Faculty Contact Information:
| mcoleman@faculty.ed.umuc.edu | |
Consultation:
| I will be available for consultation during the lunch break, after class, and by appointment. | |
Required Texts and Readings:
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Preston,J., O'Neal, J., and Talaga, M. (2004) 4th Ed. Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Preston,J., and Johnson,J. (2004) 5th ed. Clinical Psychopharmacology Made Ridiculously Simple. Miami, FL: Medmaster. | |
Supplementary Readings:
| All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online 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: 21 hours of graduate psychology courses and permission of the Counseling Program Director. This course is designed for non-medical psychotherapists and counselors. Students will be presented an overview of the current therapeutic use of psychotropic drugs. A brief history of psychopharmacology, and overview of neuroanatomy, a survey of current research on neurotransmitters, and a review of pharmacological terminology will be given. Specific drugs to be considered include the narcotic analgesics, the sedative hypnotics, stimulants, neuroleptics and atypical antipsychotics, anxiolytics, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers, including lithium. | |
Course Goals:
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This course is designed to enable students to become an effective practitioner, having a knowledge of drug use and misuse, skills in identifying and assessing problems presented by the client and the ability to formulate treatment strategy appropriate to the client's needs and concerns, competence in knowledge of legal and ethical issues of counseling, and a knowledge of sources of information about psychopharmacologic interventions. (At present the course is an elective in the counseling degree program.) | |
Course Objectives:
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At the conclusion of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Describe the major classes of psychoactive medications.
2. Provide a rationale for prescribing specific classes of medications used for depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorders.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the indications and contraindications of using each of the classes of psychotropic medications.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the counselor’s responsibility in working with psychiatrists and physicians.
5. Be able to describe how psychotropic medications interact with other medications and substances.
6. Be able to discuss the dangers of iatrogenic conditions and abuse of medications.
7. Be able to identify symptoms of adverse side effects of medications.
8. Be able to identify the proper use of psychotropic medications in at-risk populations such as children, the elderly and those who are in institutions.
9. Be able to describe the benefits and dangers associated with complementary and alternative substances, such as herbal remedies, for the treatment of mental disorders. | |
Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 92%
B 80 – 91%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70%
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. | |
Course Requirements:
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:
Participate in classroom discussions......10%
Midterm Examination.......................25%
Final Examination.........................25%
Presentation..............................15%
Paper.....................................25% | |
Description of Course Requirements:
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours of additional for every hour of a face-to-face class and approximately ten hours of preparation per week for a DE class.
Complete a midterm and Final Examination: The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The midterm exam will be in-class and will consist of multiple choice, true-false, and short answer essays. The final will be a take home and will involve the analysis of a case study. It will be open book, open notes and will be distributed in class on the Sunday of the third weekend. The questions used for this exam will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam. The purpose of using these type of questions it to help students prepare for the comprehensive examinations. The final will be due in class on the Sunday morning of the fourth weekend.
Write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. 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. Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables.
The paper will be on a prescription medication or over-the-counter remedy used to treat a psychological disorder. The paper will require the use of journal resources from the UMUC library. Additional information on the format and content will be distributed during the first weekend of class.
Orally/visually present prepared material: Each student will be required to complete a 20 minute presentation on the findings from his/her term paper. Additional information on the format and content will be distributed during the first weekend of class. | |
Course Schedule:
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Weekend 1:
Saturday
Introduction
Review of Neurobiology including brain and neuron functioning
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 1-3
Sunday
Principles of Psychopharmacology
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 4
Preliminary Diagnostic Considerations
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 5 and Preston and Johnson p. 1
Weekend 2:
Saturday
Mood Disorders: Depression and Bipolar Disorder
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 6 & 7
Antidepressants and Mood Stabilizers
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 15 & 16; Preston and Johnson Ch. 2 & 3, Appendix B
Sunday
Morning: Midterm Exam
Afternoon
Psychotic Disorders
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 10
Antipsychotics
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 18; Preston and Johnson Ch. 5
Weekend 3
Saturday
Psychotic Disorders and Antipsychotics (Continued)
Anxiety and Anxiety-Based Disorders
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 8, 9
Anxiotytics
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 17; Preston and Johnson Ch. 4
Sunday
Anxiety Disorders and Anxiotytics (continued)
Over-the-Counter Products
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 19
Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
Readings: Preston Ch. 21
TERM PAPER DUE
Weekend 4:
Saturday
Miscellaneous Disorders and Wrapup
Readings: Preston et al. Ch. 11-14; Preston and Johnson Ch. 6 & 7
Sunday
Take Home Final Due
Class Presentations on the Findings from Term Papers
| |
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:
| My educational background includes a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Hahnemann University and a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. I completed an APA-Approved clinical psychology internship at Tulane University in New Orleans. I specialize in the assessment and treatment of emotional, learning, and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. My research interests include the educational needs of youth living in foster care and the factors that contribute to the decision to graduate from high school. I have been an Assistant Professor for a program that trained master's and doctoral-level clinical psychology students and was a faculty mentor for a distance education institution. I have been with the University of Maryland University College since March 2003. | |