Course Title: Psychopathology and Models of Intervention

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Psychopathology and Models of Intervention

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

BESC1445

City Campus

Undergraduate

150H Health Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2007,
Sem 2 2008,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 2 2014,
Sem 2 2015,
Sem 2 2016

BESC1445

City Campus

Undergraduate

173H School of Health and Biomed

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2018,
Sem 2 2019,
Sem 2 2020,
Sem 2 2021,
Sem 2 2022,
Sem 2 2023,
Sem 2 2024

BESC1446

Bundoora Campus

Undergraduate

150H Health Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2007,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 2 2014,
Sem 2 2015

BESC1447

Bundoora Campus

Postgraduate

150H Health Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2007,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 2 2014

BESC1448

City Campus

Postgraduate

150H Health Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2007,
Sem 2 2008,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 2 2014,
Sem 2 2015

BESC1532

RMIT University Vietnam

Undergraduate

173H School of Health and Biomed

Face-to-Face

 Viet3 2023

Course Coordinator: James Collett

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2750

Course Coordinator Email: james.collett@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 12.07.016C-2


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Enforced Pre-Requisite Courses

Successful completion of:

Note: it is a condition of enrolment at RMIT that you accept responsibility for ensuring that you have completed the prerequisite/s and agree to concurrently enrol in co-requisite courses before enrolling in a course.

For information go to RMIT Course Requisites webpage.


Course Description

This course provides an introduction to the study of abnormal psychology. The concept of abnormality will be examined and issues related to the classification of psychological disorders will be explored. The descriptive taxonomy of DSM-5 will be introduced and aetiological models and diagnosis of selected child, adolescent and adult disorders will be examined. Disorders may include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia. A variety of contrasting theoretical models underlying psychological intervention will be examined to facilitate understanding of approaches and techniques of psychological intervention used by psychologists.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the development of the following Program Learning Outcomes for BP154 Bachelor of Applied Science (Psychology):

  • PLO 1:  Understand appropriate and relevant fundamental and applied evidence based knowledge and undertake lifelong learning to improve personal and professional practice 
  • PLO 2: Demonstrate a capacity to employ a variety of approaches and procedures to research to permit judgements and decisions to be supported by appropriate evidence that places practice within a global and local context.
  • PLO 3:  Applies knowledge to diagnose and solve problems in a wide range of diverse situations, with an ability to work independently or with others and incorporate the analysis of evidence based scientific literature to solve psychological problems.
  • PLO 4: Engage in dialogue with a diverse range of people and communicate in a broad range of forms (written, electronic, graphic, oral) to meet the circumstances of the situation and the capabilities of the audience.
  • PLO 5: Maintains tolerance and respect for individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds, holding diverse values, adhering to professional expectations and demonstrating ethical behaviour.
  • PLO 6: develop collaborative partnerships with colleagues, other professionals and the community that build on the capacity of others and develop open and flexible relationships that adapt to evolving needs and aspirations.


Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an awareness of the concepts of normality, abnormality, and mental illness and the methodologies used to study, describe, and treat psychopathology.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of psychotherapeutic models, and of the practical elements of the psychotherapeutic interaction.
  3. Describe the limitations and advantages of diagnostic and classification systems.
  4. Review the aetiology and assessment of selected child, adolescent, and adult disorders.


Overview of Learning Activities

You will be actively engaged in a range of learning activities such as lectorials, tutorials, practicals, laboratories, seminars, project work, class discussion, individual and group activities. Delivery may be face to face, online or a mix of both.

You are encouraged to be proactive and self-directed in your learning, asking questions of your lecturer and/or peers and seeking out information as required, especially from the numerous sources available through the RMIT library, and through links and material specific to this course that is available through myRMIT Studies Course.


Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through myRMIT Studies Course.

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.


Overview of Assessment

Assessment Tasks

Early Assessment Task: Lab Report Proposal
Weighting 40%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1 & 2

Assessment Task 2: Lab Report
Weighting 40%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1 & 2

Assessment Task 3: Online Tests
Weighting 20%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 3 & 4

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.