Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

Catalog description

This course will familiarize students with specific psychiatric disorders of childhood and adolescence encountered by mental health professionals in schools. S PSY 575 Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (3) This course will familiarize students with many of the child and adolescent disorders that mental health professionals encounter in working with preschool and school-age children. The primary focus of the course is to provide students with an historic understanding of the epidemiology, etiology, diagnostic criteria, and long-term implications of specific childhood disorders, with an emphasis on those likely to be encountered by practicing school psychologists. In addition to these topics, class discussion will focus on current controversies and research directions regarding the study of childhood psychopathology as well as ongoing changes to diagnostic systems. Individual class sessions will consist of discussion, group activities, student presentations, and the observation of actual casework. Students are expected not only to participate in but also to facilitate group discussions. Students will be encouraged to share their experiences working with children and adolescents with psychological disorders. Because childhood psychopathology is a broad domain, discussion topics for the course primarily reflect the disorders most frequently observed in typical school populations. Through individual projects, however, students will have the opportunity to explore areas of child or adolescent psychopathology that may not have been addressed in this course.