James Madison University Psychopathology: Diagnosis and Treatment Planning PSYC 685, Spring 2013

Instructor: Thom Field, M.Ed., NCC Adjunct Graduate Instructor Ph.D. student in Counseling and Supervision program Johnston 108 fieldta@jmu.edu Office hours by appointment Course Description: This 3-credit hour course is designed to be a specialized examination of mental disorders during childhood and adolescence. The course will examine DSM and school-based diagnostic criteria based on educational law such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504. Students will learn and practice the counseling interventions typically used to treat these problems. School-based intervention procedures are reviewed, including child study, response to intervention (RTI), and the prevention and postvention of suicide and violence. The Virginia Board of Counseling requires this course in psychopathology diagnosis and treatment planning as part of the educational requirement for licensure as a professional counselor (LPC) in Virginia. Course Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes: Students will become familiar with child and adolescent psychopathology, as well as clinical and school-based diagnostic procedures and treatment planning. Students will develop competence in the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the classification system most widely used by mental health professionals. Students will develop competence in special education law such as IDEA and Section 504. Student competence in diagnosis and treatment planning will be measured by classroom participation and weekly case studies. Students who successfully complete this course will demonstrate knowledge in the following core content areas of the CACREP 2009 Standards, Section II.G: II.G.3.b, II.G.3.c, and II.G.3f. HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT studies that provide an understanding of the nature and needs of persons at all developmental levels and in multicultural contexts, including all of the following: b. theories of learning and personality development, including current understandings about neurobiological behavior; c. effects of crises, disasters, and other trauma-causing events on persons of all ages; f. human behavior, including an understanding of developmental crises, disabilities, psychopathology, and situational and environmental factors that affect both normal and abnormal behavior. In addition, students who successfully complete this course will demonstrate knowledge in the following School Counseling content areas of the CACREP 2009 Standards, Sections A.7., C.3., C.6., D.4., G.1., and M.7. A.7. Understands the operation of the school emergency management plan and the roles and responsibilities of the school counselor during crises, disasters, and other trauma-causing events. C.3. Knows strategies for helping students identify strengths and cope with environmental and developmental problems.

C.6. Understands the potential impact of crises, emergencies, and disasters on students, educators, and schools, and knows the skills needed for crisis intervention. D.4. Demonstrates the ability to use procedures for assessing and managing suicide risk. G.1. Understands the influence of multiple factors (e.g., abuse, violence, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, childhood depression) that may affect the personal, social, and academic functioning of students. M.7. Knows school and community collaboration models for crisis/disaster preparedness and response. Academic Integrity: You are expected to understand the boundaries of plagiarism and to adhere to a policy of academic honesty. Please refer to the JMU academic honor code: http://www.jmu.edu/honor/code.shtml#TheHonorCode Adding/Dropping Classes: Students are responsible for registering for classes and for verifying their class schedules on e-campus. Students must drop classes before the schedule add/drop deadline. Students may not register to take this class after the add deadline, per JMU policy. No exceptions will be made to these deadlines. For more details and information on block courses, refer to the Registrar's Web site at www.jmu.edu/registrar/spring_comp.shtml. Attendance: If you need to miss a class, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor, and initiate a discussion concerning what supplemental assignments can be completed to make up for the absence. If you need to miss class, you are responsible for obtaining any material distributed during the class. If you know ahead of time that you will need to miss at least two classes, it is recommended that you drop this class and take it later. Class Conduct: With regard to electronic devices: cell phones are to be turned off and texting is not allowed during class time. If you are on call or expecting an emergency phone call that you must respond to, please step out of the classroom in order to respond. Computers are to be used for class-related assignments or note taking only. If they are used for other purposes (i.e., social communication), students will be asked to leave class. This course has an off-site learning component. You are expected to behave in a professional and ethical manner when at your site. Person-first language must be used. Students who are unfamiliar with ethical responsibilities are required to review the American Counseling Associations 2005 Code of Ethics. This will be made available on request. Written Assignments: All written assignments must be typed, and formatted according to the following: 12-point font, Times New Roman, double spacing, 1 margins, and your name clearly included on the front page. In addition, the manuscript should follow the formatting guidelines of the APA Style Manual, Sixth Edition. Copies are available in the library and bookstore. Disability Accommodations: JMU abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandate reasonable accommodations be provided for students with documented disabilities. If you have a disability and may require some type of instructional and/or examination accommodations, please contact me early in the semester so that I can provide or facilitate provision of accommodations you may need. If you have not already done so, you will need to register with the Office of Disability Services, the designated office on campus to provide services for students with disabilities. The office is located in Wilson Hall, Room 107; you may call 540-568-6705 for more information.

Religious Accommodations: Reasonable and appropriate accommodations will be provided to students requesting them on grounds of religious observation. As the instructor, I will determine what accommodations are appropriate for his/her course. Students should notify me by no later than the end of the Drop-Add period the first week of the semester of potential scheduled absences and determine with the instructor if mutually acceptable alternative methods exist for completing the missed classroom time, lab or activity. Contact the Office of Equal Opportunity (http://www.jmu.edu/oeo/) at (540) 568-6991if you have additional questions. Inclement weather: Check the JMU cancellation policy (http://jmu.edu/JMUpolicy/1309.shtml) Required Text: Juhnke, G., A., Granello, D. H., & Granello, P. F. (2010). Suicide, self-injury, and violence in the schools: Assessment, prevention, and intervention strategies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Suggested Text (available May 2013): American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Supplemental Readings: In addition to the required text there will be a number of additional articles students will be required to read. The articles will be handed out on the week prior to the scheduled reading assignments, or will be posted on the class Black Board site in Course Documents. Methods of Instruction: My philosophical approach to teaching is grounded in constructivism. Therefore, most of our class time will be spent in experiential exercises and activities to facilitate student learning. During some weeks, the structure of class will be adjusted to accommodate guest presentations, student presentations, etc. Student Performance Evaluation Procedures and Criteria: Students can earn up to 100 points for the semester. The points are divided among the assignments listed below. Final grades will be based on the following scale: Grade A B C Fail Grades are based on the following: 1. Pre-Referral Meetings 10 points 3 child study meetings x 3.33 points 2. Case Studies 45 points 9 cases x 5 points 3. Prevention, Response, and Postvention Plan 30 points 3 sections x 10 points 4. Suicide Prevention Presentation & Proposal 10 points 50 minutes x 0.2 points 5. Personal Reflections 5 points 5 pages x 1 point TOTAL 100 points (1% per point) Course Requirements: The following assignments and activities are required of all students. 1. Pre-Referral Meetings (10 points). Students will participate in at least three pre-referral meetings at a school site, which may include Child Study meetings, IST, SAP, etc. IEP meetings and Eligibility will not count. Students in their practicum can opt to attend meetings at their site. Points 90 100 80 89.9 points 70 79.9 points Less than 70 points Percentage 90 100 % 80 89.9% 70 79.9% Less than 70%

Students not in their practicum should contact the instructor to arrange another site that is willing for the student to attend their child study meetings. Students will be expected to travel independently to these sites. Students are expected to be signed-off on three attendances, using the form provided in Appendix A. This form can be turned in any time before the last class. 2. Case Studies (45 points). Students will complete nine case studies, most of which involve completing a diagnostic and treatment planning worksheet. Answering the questions at the end of each case study are voluntary, and will not be graded. Each paper must be less than 5 pages of double-spaced text, and follow APA format. Points will be assigned based on effort, rather than mastery, since most students are in the novice stages of their counselor development. 3. Prevention, Response, and Postvention Plan (30 points). Students will create a timeline and strategy for establishing separate prevention, response, and postvention plans for (a) suicide, (b) self-injury, and (c) violence. Each timeline will highlight chronological steps of establishing a working prevention, response, and postvention plan in a school. Strategies for each will be delineated for the separate domains of prevention, response, and postvention. The prevention plan will feature a two-tiered approach of universal screening, followed by selective screening. Students will identify screening instruments, form letters to notify parents and request consent, and protocols for selective interviews. The response plan will feature protocols for crisis counseling, family contact, hospitalization, referral, and re-entry. The postvention plan will feature protocols for alerting staff and students, alerting the media, contacting affected families, and student follow-ups. Students are encouraged to read and use information from the Junhke et al. (2010) text, in addition to supplemental readings and student-obtained research. This plan should be no longer than 30 pages in total length, and can use non-APA formatting such as bullet points and numerals. Headings: a. Suicide i. Prevention ii. Response iii. Postvention iv. Timeline of Implementation b. Self-injury i. Prevention ii. Response iii. Postvention iv. Timeline of Implementation c. Violence i. Prevention ii. Response iii. Postvention iv. Timeline of Implementation

4. Suicide Prevention Presentation & Proposal (10 points). Students will collectively complete a 50-minute suicide prevention presentation, which will be practiced in class. They will also turn in a proposal for this presentation, which will later be submitted to the next Virginia Counselors Association or Virginia School Counselors Association conference. The proposal guidelines are specified in Appendix B. The instructor will provide mentoring and guidance in the creation of the presentation and proposal. 5. Personal reflections (5 points). You will write a 5 page reflection paper about what lessons you have learned from experiences in this class. This paper will include the following headings: a. Perceptions upon entering the class b. External pre-referral meetings c. Experience with completing case studies d. Myself as a school-based crisis responder e. The road ahead: Areas for improvement Class Notes: Students are expected to read the required text (Junhke et al., 2010) by the end of the semester. No specific timeline has been created for this reading students can read the text at their own pace. Students are advised that their reading of this text will inform their major paper (Prevention, Response, and Postvention Plan), and their Suicide Prevention presentation. Alternative deadlines for assignments can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. In general, we will adhere to the schedule detailed in the syllabus. If I need to make changes, I will inform you as soon as possible and post an updated schedule on Black Board. Week 16 has been reserved in case any classes are cancelled due to snow, etc. Students should intend on attending this class, just in case.

Appendix A: Agreement with Site Supervisor to Attend Child Study Meetings I, ___________________________ (name of site supervisor), agree for ____________________________ (name of student) to attend at least three pre-referral/Response to Intervention/Child Study meetings at my work site. I will monitor and supervise the student, as needed. I understand that any questions or concerns can be directed to the instructor, Thom Field, at James Madison University (email: fieldta@jmu.edu, phone # 434-426-2732). Signed, _________________________________ (site supervisor) _________________________________ (student) ______________________ (date) ______________________ (date)

Date of meeting

Signature of Child Study Chair

Appendix B: Format of Suicide Prevention Proposal for VCA/VSCA

Title (Limit: 12 words): Presenters (in order of importance):

Abstract (Limit: 50 words):

Synopsis (Limit: 500 words)