Pre-requisites

PS511.306 Introduction to Psychology
PS626.306 Human Lifespan Development

Co-requisites

None.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

• Evaluate shifting notions of good mental health and mental illness including prevention and treatment using historical, cross-cultural (inc. indigenous), gender and trans-professional perspectives

• Explain how mental health is conceptualised within the medical model noting the role of the Mental State Examination, DSM and ICD.

• Identify the aetiology and presentation of common mental disorders.

• Recognise the process of a clinical interview and application of diagnostic criteria.

• Choose clinical best practice in the treatment of common Axis 1 and Axis 2 disorders

Unit Description

Students will come to this unit having already studied Introduction to Psychology and Human Lifespan Development and thus have been introduced to both the biological basis of behaviour and to issues of normality/abnormality. In this unit, students will first be introduced to an historical, cultural, gender and trans-professional discourse on ‘wellness’ and especially how this may apply to mental health. Students will become aware of culturally bound forms of mental illness. Ideas from Community Psychology will inform notions of prevention while treatment will be discussed within the bounds of the medical model. Focusing on the medical model, students will critique its advantages/disadvantages. Students will become familiar with common tools used in mental health settings (ie DSM-IV-TR, ICD-10 and Mental State Examination) and critique their advantages/disadvantages. Using the DSM-IV-TR, students will come to understand the aetiology, presentation and treatment of common Axis 1 (eg. psychosis, mood, anxiety, somatoform, dissociative and eating) and Axis 2 (ie personality) disorders. Axis 1 will be emphasised, given that disorders of personality are discussed at length in the unit ‘Personality Theory and Application’. Within Axis 1, emphasis will be placed on mood, anxiety and eating disorders. Borderline Personality Disorder will feature when discussing Axis 2. Students will then learn to apply the Mental State Examination to make clinical judgements using actors. Finally, students are to become familiar with practice guidelines (ie clinical best-practice) for the treatment of those Axis 1 and 2 disorders emphasised above.

Teaching Strategies

Teaching strategies include lectures and tutorials, weekend schools; class discussions; role plays and practice of skills within class; presentation of instructional material in the form of printed documentation, DVD, video and audio tape and on-line interaction.

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Unit offerings

Face to face: (Every Year, Semester 2)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.