PSY 550 - Introduction to Clinical Psychology

Spring, 2007

THURSDAYS 1:30-4:15 PM – Neff 374

Instructor: Lenore E. DeFonso, Ph.D.

Office: 388C Neff Hall

Phone: 481-6396 (My office); 481-6403 (Psychology Dept.)

Office Hours: Thursdays 4:30 PM (or whenever class ends) – 6:00 PM.

In addition, I expect to be at IFW most afternoons except Mondays, and you are free to drop in on those days. However, it is best to check with me beforehand to make sure I will be there.

I can also be available at other times by appointment. You may call me at home if you cannot reach me at IPFW.

If you have any questions, problems, or need help with any aspects of the course, please make sure to see me during office hours or other arranged times.

Text: Trull, T. J. (2005). Clinical Psychology, 7^th ed. Thomson/ Wadsworth Publishing Co.

The text is to be used primarily as a reference handbook. It contains valuable information about the profession of clinical psychology, instruments and techniques used by psychologists, ethical principles, etc. We may spend some class time discussing these things, but it will be mostly up to you whether or not you utilize the information in the text. Other books and materials designed to assist you with course requirements will be placed on reserve as needed. You will also receive handouts and samples that will help with course requirements.

Course Objectives:

This is a practice‑oriented course intended to acquaint students with the basic philosophy of clinical psychology, as well as some of the “tools of the trade” employed by the clinician. Students will learn some rudimentary skills involved in psychological testing and interviewing, and will gain experience in communicating the results of assessment and intervention techniques via psychological reports. Also, the ethical issues surrounding the use of such techniques will be discussed.

PLEASE NOTE that this course will NOT provide sufficient expertise in any of these tech-niques for students to practice them beyond the scope of this course. This course is merely an introduction to their use.

Plan of the Course:

Jan. 11- ? Unit I. Background, history, ethical issues, etc.

Assigned reading: Chapters 1-3

Suggested reading: Chapters 16-18

Written requirements in Unit III:

· Reports on role‑plays of interviews/ interventions for two of the following:

2 individual sessions, 1 couple, 1 family

May 3 Final Class – There will be a final class meeting during finals week to integrate and wrap up what we have covered in the course, do course evaluations, etc.

Course expectations and grading:

Since this is a practice‑oriented course, much of the class time will be spent learning to administer, score, interpret, and write up psychological tests. In the interviewing section, class time will be used for role‑playing, which will be the basis of the reports required for this section. Therefore, CLASS ATTENDANCE IS A MUST, and will play a part in your grade, particularly if you are on the borderline between grades.

There will be no exams in this course. Your grade will depend on the grades you earn on your test reports. One of the objects of this course is for you to learn to write a reasonably good report. Therefore, all reports that receive a grade of C+ or lower must be re‑written. In some cases, more than one re‑write will be necessary. In addition to reports, you must also hand in your test analyses. These will also be graded, and will follow the same re‑write rule. Re‑writes of analyses or reports in the B range will be optional. (In other words, you may be able to improve a B grade to an A by re-writing analyses or reports.) The final grade on a report will reflect the original grade plus the grade on the re‑write(s).