Psychology 550

Junior Seminar: Clinical Disorders

Fall, 2007

Summary and Overview

Psychiatric diagnoses are labels - shorthand that help us to communicate about the some of the various kinds of psychological problems that people experience. These diagnostic labels are very useful for communicating between clinicians, conducting research on the causes of and treatments for disorders, and even for helping people understand that their problems are not as frightening as they may think. However, even though the diagnostic labels serve useful functions, they also tend to obscure the person who is experiencing the problem. After all, there is more to a person than schizophrenia, or depression, or some other problem. A person with a diagnosis is still a person - with all of the family history, life issues, joys, sorrows, and complexity that all of us have.

In this course we are going to try to understand the nature of several psychological diagnoses by examining them in the context of people's real lives. These autobiographies will raise a variety of difficult questions, such as: To what extent is a person defined by her or his diagnosis? Is there more to psychiatric disorders than imbalanced brain chemistry? How do you know when a person "has" one diagnosis versus another? What does it mean for the experience of having a disorder when you can now write a book about it and maybe even become famous? Does that have an impact on the healing process? These questions are complex and not easily answered, but grappling with complexity is a large part of clinical work, so we might as well get used to it.

A large part of this course will be devoted to reading and evaluating clinical accounts and research on psychological disorders. Because this is also a writing course, we will pay close attention in all of our discussions to how authors attempt to convey their information through their writing. In the process, you will put together, piece by piece, a research proposal on a topic related to clinical disorders. Since the writing process is one of writing, editing, and rewriting, a great deal of attention will be given to evaluating your written work; everything you write will be read and commented on by your colleagues, by your instructor, or both. At the end of the course, you should have an interesting and doable comp project, if you should choose to continue with it.

Class Sessions

The meetings of the class are the most important part of the course. Attendance at the class sessions is mandatory; in a seminar such as this, the absence of a class member diminishes the experience for all involved. If you miss any classes for reasons other than illness or family emergency, expect your grade to reflect that.

During the class sessions, we will engage in several different activities. Primarily, we will examine and discuss research, theoretical, and first-person accounts of psychological disorders. I will expect considerable independence and initiative from you in identifying and clarifying difficult or interesting aspects of the readings; in addition, each day I will ask one person to begin the discussion with an analysis of whatever we have read. Second, we will have several sessions devoted to examining your writing skills. Third, you will lead a portion of one class, in which you will select and introduce a reading related to your research proposal. And last, you will give oral presentations of a paper proposal and your final paper and be evaluated by your colleagues.

Readings

There are six required books for the class. They are:

Casey, J. F., & Wilson, L. (1992). The Flock: The autobiography of a multiple personality. New York: Ballantine Books.

Jamison, K. R. (1995). An unquiet mind. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Kaysen, S. (1994). Girl, interrupted. New York: Vintage.

Sechehaye, M. (1994). Autobiography of a schizophrenic girl: The true story of "Renee." New York: Meridian/Penguin. (Original work published 1951)

Slater, L. (1998). Prozac diary. New York: Random House.

Williams, D. (1992). Nobody nowhere. New York: Avon Books.

I will also ask you to read several articles which will be on electronic reserve. They are:

Bem, D. J. (1995). Writing a review article for Psychological Bulletin. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 172-177.

Gleaves, D. H. (1996). The sociocognitive model of dissociative identity disorder: A reexamination of the evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 42-59.

Kabot, S., Masi, W., & Segal, M. (2003). Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 34, 26-33.

Rivas-Vazquez, R. A., Johnson, S. L., Rey, G. J., Blais, M. A., & Rivas-Vazquez, A. (2002). Current treatments for bipolar disorder: A review and update for psychologists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33, 212-223.

Spanos, N. P. (1994). Multiple identity enactments and multiple personality disorder: A sociocognitive perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 143-165.

In addition, there will be a number of articles that you and your colleagues will choose for the class to read. I may also assign other readings later in the course.

There are also two books which you may buy or borrow and which may be very helpful. The first is:

Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (1979). The elements of style (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.

This is a classic (and short) book on writing. It will help you to write clearly and concisely, and I will hold you to its high standards. If you read it closely, you'll even be able to see how many of their rules I have violated in this syllabus.

A second optional book is:

American Psychological Association (2005). Concise rules of APA style. Washington, DC: Author.

We will talk extensively during the semester about how to reference properly. I will not teach APA style in class, however, so if you are not confident in how to use it, you should either buy this book, borrow it, or check it out from the library. You can also look at the Psychology Department web site (http://webpub.allegheny.edu/dept/psych/PsychInfo.htm) for the sections on "Psych 600" and "Writing papers;" both of those will be helpful. The APA also provides a web site that gives information for electronic citations at "http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html". I will be very exacting in my examination of how you reference and cite other materials, and I will take points off for APA style errors.

Assignments

As you will see from the course outline, you will be working throughout the semester on a number of written assignments, most of which are connected to your paper. Following are brief descriptions of those assignments:

Questions: This assignment will get you thinking about the kinds of questions which face us when we try to understand psychological disorders. I will give you a handout in class which will describe it in more detail. You will work in groups and present your results to the group on the second day of class.

Analysis I: One of the most important skills you will need in this class is to evaluate claims about clinical phenomena. Often the kinds of evidence that are offered are different than in more experimentally-oriented psychological research, and for that reason we have to be very careful in trying to understand what people say is true. For this assignment you will prepare an analysis of the Foreword and Introduction of the Williams book. I will give you a separate handout on how to do this. Please bring two copies of the summary to give to your colleagues on the due date.

Analysis I critique: You will write critiques of the two analyses turned in to you. The criteria for evaluating the analyses will be listed on the assignment sheet.

Analysis II: After reading your critiques and revising your analysis accordingly, you will turn it in to me, along with copies of Analysis I and the two evaluations that you received.

Paper proposal: The paper proposal will be your first opportunity to plan out a preliminary sketch for your paper. Your task is to present in 5 minutes or fewer an oral proposal for a paper and to convince the class (including me) that this is an interesting and worthwhile topic to research. Though this is a proposal, and you will not be bound to do exactly what you propose, you will need to do some significant preparation so that your proposal will not be ripped to shreds! In the presentation you should state succinctly what your topic is, why the topic is interesting and important, what theoretical or empirical question it will answer, and what methods you might employ for investigating the question, with special attention to the feasibility of the investigation. I will grade the presentation according to how well you meet those goals and how convincing you are in defending your idea.

Bibliography: After you present your paper proposal, you will turn in an annotated bibliography of materials which you will consult in preparing your seminar paper. Please list only those sources which you actually intend to consult, though you can list materials that you have not seen yet if you think you will use them. There should be between ten and 20 items on this list, and they should be listed in APA format. You should also include a complete annotation for each source which notes specifically how you think this article or source will be important for your paper.

Outline: For this assignment you will produce an outline of your paper. The outline should be as detailed as you can make it at this point in the course; you should include the various areas of research you will survey in order to make your topic clear.

Discussions: During the second half of the semester, I will ask you to select a reading for the group and to lead a discussion of it. I will give you further instructions on that assignment then.

Rough draft: This is the rough draft of your final proposal. While I do not expect this draft to be polished, it should be as complete as you can make it, and it should include correct headings and a complete reference list. Please bring two copies to give your colleagues.

Draft comments: You will create written critiques on two of your colleagues' papers. Your analysis of the paper should include: 1) its overall structure and coherence; 2) the use of research to develop the rationale for the project; 3) the strength of the conclusions, and 4) the clarity and conciseness of the writing. As in the previous critiques, the more closely you read the papers and the more clear your comments, the more your colleagues will be helped (and will help you!). Make sure to put your name on the comments that you give to your colleagues.

First draft: This is the first complete draft of the paper. You will give it to me for a grade.

Final proposal: This is your final, beautiful, sparkling, profound, finished seminar paper. Please turn it in to me along with copies of the rough and first drafts and the two comments you received.

Orals: At the end of the semester you will give a ten-minute presentation on your proposal and answer questions about it from the class. You will be expected to defend your ideas as best you can.

Evaluations: At the conclusion of each group member's orals, each of the "examiners" will provide comments on the student's performance in the orals. You will complete these evaluations in class.

I will try to have each of the assignments which I read and/or grade back to you in one week. Please keep these assignments in one folder or binder, including copies of all of the critiques you write of others' work and those which have been written of yours. I will ask for them at different times of the semester, and I will want to be able to trace the progress of your work.

Grading

I will assign grades at the end of the semester according to the normal formula (90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, etc.).
 

If at any point you are having problems or would like to talk about any of the issues that have come up in class, come see me. I look forward to the course!