APSY325 Abnormal Psychology (3 cr.)

Prerequisite(s): APSY300  or equivalent, APSY305  or equivalent, HHSM304  
This course investigates etiology, presentation, treatment options, and prognosis for abnormal behavior, cognitions, and emotions.  Topics include the major categories in the diagnostic manual, including eating disorders, anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, somatoform disorders, and mood disorders. The interactions among biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors are emphasized. Students consider presentation and implications of abnormal behavior in their professional and personal pathways.

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Explain the continuum of behaviors and thought processes from mental health to mental illness.
2. Consider research methods and evaluate empirical evidence for psychiatric disorders, and apply this analysis to one area of work.
3. Analyze the utility of and concerns with available diagnostic systems.
4. Identify the spectrum of psychiatric disorders and differentiate between the disorders based on presentation, etiology, prognosis, and treatment approaches.
5. Identify theoretical and empirical foundations for classification of individual disorders.
6. Analyze the role of societal underpinnings in mental health care availability and equity.
7. Apply professional writing skills including drafting, editing, and the accurate use of APA style.