Answers must be paraphrased (restated in your own words with no quoting permitted), properly source credited, using APA formatting requirements – including within-answer citations and a list of references included at the end of each answer – and at least 600 words each, not counting source citations and references. Answers should be succinct, thorough, articulated in well-organized paragraphs (lists, sentence fragments and bulleted items are not permitted), and more substantive than just definitions of terms, procedures, or issues.

To complete these essay questions, construct your answers below each question on a separate page per question, attach a cover page to the front and a reference list to the end (references must also be placed at the end of each question for which they were used)

Questions:

1. Choose ONE of the following questions:

A. A friend says to you, “I’m really concerned about my child [an eight-year old girl] eventually developing an eating disorder. What should I do or not do?” Explain to your friend, using research-based findings and language he or she will understand, the avoidable – and possibly unavoidable – risks for the development of anorexia or bulimia.

B. The impact of culture and gender are important factors in the development and maintenance of Substance Use Disorders. Briefly describe some of the components of each of these factors and how they might be addressed in culture- and/or gender-specific treatment programs.

2. Accurately and appropriately diagnosing a sexual disorder or paraphilia can be among the most challenging tasks in clinical practice. Thinking about the 4 Ds as discussed in Week 1 of the course, choose ONE sexual disorder and ONE paraphilia covered in your text and discuss how applying those criteria could prove troublesome to a clinician. In addition, be sure to discuss any relevant gender and or cultural factors in terms of the diagnosis or the behavior itself.

3. Imagine you are a clinician at a community mental health clinic. Your client, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, has brought his mother in so the three of you can discuss his treatment options. Using general terms the client and his mother are sure to understand, describe the various types of (a) psychotherapy and (b) medications available for the treatment of schizophrenia, the types of symptoms they each treat, and their potential limitations and risks.

4. Two of the most common – and most troubling – of the personality disorders are antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. Compare and contrast these disorders. Be sure to cover the primary symptoms, predominant causal theories, and the possibility of gender bias in the diagnosis of these disorders. Last, suggest an effective course of treatment.

5. Choose ONE of the following questions:

a. Provide some compelling evidence that children aren’t simply “small adults” and that some separate diagnostic categories are necessary to accurately capture their psychological experience.

b. Psychological problems of the elderly can be divided into two groups: those that are unique to them and those that they share with other age groups. Discuss disorders of these two groups; be sure to indicate how disorders that occur in persons of all ages are nevertheless different in the elderly.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Psychopathology Essay Questions

Psychopathology Essay Questions