Entry requirements
Only open to master’s students in Psychology. Students are strongly advised to first follow the course in Advanced Psycho-diagnostics.
Description
This course extends students’ knowledge of abnormal development from infancy through to adolescence, and simultaneously builds knowledge around the approaches to assessment, prevention and intervention for clinical problems arising during this time.
Representative problems covered in the course include: Anxiety, Trauma, Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Personality Disorders, Schizophrenia, Conduct Disorders, and others.
During the course emphasis is given to:
1. The requirements to properly set a diagnosis; One requirement is a symptom case history. A symptom case history considers the child’s or adolescent’s symptoms and problems in different contexts (e.g., family, school, free-time). The importance of attending to symptom presentation in these different contexts for assessment, diagnostics and treatment are discussed.
2. Different forms of treatment and treatment planning;
3. Critical evaluation of (scientific) information, e.g. related to the effectiveness of different forms of intervention and treatment.
Course objectives
The main course objective is to develop the academic skills and competencies necessary for psychologists to both critically and professionally participate in the decision making processes within the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Specifically, after course completion it is expected that students will be able to:
critically evaluate the scientific issues, developments, or trends associated with child and adolescent psychiatric disorders using the assigned reading, group presentation, written paper and workgroup discussions;
formulate a basic analysis of a patient case study in the form of a descriptive diagnosis, diagnosis hypotheses and a treatment plan achieved through case study analysis during workgroups and in the written paper;
understand how symptom presentation in different contexts can influence the diagnostic process, achieved through class discussion of case studies.
Timetable
For the timetables of your lectures, work groups and exams, please select your study programme in:
Psychology timetables
Registration
Course
Students need to enroll for lectures and work group sessions.
Master’s course registration
Mode of instruction
The course consists of 8 workgroup sessions each lasting 2-hours and incorporating a critical discussion with an expert in the field.
Assessment method
The final grade is based on a digital presentation (20% of final mark) and two written papers (each 40% of final mark). One paper is on one of the assigned discussion topics and the second is on an assigned case study.
Active participation in the workgroups (is required but not officially assessed).
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has instituted that instructors use a software programme for the systematic detection of plagiarism in students’ written work. In case of fraud disciplinary actions will be taken. Please see the information concerning fraud.
Reading list
Rutter, M. a.o. Rutter’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 5th ed. 2008 Blackwell Publishing (Textbook can be purchased from study association Labyrint with significant reduction).
Additional literature related to each seminar topic will be provided during the course. A couple of examples:
Crowell SE, Beauchaine TP, Linehan MM. (2009). A biosocial developmental model of borderline personality: Elaborating and extending Linehan’s theory. Psychological Bulletin 2009 May;135(3):495-510.
Reichart C.G., Nolen W.A., Earlier onset of Bipolar Disorder in children by antidepressants or stimulants? A hypothesis. Journal of affective Disorders, 2004 jan,78(1):81-4.
Contact information
Dr. A. C. Miers
Room 3B42
Phone: +31715273688
E-mail: acmiers@fsw.leidenuniv.nl