Psychology 3316G-001

Psychological Trauma

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 covers the psychobiological theories and research aimed at helping us understand the diversity of human responses to traumatic life experiences, including sexual assault, childhood maltreatment, and war.

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

Unless you have either the prerequisites 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.

3 seminar hours; 0.5 course 

 

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor:

       Paul Frewen, PhD                                                              

       Office and Phone Number: UH B3-264          

       Office Hours: Thursdays 1-2pm                              

       Email: pfrewen@uwo.ca                                                     

 

Teaching Assistant:

       Katarina McKenzie                                       

       Office: WH-West 60K                                                         

       Office Hours: Thursdays 1-2pm                              

       Email: kmcken45@uwo.ca


Time and Location of Classes:   Thursdays 2:30-5:30 in UCC-59                                                                                   

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western

http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

Note: Online Library Resource, there is NO NEED to purchase individually:

Gold, S. N. (2017). APA Handbook of Trauma Psychology Volume 1. Washington: American Psychological Association.

Gold, S. N. (2017). APA Handbook of Trauma Psychology Volume 2. Washington: American Psychological Association.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/research-funded-by-nimh/rdoc/index.shtml 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

Understand response to traumatic life events and recovery from maladaptive posttraumatic responses in terms of fundamental psychological principles (e.g., psychobiology, learning, memory, emotion, consciousness).

 

   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

  • Apply fundamental psychological principles (e.g., psychobiology, learning, memory, emotion, consciousness) toward understanding peri- and post-traumatic responses
  • How learned: Lectures, Readings
  • How evaluated: Exams (2 x 20% + 1 x 30% = 70%)
  • Identify etiological relationship between psychological trauma exposure and various psychological disorders/outcomes
  • How learned: Systematic Review
  • How evaluated: Term Paper (20%)
  • Recognize and learn to apply various assessment and therapeutic approaches to trauma- and stressor-related disorders (e.g., PTSD)
  • How learned: Experiential Learning

How evaluated: In-class Lab Assignments and Online Homework exercises (10%)

 

5.0     EVALUATION

  • Exams (2 x 20% + 1 x 30% = 70%)
  • Term paper(s) and presentation (20%)
  • Experiential Learning (Lab Assignments) (10%)

 

PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%. 

This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.

 

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 Western's 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


6.0  ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE

#

DATE

Assessment

% Grade

1

Feb 6

Exam #1

20%

2

March 12

Exam #2

20%

3

March 26

Term Paper #1 (including Presentation)

20%

4

As scheduled in class

Lab Assignments (written summary)

10%

5

Final Exam Period (TBA Apr 6-26)

Exam #3

30%

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

LECTURE

DATE

TOPIC

CHAPTERS

1

Jan 9

Defining and assessing psychological trauma

1.     Vol1-Ch2 Defining Trauma

2.     Vol1-Ch10 Acute Stress Disorder and PTSD

3.     Vol1-Ch15-Complex Trauma and Complex PTSD

2

Jan 16

Trauma Therapies and Treatments 1: Non-trauma memory focused

1.     Vol2-Ch12 Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the Treatment of Trauma

2.     Vol2-Ch11 Emotion Regulation and Skills-Based Interventions

3

Jan 23

Trauma Therapies and Treatments 2: Trauma memory focused

1.     Vol2-Ch8 Exposure Therapy

2.     Vol2-Ch9 EMDR

3.     Vol2-Ch7 Cognitive Therapy

4

Jan 30

Trauma as a Transdiagnostic Vulnerability Factor

1.     Vol1-Ch14 Other disorders associated with psychological trauma

2.     Vol1-Ch12: Substance use disorder and trauma

3.     Vol1-Ch11: Depression and complicated grief

5*

Feb 6

Exam 1 in class

--- (Make up Exam Friday Feb 7 5pm)

 

Feb 13

Reading Week – No Class

 

6

Feb 20

Core Principle:

Learning and Memory

Ch16-Trauma and memory

7

Feb 27

Core Principle:

Emotion and Self

---

8

Mar 5

Core Principle: Dissociation & Consciousness

1.                             Vol1-Ch13 Dissociation as a Trauma-Related Phenomenon

9

Mar 12

Exam 2 in class

--- (Make up Exam Friday Feb 7 5pm)

10

Mar 19

Core Principle: Psychobiology

1.     Vol1-Ch23 Genetic and Biological Underpinnings and Consequences of Trauma

2.     Vol2-Ch10 Central autonomic network

Vol2-Ch17 Psychopharmacological treatment

11*

Mar 26

Resiliency and Growth, Student Presentations

1.     Vol2-Ch5 Trauma Resiliency and Posttraumatic Growth

12

April 2

Student Presentations

---

 

Note: Final Exam make-up time will be scheduled once the final exam schedule is decided, and students should not make travel plans prior to that date.

 

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

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

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/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12

 

The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf


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

 

If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;

For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html

Students seeking academic consideration:

  • are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;  
  • are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;

must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence



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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References

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

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.