have a comprehensive understanding of assessment and treatment. You’ll also demonstrate an understanding of the history of the disorder, and how this knowledge plus social contexts and your client’s feelings about having the disorder influence your choice of an assessment process and recommendations for treatment.
Sample Course Topics Include:
Throughout the course your studies will focus on a core set of topics that coincide with the course’s learning objectives. Sample topics are:
- Conceptualizations of Psychopathology
- Biological Influences on Psychopathology
- Developmental Influences on Psychopathology
- Primary Disturbances in Thinking and Perception
- Depressive & Anxiety Disorders
- Normal Personality Traits & DSM-5 Personality Disorders
What You’ll Learn
Psychopathology is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of DSM-5 disorders by sharing knowledge of history, assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of success. At the end of the course you’ll specifically be able to demonstrate:
- Competency in identifying specific psychiatric disorders.
- Case conceptualization skills and DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.
- A familiarization of different theoretical conceptualizations of psychopathology and
optimal human development and mental health, and underlying bio-psychosocial
influences. - An understanding of the ethical and multi-cultural issues associated with the
assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders. - An ability to identify commonly prescribed psychotropic medications used in the
treatment of some DSM-5 disorders for the purpose of making appropriate referrals. - An ability to identify various brief and long-term treatment modalities for clients with
cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impairments.
For more information about this course, or other courses in the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch Online, please call (855) 792-1049, or request more information.