Concepts and theoretical perspectives
Concepts and theoretical perspectives
Purpose of assignment: To measure students’ ability to:
1. Apply the concepts and major theoretical perspectives to a case study
2. Evaluate research used in the study of the identified disorder
3. Use the classification system of the DSM to identify the appropriate criteria for a major mental disorder.
4. Evaluate ethical considerations in the diagnosis and treatment of abnormal behavior.
5. Use information literacy skills to locate peer-reviewed journals and to identify scholarly information
Product: The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize you with the process used by psychologists to diagnosis psychological illness, the case study. By completing this assignment, you will learn how psychologists analyze a client, based on research current law and current DSM categories, and communicate their findings.
Grading: This assignment is worth a possible 100 points, 15% of the final course grade.
Directions: In your case study you are to analyze the case that will be given to you one month before the due date. Your case study should involve three (3) sections: 1) covers presenting complaint, personal history, 2) covers diagnosis, treatment, prognosis; and 3) covers theoretical discussion and explanations for the identified disorder.
Specifically, the sections include:
1) Presenting Complaint and Personal History – This section begins with a succinct description of why the patient has come in for treatment. Specific behaviors should be listed as well as a history of symptoms. This section should describe the patient’s personal, cultural, familial, marital, education, and work history. Most of this section comes from the case you are given. You will be paraphrasing the information. Do not directly quote the information. Make sure you paraphrase as well as cite correctly.
2) Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prognosis – You will make a diagnosis based upon the current DSM and supported by evidence from the current DSM, using the textbook and the DSM website as well as peer-reviewed journal articles. You should include the criteria and duration of symptoms and support your diagnosis with specific evidence from Section One of your paper. For treatment, you will discuss how you would typically treat your diagnosed illness. For the prognosis, you will discuss the projected outcome. You will need to use the textbook and other research to identify treatment and prognosis. Always support each with scientific evidence you would find in your journal articles.
3) Discussion – This section demonstrates your critical thinking ability. You will discuss at least three (3) of the theoretical perspectives underlying your diagnosis and treatment. You need to revisit three chapters in the textbook and will have to use additional scholarly sources, including peer-reviewed journal articles. Discuss the etiology (underlying causes) and treatment of the disorder according to each of the perspectives. Organize your paper in these sections. You should use headings, Level 2, per APA format. You are not to just copy the case but must paraphrase and put it into your own words. You must include other information that is logically based upon your reading of the case.
You are expected to use academic and scholarly sources in writing this case study, in addition to the case. You must consult at least three peer-reviewed (refereed) journal articles. They should be recent (no older than 8 years) and they must be data-driven experiments. That means no reviews of literature or other types of articles should be used even if they appear in a peer-reviewed journal. You must read the full text of the articles. The abstract is not sufficient. Please note your instructor will schedule a mandatory library class session for your class to help you review peer-reviewed research.
The articles could discuss treatment, diagnosis, or theory related to your diagnosis. You will use these to support your diagnosis, treatment, and theoretical discussion. You should also include the text as a source. Any other source must be a credible, academic source. You must use appropriate APA citation and reference list.
This paper must be 6-8 pages in length, including your cover page and reference page. Use the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Style Manual (6th edition), for the following elements of the final paper: 1. Title page including:
A. Page number (upper right)
B. Case Study Title
C. Your name
D. Class
E. Professor’s name
2. Use Level 2 headings in your paper to separate the 3 sections.
3. In-text citation format 4. Reference list format
