Course

Psychological Disorders and Treatment

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Psychology
Course code
PSYC 2341
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
Students are introduced to basic issues in the study of psychological disorders. Topics include the history of psychopathology, paradigms, classification, assessment, research methods, theories of etiology, and approaches to treatment.
Course content
  1. Historical and Scientific Considerations
    • The nature of psychological disorders.      
    • The mental health professions.
    • History of psychopathology.
  2. Current Paradigms in Psychopathology and Treatment
    • Biological paradigm.
    • Psychodynamic paradigm.
    • Learning paradigm.
    • Cognitive paradigm.
    • Humanistic/Existential paradigms.
    • Consequences of adopting a paradigm.
  3. Classification and Diagnosis
    • Diagnostic system of the American Psychiatric Association.
    • Issues in classification.
    • Criticisms of diagnosis.
  4. Clinical Assessment Procedures
    • Reliability and validity.
    • Biological assessment.
    • Psychological assessment.
    • Cultural diversity and assessment.
  5. Research Methods in the Study of Psychological Disorders
    • Science and scientific methods.
    • Research methods in the study of psychological disorders and treatments.
  6. Diagnostic features, epidemiology, theories of aetiology, evidence-based treatments for:
    • Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Trauma-related Disorders.
    • Somatic Symptom and related Disorders.
    • Dissociative Disorders.
    • Mood Disorders and Suicide.
    • Personality Disorders.
    • Substance-related and Addictive Disorders.
    • Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders.
    • Eating Disorders.
    • Schizophrenia Spectrum and other Psychotic Disorders.
    • Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence.
    • Disorders associated with Aging.
  7. Psychological Disorder Prevention Strategies and Promotion of Mental Health
  8. Legal and Ethical Issues
    • Civil commitment.
    • Criminal responsibility.
    • Ethical issues.
Learning activities

This course will employ a number of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives which will include some of the following:

  1. Lectures.
  2. Seminar presentations.
  3. Audio-visual materials.
  4. Small group discussion.
  5. Research papers.
  6. Volunteer projects.

Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on the course objectives and carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation policy. The instructor will present a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will be based on some of the following:

 

  1. Multiple-choice tests.
  2. Written-answer tests.
  3. Final exam.
  4. Oral presentation.
  5. Research project/term paper.
  6. Volunteer project.

 

An example of an evaluation scheme:

4 tests -- 40%

Mid-term exam -- 15%

Term paper -- 15%

Oral presentation -- 10%

Final exam -- 20%

Total -- 100%

 

Learning outcomes
  1. Define psychological disorder.
  2. Describe the perceived causes and treatments of psychological disorder prior to the twentieth century.
  3. Describe the biological, psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, humanistic/existential, and diathesis-stress paradigms of psychopathology. 
  4. Describe the therapies associated with each paradigm.
  5. Evaluate each paradigm with regard to its strengths and weaknesses.
  6. Describe the current DSM system of classifying psychological disorders, the reason for using a classification system, and the validity and reliability of this system.
  7. Describe clinical assessment techniques including unstructured and structured interviews, psychological inventories, projective tests, intelligence tests, neuropsychological assessments, psychophysiological assessments, behavioural assessments, and brain imaging techniques.           
  8. Describe research evidence for each assessment technique in terms of its reliability and validity.
  9. Describe the case study, correlation, and experimental methods of scientific investigation.
  10. Describe and evaluate each method of investigation with regard to its strengths and weaknesses.
  11. Describe the epidemiology, symptoms, and associated features of: Anxiety Disorders, Bipolar and Related Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Dissociative Disorders, Gender Dysphoria, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, Paraphilic Disorders, Personality Disorders, Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders, Sexual Dysfunctions, Somatic-Symptom and Related Disorders, and Substance-Related, and Addictive Disorders.
  12. Describe and evaluate the theories of etiology for each disorder.
  13. Describe and evaluate the psychological and biological therapies for each disorder.
  14. Describe strategies for prevention of psychological disorder and promotion of mental health.
  15. Describe and discuss issues relating to civil commitment and criminal responsibility.
  16. Describe and discuss ethical dilemmas in therapy and research.
  17. Describe and think critically about the impact of culture and diversity issues on mental health functioning.
Textbook materials

Textbook(s) such as the following, the list to be updated periodically:

 

Dozois, David J.A. (2019) Abnormal Psychology: Perspectives (6th edition). Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Canada

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

PSYC 1100 AND PSYC 1200

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers to Other Institutions

Below are current transfer agreements from Douglas College to other institutions for the current course guidelines only. For a full list of transfer details and archived courses, please see the BC Transfer Guide.

Institution Transfer details for PSYC 2341
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU PSYC 222 (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU PSYC 2350 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG PSYC 2326 (3)
North Island College (NIC) NIC PSY 235 (3)
Okanagan College (OC) OC PSYC 242 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU PSYC 241 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PSYC 2160 (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU PSYC 305 (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV PSYC_V 300 (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC PSYC 303 (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV PSYC 241 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PSYC 260 (1.5)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) VCC PSYC 2300 (3)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU PSYC 2nd (3)

Course Offerings

Fall 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
35
Remaining seats:
0
On waitlist
30
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. D
Room
D1020
Times:
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
15:20
Section notes

The course title for PSYC 2341 is no longer “Abnormal Psychology”. It has been updated to “Psychological Disorders and Treatments” effective Fall 2023.

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
35
Remaining seats:
0
On waitlist
20
Building
New Westminster - South Bldg.
Room
S0660
Times:
Start Time
9:30
-
End Time
12:20
Section notes

The course title for PSYC 2341 is no longer “Abnormal Psychology”. It has been updated to “Psychological Disorders and Treatments” effective Fall 2023.