Principles of Abnormal Psychology

Catalog description

Abnormal psychology is the study of the classification, explanation and treatment of abnormal phenomena and mental disorder. This course focuses on the major concepts and controversies in the field. We consider how abnormality is defined and classified, and how the biological, psychological, and sociocultural paradigms contribute to understanding and treating individuals with mental disorders. The multicausality of mental disorder is understood using a diathesis-stress model. Common types of mental disorders are covered with an emphasis on the phenomenology of the disorder (i.e., what it is like to have the disorder), the biopsychosocial causes of the disorder, and the major treatment approaches. Attention is given to appreciating the impact of abnormal mental phenomena on the sufferer and their loved ones, and examining the values and ethics that apply to working with people with mental disorder. prereq: 1511