Order Description

MHC 620E Psychopathologies 
Individual Project Sheet 
Project Description 
A solid understanding of the DSM-IV and psychopathologies is integral to your studies.  A good working 
knowledge of the material is necessary for you to successfully pass any comprehensive or licensing 
exams in the field of mental health counseling.  You will prepare a Book of “Cheat Sheets” that will be 
your study guide throughout your program and for future exams. 
Project Requirements 
Create a two-page document for each category of disorders, which includes: 
o  An overview of the diagnoses within the category 
o  Differential diagnoses  
o  Ideas for treatment planning (goals, interventions, modalities of treatment, etc.) 
o  Ideas for referral sources for the clients (ancillary services, professionals, 
diagnostics, etc.) 
o  Anything else you’d like to remember  
o  Each disorder should be no more than two pages, no less than 8 pt. font  
Part 1: (due in Week 4) Compile the first half of your Book of “Cheat Sheets” using the following 
guidelines:  
o  Anxiety-, Trauma- and Stressor-Related 
o  Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders  
o  Mood Disorders  
o  Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders  
o  Dissociative Disorders 
o  Feeding and Eating Disorders  
o  Sleep-Wake Disorders  
o  Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders 
Part 2:  (due in Week 6) Compile the second half of your Book of “Cheat Sheets” using the following 
guidelines:  
o  Sexual  Dysfunctions, Paraphilic Disorders and Gender Dysphoria  
o  Substance-Related, Addictive, and Impulse Control Disorders  
o  Personality Disorders  
o  Schizophrenia Spectrum & Other Psychotic Disorders 
o  Neurodevelopmental Disorders 
o  Neurocognitive Disorders  
Part 3:  (due in Week 7) Please respond to the following discussion questions:  
Describe your understanding of how the DSM-5 works, including the move away from the multi-axial 
diagnosis system of earlier versions, and towards a more dimensional approach to diagnosis.  
The DSM-5 now includes assessment measures. A few are included in the print version of the DSM-5; all 
are available on-line as PDFs. Please chose one of interest to you and discuss how you would 
incorporate it into your tool box as a clinician.  
The Supplementary Modules to the Core Cultural Formation Interview (CFI) have examples of questions 
that can help you to conduct a more comprehensive cultural assessment. Please include a short 
discussion on how/when you would use three of the following modules: Explanatory; Level of 
Functioning; Social Network; Psychosocial Stressors; Spirituality, Religion and Moral Traditions; Cultural 
Identity; Coping and Help-Seeking; Patient-Clinician Relationship; School-Age Children and Adolescents; 
Older Adults; Immigrants and Refugees; and Caregivers.  



















#140

Any topic (writer’s choice)

Paper instructions:
    Essay #1: Response Essay

    Prompt:  In his essay, “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, the author argues:  “Boredom is everywhere in my world, and if you asked the kids, as I  often did, why they felt so bored, they always gave them the same answers: They said the work was stupid, that it made no sense, that they already knew it.  They said they wanted to do something real, not just sitting around.  They said teachers didn’t seem to know much about their subjects and clearly weren’t interested in learning more.  And the kids were right: their teachers were every bit as bored as they were” (xiii).

    Do you agree or disagree with the above argument that students and teachers are bored with the curriculum in most schools?  Why is that? Use a