CAPT prerequisite course:Behavioural disorders/psychopathology: abnormal psychology

Description

Course Description: Fundamentals of Psychological Disorders and Psychopathology

This 84 hours (14 week) graduate-level course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the foundational concepts, classification systems, theoretical models, assessment principles, and diagnostic frameworks used in the study of psychological disorders and psychopathology. Using the DSM-5-TR framework and contemporary models of abnormal psychology, students will critically examine the nature of mental disorders, the four D’s of abnormal behavior (dysfunction, distress, deviance, and danger), epidemiological concepts, and the biological, psychological, sociocultural, and integrative models used to understand psychopathology.

Students will explore major categories of psychological disorders including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma-related disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, psychotic disorders, personality disorders, neurocognitive disorders, substance-related disorders, and disorders of childhood. Emphasis is placed on understanding symptom presentation, prevalence, incidence, comorbidity, etiology, course, prognosis, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment considerations across disorders.

The course also examines the strengths and limitations of classification systems, ethical and cultural considerations in diagnosis, stigma, contextual influences on psychopathology, and the role of development and diversity in mental health assessment. Through case analysis, clinical reasoning exercises, differential diagnosis activities, and reflective discussion, students will develop foundational competencies in DSM-informed assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and case conceptualization for work in mental health and helping professions contexts.

Remember

• Define key terminology in abnormal psychology including psychopathology, diagnosis, etiology, prevalence, and comorbidity

• Identify major categories of psychological disorders outlined in the DSM-5-TR framework

Understand

• Explain the four D’s of abnormal behavior (dysfunction, distress, deviance, danger)

• Describe major theoretical models of psychopathology (biological, psychological, sociocultural, integrative)

• Summarize diagnostic features, prevalence, and course of major psychological disorders

Apply

• Apply DSM-informed criteria to case-based scenarios

• Differentiate between disorders with overlapping symptom presentations

• Use assessment concepts (e.g., prevalence, incidence, comorbidity) in clinical reasoning

Analyze

• Compare and contrast disorder categories across:

  • Symptom presentation

  • Etiology

  • Course and prognosis

• Analyze the influence of culture, development, and context on diagnosis

Evaluate

• Critically evaluate diagnostic decisions using multiple models of psychopathology

• Assess strengths and limitations of classification systems (e.g., DSM)

• Evaluate ethical and cultural considerations in diagnosis and treatment

Create

• Formulate basic case conceptualizations integrating:

  • Symptoms

  • Etiology

  • Context

• Develop differential diagnoses using structured reasoning

• Integrate knowledge across disorders to inform clinical understanding