3301F-001

Psychology 3301F-001

Clinical Psychology

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

This course offers a survey of major topics in clinical psychology, including assessment and intervention approaches; experimental psychopathology; ethical, professional and theoretical issues; and emerging trends.

 

Antirequisite:  Psychology 2301A/B, the former 3300A/B

 

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit.  So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.

 

Prerequisites:  Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810

3 lecture/seminar hours, 0.5 course

 

Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record.  This decision may not be appealed.  You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.


2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor:                                                           Dr. Peter Hoaken, C. Psych    

       Office and Email:                                         WH320            phoaken@uwo.ca

       Office Hours:                                               Thursday, 1:00pm -3:00pm      

 

       Teaching Assistant:                                      Daniel Machado

       Email:                                                          dmachad2@uwo.ca

       Office Hours:                                               By Appointment

 

       Time and Location of Lectures:                     Tuesdays, 8:30am to 11:20pm

                                                                          TC 201


If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.  Please visit:  http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

No text book is required – readings will be assigned.

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course will provide an overview of the field of clinical psychology covering:

 

1)      Definitions and history of clinical psychology

2)      Clinical psychology research methods

3)      Psychopathology and abnormal behaviour

4)      Clinical assessment including clinical diagnosis and the assessment of intelligence, personality and behaviour

5)      Intervention methods used by clinical psychologists

6)      A review of subspecialties within clinical psychology including neuropsychology, forensics, paediatric and child psychology

7)      Professional issues and training in clinical psychology.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

After successfully completing this course, students should be able to:

 

1) Define the field of Clinical Psychology, and speak at length as to its history and development as both a scientific enterprise and as a health care profession.  These capabilities will be assessed in two essay-based examinations.

 

  • Identify the many nuances that make conducting research in clinical psychology difficult, and also will moreover be able to describe some methodologies specific to the field (for example "outcome studies" vs "efficacy studies")

 

  • Describe much of the history of psychological assessment, and moreover be able to explain why more recent techniques (ex: criterion scaling) lead to more reliable and valid test scores that some of the older techniques (e.g., ex: projective tests)

 

  • Identify the hallmarks of evidence-based practice and perhaps more importantly, the hallmarks of pseudoscience.  This will assist them in the ability to be informed and credulous consumers of health-related information in the future.

 

  • Identify (with the assistance of guest lectures) various sub-specialties of clinical psychology.  The intended result is that the students may be able to help themselves, friends or loved ones solicit appropriate psychological assistance at some point in the future.

5.0     EVALUATION


Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:

70%     1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):

A+  90-100      One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A    80-89        Superior work that is clearly above average
B    70-79        Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C    60-69        Competent work, meeting requirements
D    50-59        Fair work, minimally acceptable
F    below 50    Fail

ASSIGNMENTS

DEADLINES

GRADE

Essay

December 6th, 2016

25%

Attendance & participation

N/A

5%

Mid-term exam

During class time, October 25th, 2016

25%

Final exam

As scheduled during final exam period

45%

 

The expectations and evaluation process for this course are clearly specified. Grading of all assignments will be done with transparency and integrity. If you have concerns about your grades, you are welcome to raise them. Please see “10.0) Understanding and Appealing Marks” for more details.

 

5.1) ESSAY

The essay is worth 25% of your final grade.  See page 6 for further explanation. It is due on the date of the last class (December 6th, 2016).

 

5.2) EXAMS

The format of the mid-term and final exams will be the same. A combination of fill in the blank, and short answer questions will be used. Midterm exam will be 2 hours in length; Final exam is three hours in length.  ANY material from the readings or lectures may be selected for the exams. No "aids" are allowed in exams.

 

5.2.A) Mid-term Exam (25%)

This exam will cover all material from the textbook, class lectures, and tutorial presentations prior to the mid-term. It will take place during normal class time, on Oct. 25th, 2016

 

5.2.B) Final Exam (45%)

This exam will be a cumulative examination of all material from the textbook, class lectures, and tutorial presentations.  It will take place during the Final Exam period, December, 2016.



6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Date

Location

 

Class 7 Oct. 25th

In class

MID TERM EXAM

TBA

TBA

FINAL


7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Wk

Date

 

Topic

1

Sept 13

Lecture

Introduction to Clinical Psychology

Dr. Hoaken

2

Sept 20

Lecture

Ethical Decision Making

Dr. Hoaken

3

Sept 27

Lecture

Psychological Testing & Assessment

Dr. Hoaken

4

Oct 4

Lecture

The Nature of Psychopathology

Dr. Hoaken

5

Oct 11

Lecture

Introduction to Intervention

Dr. Hoaken

6

Oct 18

Lecture

Guest Lecturer: TBA

 

7

Oct 25

 

MID TERM EXAM/Deadline for approval of thesis statement 

8

Nov 1

 

Guest Lecturer: Dr. Mark Petter

Psychology & the WSIB; Or, Assessing and Treating the Workplace Injured

8

Nov 8

Lecture

Guest Lecturer: Dr. Richard Coupland

Psychology of Recovery

9

Nov 15

Lecture

Sort-Of Guest Lecturer: Dr. Peter Hoaken

Adult Forensic Psychology

10

Nov 22

Lecture

Guest Lecturer: Dr. Anthony Folino

Clinical Psychology Within a School Board

11

Nov 29

Lecture

Guest Lecturer:  Dr. Jennifer Crotogino

Managing Pain in a Pediatric Population

 

12

Dec 6

Lecture

Guest Lecturer:  Dr. Andrea Downie

Neuropsychology in the Context of Pediatric Oncology/ Essay due

 

 

 

FINAL EXAM AS SCHEDULED

 


8.0     STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link:  http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com

Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.



9.0    POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg117.html

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html


10.0        OTHER INFORMATION

Office of the Registrar web site:  http://registrar.uwo.ca

Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

    http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2016 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.

11.0)    UNDERSTANDING AND APPEALING MARKS

Students are welcome to meet with the instructors to discuss any aspects of their evaluation that are not clear. Students may appeal any mark given in the course. To ensure that concerns are fairly reviewed, students wishing to have a grade reviewed must submit a brief note outlining the specific concerns regarding the grade and justification for grade revision. An appeal must include: (a) the original material submitted (if material was returned) and (b) a written statement by the student of the issue(s) with the grading. The statement should include the specific aspect of the grading in question and his/her rationale for why a grade should be altered. The original material will be re-graded and reviewed along with the rationale for the appeal. The mark as re-graded by the instructors will be the final mark. This mark may be higher or lower than the original grade.

 

Essay Assignment

 

For this assignment, you are to write a paper of 2500-3000 words, which is approximately 10 pages (typed, double spaced). The paper should follow the APA style (e.g., format of citations and references), but does not include an abstract. Late papers will be penalized by deduction of one point (out of 25) per day.

 

Your assignment is to choose a particular topic in clinical psychology and write a review of recent research findings and theoretical developments relating to that topic. Some suggested topics are listed below. If you wish to choose a topic that is not in the list, you are free to do so, but regardless of what essay topic you choose to pursue, you are required to have it approved by the T.A. before you begin. You will also be required to have a thesis statement approved by the T.A. (The deadline for this approvals is October 25th, 2016).  Your topic should relate to some aspect of the discipline of Clinical Psychology.  Note that the amount of existing research varies widely with domain of interest, so the breadth or specificity of your topic will depend on the particular issue that you choose. Be careful not to choose a topic that is either too broad or too narrow.

 

Your essay should include references to at least 10 empirical journal articles or book chapters.  Referencing websites is rarely advisable.  If possible, include some review articles as well as some articles presenting original empirical studies. The mark will be based on such factors as the comprehensiveness of the review, level of understanding of the issues, critical evaluation of empirical research, accuracy of the information, innovativeness of thinking, clarity of presentation, and overall writing style.

 

Example Topics

 

Ethical challenges in clinical psychology

What makes psychotherapy effective?

Emerging roles for clinical psychologists

Should clinical psychologists seek prescription privileges?

Should clinical psychologists perform “conversion therapy”?