Faculty Contact Information:
Faculty Contact Information: Wm. Huffman, Ph.D.
bhuffman@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
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Consultation:
| Consultation: By Email (at anytime) | |
Required Texts and Readings:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TR. (2000). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Zimmerman,M. (1994). Interview Guide for Evaluating DSM-IV Psychiatric Disorders & the Mental Status Examination. East Greenwich, RI: Psych Products Press. | |
Supplementary Readings:
| All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students’ research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
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Course Description:
| Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This courses integrates various assessment methodologies for a comprehensive process of assessment. The purposes, techniques, and process of clinical assessment will be explored. Techniques for understanding of non-verbal, verbal, and interpersonal transactions, including the recapitulation of the family structure and dynamics, are examined. Students are introduced to situational assessment, psychological inference, and report writing. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: PSYC 514 or EDCP 614. | |
Course Goals:
| This course is designed to enable students to become familiar with the DSM-IV diagnostic system as it applies to persons of diverse cultures and abilities. It will assist students in preparing for the comprehensive exam and will prepare them for professional practice. | |
Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Understand and discuss information regarding psychopathology and mental disorders.
2. Discuss issues of diversity as they relate to mental disorders.
3. Demonstrate ability to use the DSM-IV-TR classification system of mental disorders.
4. Successfully diagnose cases using the case vignette method. | |
Grading Information:
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A = 90-100% Outstanding scholarship
B = 80-89% Good scholarship
C = 70-79% Satisfactory scholarship
F = below 70% Failure
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade "F" is used to designate academic failure. "FN" is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs.
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Course Requirements:
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Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society. In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to complete the following:
Weekly assignments..........................30%
Participate in weekly discussions...........10%
Compose a Research paper....................20%
Complete a Case analysis and assessment.....20%
Complete a Final examination................20%
The percentage points following each topic reflects the importance of the activity in determining the final grade for the course.
Attitude:
To get the most out of this course, you will need an attitude of exploration and an expectation for challenge.. During the course, we will conduct interviews, complete self-assessments, provide life-planning exercises and discuss intervention strategies. We will ground all information with the theoretical underpinnings of counseling and psychology.
I expect all of us to make some mistakes with the technology, databases or in the submission of our work. Please adopt an attitude that we are explorers and not experts...
Active Participation:
You must be present to experience the event! Active participation requires posting contributions to the weekly conferences. The success of the class depends on everyone contributing in a timely fashion. Please wait until you have sufficient time to complete the class if your life is currently too challenging. I urge you to contact me prior to missing class.
Late Submissions:
Please submit all assignments on time. As in life, you will receive a lower grade if you are late with an assignment. Please contact me if you are unable to submit an assignment for any reason. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The standard of fairness to the other students in the class requires that a student will need sufficient justification to receive an exception.
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Description of Course Requirements:
1. Weekly Assignments: Each week you will have a series of activities to complete. The activities will range from class discussions, psychology experiments, observation tasks and self-assessments.
2. The Research paper will be on a topic of your own choosing, but must directly relate to clinical assessment or psychopathology. Please contact me by October 8 to discuss your proposed topic. The paper should be 5-7 pages in length using a double-spaced format. Your Paper should be written, and referenced in APA style. Your Paper should be posted in your assignment folder by November 5th. The paper is worth 20 points. Content, format, organization, and synthesis of information will be used as grading criteria for this original paper. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.
3. Participation: Online courses require each student to be an active learner. Group projects, weekly assignments and discussions require each student to be involved in the class on a regular basis. Please schedule sufficient time to complete the work in a timely fashion.
4. Case Analysis and assessment: I will provide a selection of cases for you to evaluate and discuss. I will provide further information about format for this project during the first weeks of class. The case study analysis will be due on Nov 26.
5. Final Exam: The final examination is an open book test. I will post the examination on our WebTycho platform. The examination and questions will be available for four days (Dec 7-11). The examination however should only take you three hours to complete. Each student will post their answers in their assignment folders.
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Course Schedule:
Session 1 August 29 –Sept 3
Introduction; Historical Development and Concepts of Abnormality
Session 2 Sept 4 - 10
Assessment and Diagnosis
Select research project topic Ch.4 by Sept 10
Session 3 Sept 11 - 17
Schizophrenia
Session 4 Sept 18 - 24
Other Psychotic Disorders
Session 5 Sept 25 – Oct 1
Mood Disorders
Session 6 Oct 2 – Oct 8
Suicide
Selection of Research Topic Approved by Instructor by Oct 8
Session 7 Oct 9 - 15
Anxiety Disorders
Term Break October 15 to October 23
Session 8 Oct 24 – Oct 29
Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders
Eating, Sleeping, & Psycho-Physiological Disorders
Session 9 Nov 30- Nov 5
Mental Retardation & Cognitive Disorders
Research Paper due Nov 5 in Assignment Folder
Session 10 Nov 6 - 12
Childhood Disorders
Session 11 Nov 13 - 19
Substance-related Disorders
Session 12 Nov 20 – Nov 26
Personality Disorders
Case Study Due in Assignment Folder by Nov 26
Session 13 November 27 – Dec 6
Legal and Cultural Issues
FINAL EXAMINATION
December 7 - 11
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Academic Policies:
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Note: Any written assignment in this course may be submitted to TurnItIn.Com. This statement constitutes prior notice.
The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."
Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center. | |
Faculty Bio:
One difficulty with online classes is your lack of information about an instructor or any available “inside” information about the class before you register. As an introduction, I am a counseling psychologist with my Ph.D. from Duke University. I also have degrees and certifications in school psychology, counseling, educational administration and psychology. The majority of my college experiences were completed in North Carolina. I recently moved to Arizona following 4 years at Texas A&M University. Prior to Texas, I was in Asia and Europe for 13 years with Boston University and University of Maryland University College.
I have been a teacher, counselor, researcher, school psychologist, school counselor, professor, Department Chair, Coordinator of the graduate counselor training programs for Maryland in Europe and also in Asia. I previously taught with Boston University, East Carolina University, University of Ryukyu-Japan, and with Graduate programs in Greece. My last position with Maryland was as Area Director for Central Germany, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Honduras, and Turkey. I have also been in private practice and acted as a consultant to State, National and International organizations and governments.
Before this term, I was Assistant Director of Human Resources for Texas A & M University. I was in charge of Employment Development and Training for the University.
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