Blog Assignment - Week 14

Part 1:

This week's chapter focuses on psychotherapy.  For this assignment, I just want to you critically think about a couple questions pertaining to psychotherapy.  Please complete the following questions:

• What do you know about psychotherapy, based on personal experience, experience that your family or friends may have had, what you see on television or in movies, etc.?  Please do not identify yourself or anyone else as having therapy if you are not comfortable doing so.
• Why do you think men are less willing to seek therapy than women?
• Why do you think it is that people who are better educated are more likely to seek psychotherapy?
• If you or someone close to you were going to seek therapy, which type of mental health profession would you seek out (e.g., psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional)? Why?
• If you thought you could benefit from therapy, but were reluctant to seek it, who would you talk to? Parents, friends, clergy, etc.?

Part 2:

As in the previous weeks, please respond to any 2 existing blog posts (not including this one or posts that you have responded to previously) to get credit for you "blog comments."  Each post has its own instructions to follow in regard to commenting. Note: Replying to other students' comments on blog posts does not count toward your grade, although I encourage you to engage in conversation with your colleagues.

That's a wrap, everyone!  You have all done a great job with the blog this semester.  I know they were a lot of work at times, but remember that learning does not really mean much if you can't apply what you have learned.  Psychology is all about applying theories, concepts, etc. to everyday life and behavior, so without the ability to apply it, what use is it, really?  Throughout the semester, I hope you have developed a better ability to not only learn about psychology, but learn to apply it to your life and life around you!

This assignment is due on Monday, December 2, 2013 at 11:59p.

I found this meme and thought you'd like it, now that we have learned the difference between antisocial and asocial :)

Insight Therapies

The textbook discusses several therapy approaches that are "insight" oriented.  For this assignment, I'd like you to choose one of the approaches discussed in this section (listed below):

• Psychoanalysis (hence the picture above - clients don't typically lie on couches, though!)
• Client-Centered Therapy
• Positive Psychotherapy/Psychology

Choose one of the therapy approaches listen above and do some self-guided research.  Please include the following:

• Which therapy approach did you choose?
• In detail, describe this approach.  Please include who the "founder" of this approach was, or who is most associated with it.  Also, what is the central tenet of the approach?  Etc.

Mental Health Professionals

Mental health professions are becoming increasingly popular, but what exactly is a mental health professional and what do they do?  To find out more about possible careers in mental health, please complete the following:

• Read a short snippet from NAMI that describes the various mental health professionals.
• After reading the article from NAMI, I would like you to choose two mental health professions and do some self-guided research on them.
• Describe the two professions that you have chosen.  What do they do?  What type of education do you need?  Where do they work? Etc.

If you are thinking about going into mental health, what are your plans?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is currently one of the most widely used psychotherapy approaches. Because of this, it is important to understand what CBT is.  For this assignment, I would like you to explore CBT.

Please complete the following:

• Read this short article from NAMI.  You may wish to explore other sources of information to gain a deeper understanding of CBT.
• Describe CBT.
• What mental illnesses is CBT used to treat?

Behavioral Therapies

Chapter 14 of your textbook discusses several types of behavioral therapies.  For this assignment, I would like you to choose a behavioral therapy technique to learn more about.  Some that your chapter includes are:

• Systematic Desensitization 
• Aversion Therapy
• Social Skills Training

However, if you would like to look at a different behavioral therapy technique, you are welcome to do so. Please do the following for course credit:

• Briefly discuss what behavioral therapy is.
• Choose a behavioral technique.  You can choose from the list above or discus a different one of your choice.
• Describe the technique you have chosen.  What is it typically used for?  How is it done?  Etc.

Blog Assignment - Week 13

Part 1:

Week 13 of 14...almost there!

This week, I would like you to watch a preapproved movie that pertains to any psychological disorder.  Yes - a whole movie!  I know you are all at the point in the semester when things start getting busy, but do remember that you need to take time to relax and take care of yourself...view this assignment as a way to get a break from the traditional cramming and memorizing - this could be something you can do with your friends around, even.  Yes, you'll need to write about it (meaning some level of attention is required), but also enjoy the movie.  You also have the next week to look forward to (no assignment, yay!).

There is a list below that I would like you to try to follow, but if there is a movie you'd like to watch that is not on the list, shoot me an email with the title and I'll see if it's appropriate for this assignment.

For this assignment, please complete the following:

• Pick and watch a movie from the list below (or run one by me if not on the list).
• What psychological disorder is portrayed in the movie?
• How does the DSM 5 describe this disorder? (See last week's blog assignment for instructions to access to the DSM 5)
• Give an overview of the movie, paying specific attention to detailing how the psychological disorder is portrayed.
• Does the movie accurately portray the disorder, based on characteristics outlined in the DSM 5? Why or why not?  Please provide examples from specific scenes.

No Part 2 this week, making Part 1 worth 20 points...please put effort into this assignment accordingly!

This assignment is due on Monday, November 18, 2013 at 11:59p.

Preapproved Movies (let me know if you think there should be something added to the list!)

Dissociative Disorders (Multiple Personality Disorder)

Identity

Fight Club

Sybil

Thr3e

Personality Disorders

Fatal Attraction

Adaptation

Suicide/Mood Disorders

Ordinary People

Girl Interrupted

The Hours

Silver Linings Playbook

Anxiety/Obsessive Compulsive/PTSD

The Aviator

As Good as it Gets

Fearless

Matchstick Men

Alcohol & Drug Abuse

Leaving Las Vegas

Clean and Sober

Blow

Traffic

Train Spotting

Requiem for a Dream

Rush

Sexual/Gender Identity

The Crying Game

Boys Don't Cry

Ma Vie En Rose

Paris is Burning (documentary)

Transamerica

Brokeback Mountain

Normal

Schizophrenia/Psychosis

A Beautiful Mind

Crumb

I Never Promised you a Rose

Garden

Revolution #9

Spider

Shine

Benny and Joon

Pi

American Psycho

Lars and the Real Girl

Shutter Island

Miscellaneous

Rain Man

Blog Assignment - Week 12

Part 1:

Please note: Depending on the length of your response, you may have to split your response in two...you can leave the main response like you always do, and either just submit the rest via another comment or simply reply to the comment you already left (the latter is preferred!).

The next chapter covers the topic of psychological disorders.  For this assignment, I want you to get an in depth look at one psychological disorder of your choice.  Because I want you to get an in depth look, there will be no required comments this week as this assignment should take you awhile to finish.  Thus, this assignment is worth 20 points.

For this assignment, you will be utilizing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition (DSM 5).  Please be sure you are using the DSM 5 rather than the DSM-IV-TR, as this revised edition was just released this summer!

Please complete the following:

• Choose 1 psychological disorder listed in the DSM 5.  You have access to an electronic version of the DSM 5 via the library.  Please click here.  You should be prompted to login with your university login information once you click the link.  From there, you'll want to click on the "Section II: Diagnostic Criteria and Codes" link and choose a class of disorders that is of interest to you.  You'll then be shown a list of the disorders in that class and you can choose one of those.  Please note that the classes in the DSM 5 are different than what is discussed in your book, which covers the old classification system (particularly when discussing what the DSM-IV-TR referred to as "Mood Disorders").  
• Briefly tell me what you know about the disorder before reading about it in the DSM 5.  
• Describe the disorder, according to the DSM 5.  You may wish to summarize the diagnostic criteria here.  Please attempt to use your own words whenever possible.
• After the criteria for each disorder are listed, there are a number of subheadings associated with each disorder.  The subheadings will vary by disorder.  For the disorder you chose, in your own words, summarize the following subheadings:
• Associated Features Supporting Diagnosis
• Prevalence
• Development and Course
• Risk and Prognostic Factors
• Culture-Related Diagnostic Issues (where applicable)
• Gender-Related Diagnostic Issues (where applicable)
• Comorbidity (where applicable)
• Find an associated video that shows the symptoms of the disorder or has somebody with the disorder sharing their experience.
• Summarize the video, being sure to include some of the symptoms of the disorder discussed.
• Did you learn anything new about this disorder?  Was there anything that challenged what you thought you knew?

Most students decide to major in psychology because they are interested in mental illness - hopefully this assignment will be fun and interesting!

Because Monday is a University Holiday (Veteran's Day), this blog assignment has a different due date than the typical Monday due date.  Because I want you to have enough time to complete this assignment thoroughly, I will extend the deadline to Tuesday, November 12th and 11:59p rather than pushing it up to Sunday.

In the spirit of Veteran's Day, and just because you deserve it everyday, thanks to all of you who have or are currently serving our country!