Psychopathology 2500-EN-O-36
One in four people in the world will suffer from at least one mental
disorder at some point during their lifetime. Mental illness is the most
common cause of non-fatal illness worldwide and one of the most
common causes of chronic disability. Mental illness is commonly
associated with significant suffering and can strike anyone, including
children and adults, men and women, wealthy and poor, and people
from all cultures. This course is designed to give students an
introduction to the field of psychopathology. The course will use the
recently updated DSM-5 as the primary guideline for diagnosis and
classification of mental disorders. Emphasis will be placed on the
description of clinical symptoms and syndromes as they present in
various mental disorders. Each class of disorders will be discussed in
terms of its clinical presentation, known etiology, prevalence,
treatment and prognosis. Case studies from literature and own
clinical practice will be used to illustrate main features of each
disorder. This course aims to be theoretically neutral and therefore it
presents psychopathology from the point of view of all major
theoretical perspectives, including psychological, neurobiological and
socio-cultural models.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, a student should be able to:
define the concept of a mental disorder,
recognize and describe symptoms of major mental disorders,
identify the major etiological and treatment paradigms in
psychopathology,
understand the role of biological, psychological, and cultural
factors in shaping normal and abnormal behavior,
understand the importance of scientific and clinical research
in advancement of knowledge of psychopathology and its
treatment.
Assessment criteria
Assessment methods and criteria
Grades will be determined based on performance on the following:
Midterm test worth 25% of the final grade and the Final exam
worth 65% of the final grade (total 90%). Both tests will have
multiple choice format. The final exam will be cumulative.
Written assignment worth 10% of the final grade. Students will be
required to write a 3-5 page long paper based on research articles
related to psychopathology. Topic TBA.
Attendance - extra 2% will be added to the final grade of all
students having no more than one unexcused lecture absence as
determined by the attendance list.
Attendance rules
Students will be allowed a maximum of two unexcused absences for the
class. In case of formal excuse, up to 50% of classes can be missed.
Missing more than half of the classes results in not passing the course.
Additional information
Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: