CPSY 318: Clinical Assessment I 

Winter 2013 
Friday, 1:30 to 4:30 

Instructor: Barry Hayes, PhD 

(408) 378-0730 
Office Hours: Friday 12:00 to 1:30 pm 
Course Description: 

This class is about the actual therapeutic situation. A person comes to see you because they are 
in distress. A person is referred to you because there has been an obvious change in level of 
functioning. A person is referred to you because they create problems for others. What do we 
do? 

This class has both a focus and a purpose. The focus will be Psychopathology. These are serious 
mental problems that demand some kind of intervention. We will learn what the diagnostic 
terms mean, when and how to diagnose them, and what the treatment implications are. We will 
learn how to use the DSM as a tool and as a guide. 

However, the purpose of the class will be to learn how to fully understand our client so that 
whatever diagnostic entity they are experiencing makes sense in the context of their lives. This 
is Clinical Assessment. Diagnosis is part of assessment, but in itself is not enough to guide 
intervention. 

This is a time of change in the DSM. We will become familiar with the changes in the DSM5 as 
far as they are available. However, the emphasis will be more on how to use the DSM, even 
though we will become familiar with its content. 

Course Requirements: 

Class attendance and participation is required. Some of the classes will be led by me with input 
from you. Therefore, the reading assignments are required. 

Some of the classes will be led by you. You will be broken up into five groups. Each group will 
become expert in one of the diagnostic categories. Each group member will also be required to 
write a paper on that category. 

There will also be a final exam. This may or not be “take home” - to be decided later. 

Grading Criteria: 
Presentation and Paper 60% 
Final Exam 30% 
Class Participation 10% 


Required Texts: 
Maxmen, Ward and Kilgus: Essential Psychopathology and Its Treatment 


Halgin and Whitbourne: A Casebook in Abnormal Psychology 

Jamieson: An Unquiet Mind 

Course Outline

 Date 
Reading Assignment 

January 11 Introduction 
What is diagnosis? 


January 18 Information Gathering and Assessment 
Maxmen pp. 3-209 
Halgin pp. 1-7 


January 25 Delirium, Dementia, Cognitive Disorders 
Maxmen pp. 209-241 
Halgin pp. 236-253 


February 1 Mood Disorders 
Maxmen pp. 331-373 
Halgin pp. 143-197 
Jamieson 


February 8 Anxiety Disorders 
Maxmen pp. 373-416 
Halgin pp. 37-89 


February 15 Schizophrenia and Related Disorders 
Maxmen pp. 290-331 
Halgin pp. 197-211 


February 22 Personality Disorders 
Maxmen pp. 547-583 
Halgin pp. 7-37 


March 1 Substance Related Disorders 
Maxmen pp. 241-290 
Halgin pp. 253-285 


March 8 Somatoform DisordersMaxmen pp. 416-438 
Psychological Factors Affecting 
Physical Condition 


March 15 PTSD 
Adjustment DisordersMaxmen pp. 630-637 
Disorders in the Aging Population 


March 22 Final Exam