330.617.01 THE PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH TO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Examines the major mental disorders, emphasizing the current thinking regarding their essential features and their assessment in public health research. Class sessions include lectures by the instructor and by experts in particular disorders. Reviews commonly-utilized measures in public health and clinical contexts, including self- and informant-report measures, clinician-administered scales, and structured interviews.

Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Describe the organizational scheme of the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as well as its limitations, and alternative perspectives.

2. Describe the presentations and key features of major psychiatric syndromes, including anxiety and mood disorders, schizophrenia, substance use disorders and others.

3. Identify the type and degree of disability associated with particular mental disorders.

4. Describe and enumerate the strengths and weaknesses of different methods of assessing and classifying psychiatric syndromes.

5. Identify appropriate measures for the assessment of particular disorders in public mental health research.