Course Number and Name

• 18-213-895 Introduction to Diagnosis & Treatment Planning in Counseling

When Offered

• Spring Quarter

Catalog Description

• Introduction to counseling client problem identification and conceptualization, and use of diagnostic systems in counseling.

Objectives / Expected Outcomes

• Purpose of the Course. The purpose of this course is to provide prospective counselors with
• a framework for identifying the signs and symptoms of emotional disorders,
• knowledge of the current editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders or the International Classification of Diseases,
• knowledge of procedures for conducting mental status examinations,
• knowledge of assessment procedures used in diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Objectives of the Course. By the end of this course, the student will be able to demonstrate ability to:
• define what constitutes a mental and/or emotional disorder
• describe how lifespan development factors influence
• development of mental and/or emotional disorders.
• describe the DSM system for classification of mental and emotional disorders.
• conduct a mental status examination.
• given a case description, complete a multiaxial diagnosis.
• given a case description and diagnosis, prepare a multi-faceted treatment plan.

Texts/Readings

Two texts have been selected for this course. The Maxmen and
Ward text is an overview of diagnosis and treatment planning for a variety of
disorders. The DSM-IV is the standard manual of diagnostic categories used
in the mental health field.

• Maxmen, J. S., & Ward, N. G. (1995). Essential Psychopathology and Its Treatment (2nd ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.
• Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.) (DSM-IV). (1994). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
• There is an additional Readings Packet on sale at DuBois Bookstore which contains a number of useful reference materials plus exercises to be used during class activities.
• Other reading assignments will involve use of readings in the university collection.

Course Organization, Class Schedule, and Assignments

• Organization. The course will be organized in lecture-discussion format with periodic small group practice in identifying problems and making diagnoses from written case materials.
• Assignments. In addition to a midterm and final examination covering course content, each student will be responsible for one term project (student may choose one of the following): (a) write a full case report of a client the student is seeing (has seen) for counseling (include psychosocial history, assessment information, multiaxial diagnosis, and treatment plan documented with appropriate literature references), or, (b) review the literature in the area of diagnosis and treatment planning for a specific mental or emotional disorder reporting on the characteristics of that disorder and the issues involved in treatment
• Schedule. The course will be conducted according to a published schedule.
• Grading  Grades will be based on multiple data sources:
• midterm examination: basics of DSM diagnosis and use of  the DSM manual
• term project:  paper describing the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of a specific mental or emotional disorder final examination: performing diagnosis of cases based on written descriptions of case material
• attendance and contributions to class discussion

NOTE: All reports and papers submitted for this course are expected to be the student's own work; instances of plagiarism will be dealt with according to university policy. Students unfamiliar with standards for the preparation of academic papers are encouraged to seek assistance early in the quarter. Scholarly papers are to be prepared according to the style manual for the American Psychological Association. Assignments are due on the date indicated; late papers will be penalized 1/3 letter grade per week late.

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