Spring 2004
01:830:451 TH, 4:00-:00 ARC 204
Advanced Topics/Clinical & Abnormal Psychology:
Mood Disorders
DR. JUDITH M. STERN, Busch Psychology Building, Room 213; (732) 445-2415; 5-2576 (Dept. secretary); jmstern@rci.rutgers.edu. Office Hours: M,W 3:00 - 4:00 PM, and by appointment.
BOOKS: Order individually (e.g., amazon.com)
(TK) “Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families, and Providers,” by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., and Michael B. Knable, D.O.; 2002
(KJ) “An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness,” by Kay Redfield Jamison; 1995
(EW) “Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America,” by Elizabeth Wurtzel; 1995
OTHER READINGS: Chapter on Mood Disorders from a recent Abnormal Psychology textbook for background. Books on RESERVE at the Library of Science of Medicine (LSM); see separate list. Journal articles to be added later, largely by the participants in this seminar.
REQUIREMENTS
There are no exams in this course. You will be graded by your writing assignments, especially a term paper, and by your participation in class presentations and discussions. Some details below.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
We will examine what mood disorders are, from the biomedical perspective of researchers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and from the experiential perspective of those who suffer from a mood disorder or of a relative. Guest speakers, such as Dr. Michael Friedman, will describe their research project on depression or manic depression (bipolar disorder). You will gain expertise by active learning: reading in conjunction with writing and oral presentations during discussion with your classmates, finding your way in the biomedical literature on neurobiological and genetic causes and on pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments, and discovering what is available on relevant web-sites. You may also like to visit a support group in New Brunswick or New York.
INITIAL COURSE SYLLABUS
| SESSION | TOPIC | READINGS (CH = chapter; page numbers) |
1. 01/22 |
Introduction; Review from Abnormal Psych |
TK: Preface: Manic Depression [MD] or Bipolar
Disorder?
CH 1, Dimensions of M-D Illness (1-17) |
2. 01/29 |
What are mania and depression? |
TK: CH 2, The Inner World: M and D from the
Inside 19-43); CH 3, The Outer Worlds: M-D Illness Defined. (45-61); KJ: Prologue,
pp. 3-9 |
3. 02/05 |
Similar conditions; Risk factors; Dynamics |
TK: CH 4, Conditions Sometimes Confused with
M-D Illness (63-81); CH 5, Risk Factors for Developing M-D Illness (83-93);
CH 6, Onset, Course, and Outcome (95-105); KJ: Into the Sun (11-40) |
4. 02/12 |
Causes: brain and genes |
TK: CH 6, Causes (107-121); KJ: An Education for Life (41-63),
Flights of the Mind (67-89); EW: Prologue (1-19) |
5. 02/19 |
Causes: neurochemicals, other; Medications: mood stabilizers |
TK: CH 6, Causes (121-135), CH 8, Medications:
Mood Stabilizers (137-161); KJ: Missing Saturn (90-109);EW: CH 1 (21-41) |
6. 02/24 |
Medications: other |
TK: CH 9, Medications: Antidepressants, Antipsychotics,
and Benzodiazepines (163-187); KJ: The Charnel House (110-123), Tenure (124-135); EW:
CH 2 (43-63), CH 3 (65-91) |
7. 03/04 |
Treatment strategies, with and without medications |
TK: CH 10, Medications: Treatment Strategies (189-201), Ch. 11,
Nonmedication Aspects of Treatment (203-220); KJ: An Officer and
a Gentleman (139-152), They Tell Me It Rained (153-162); EW:
CH 4 (93-106), CH 5 (107-131) |
8. 03/11 |
Pediatric mood disorders |
TK: CH 12, M-D Illness in Children and Adolescents (221-231); KJ:
Love Watching Madness (163-175), Speaking of Madness (179-184); EW:
CH 6 (133-150), CH 7 (151-179) |
9. 03/25 |
Related problems: substance abuse, criminality, suicide |
TK: Ch. 13, Ten Special Problems (233-265); KJ: The
Troubled Helix (185-197); EW: CH 8 (181-203), CH 9 (205-225) |
10. 04/01 |
M-D illness and creativity |
TK: CH 14, M-D Illness and Creativity (267-278); KJ:
Clinical Privileges (199-209), A Life in Moods (210-216), Epilogue (217-219); EW: Ch.
10 (227-241), CH 11 (243-266) |
11. 04/08 |
Issues for families and advocates |
TK: CH 15, Commonly Asked Questions (279-291), CH 16, Issues for
Advocates (293-306); EW: CH 12 (267-290), CH 13 (291-312) |
12. 04/15 |
Student presentations |
EW: CH 14 (313-331), Epilogue (333-351), Afterward (353-362) |
13. 04/22 |
Student presentations |
|
14. 04/29 |
Student presentations |
INITIAL ASSIGNMENTS:
Each week, write your questions and comments on the readings.
For the memoirs, try to identify the various mood states and what might have
contributed to it. Submit this to me by e-mail by 1-2 days before our
Thursday class; eventually, we will do this on-line so that everyone can read
the comments.
CLASS ON 01/22 OR DUE 01/29: Your background, expectations for this course and its possible value for your future, personally and/or professionally.
TERM PAPER: About 10-15 pages; based on literature review of a focused
topic; proposal due 02/19; detailed outline due 04/08; paper due 04/29.