Racine PSYC-408 Winter-2020 Final PDF

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PSYC 408 Page 1

PSYC 408: Principles and Applications of Psychotherapy Winter 2020 Professor: Sarah E. Racine, PhD Email: [email protected] Office: 2001 McGill College, Room 1411 Office Phone: (514) 398-3649

Class Location: Stewart Biology S1/3 Times: Tuesday and Thursday, 11:35 am-12:55 pm Office Hours: Tuesday, 9:45-10:45am (or by appointment)

Teaching Assistant (TA): Sarah Schell, BSc Email: [email protected]

Office: 2001 McGill College, Room 471 Office Hours: Thursday, 9:00am-10:00am

Tomlinson Mentor: Hennessey Chartier Ford Email: [email protected]

Office: 2001 McGill College Room 471 Office Hours: Wednesday, 1:45-2:45pm

Email Policy: If you have a question about the course that cannot be answered by reading this detailed syllabus, please begin by emailing the TA, Sarah Schell, or the Tomlinson mentor, Hennessey Chartier Ford. They will forward me your question if necessary. Use PSYC 408 in the subject line of all course-related emails. Prerequisites: PSYC 337 Text: There is NO textbook for this upper-level course. Required articles and book chapters are listed in the Course Schedule, and links to the readings are posted on myCourses. Course Objectives Objective #1: To understand the history and the scientific study of psychotherapy For example, on an exam, you may be asked to: 1) Identify by choosing the names of key figures from the history of psychotherapy when given their descriptions. 2) Identify by choosing components of randomized controlled trials for selecting empirically-supported treatments. 3) Describe in writing the components of evidence-based practice and give examples of each, as discussed in class. Objective #2: To know core assessment and treatment techniques used in cognitive behaviour and related therapies For example, on an exam, you may be asked to: 1) Identify by choosing the name of an assessment technique based on its description. 2) Identify by choosing the most appropriate treatment technique to change a particular psychological symptom or problem behaviour. 3) List and describe in writing the steps in conducting a functional behavioural assessment. Objective #3: To describe the application of cognitive behaviour and related therapies to the treatment of mood, anxiety, eating, and personality disorders For example, on an exam, you may be asked to: 1) Identify by choosing a specific treatment technique that would be used for a given disorder. 2) Identify by choosing the conclusion of a research study that tested the efficacy of a therapy for a given disorder. 3) Describe in writing a maintenance model of a particular disorder that is supported by current research and that has been discussed in class. Objective #4: To become familiar with current trends in the field of psychotherapy For example, on an exam, you may be asked to: 1) Identify by choosing a key difference between traditional cognitive behaviour therapy and third-wave cognitive behaviour therapies. 2) Identify by choosing a key

PSYC 408 Page 2 motivation for designing therapies to focus on specific mechanisms. 3) Identify by choosing a key feature that differentiates helping profession careers. Why take this course? Clinical psychology courses often attract interest from both psychology and non-psychology majors. You may be interested in learning things about yourself and others, such as why people behave in maladaptive ways and what specific strategies are used by professionals for changing behaviour. You may be interested in pursuing an advanced degree in a helping profession field, such as clinical psychology, counselling psychology, social work, or medicine. The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the science and practice of psychotherapy, with a specific focus on cognitive behaviour and related therapies. It is important to note that taking this course does not make you an expert in psychotherapy or qualify you to conduct psychotherapy. Advanced graduate training is necessary for learning to conduct psychotherapy. It is true that many of the principles discussed in this class can be applied to your everyday life. However, you will also learn that the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of mental health conditions is a complex process that requires specific expertise. If you feel that you or someone else is in need of professional help, it is good to become familiar with the resources available and to recommend these resources to others or seek services yourself. Teaching Philosophy My hope is that you will develop a genuine enthusiasm for the course material and learn to apply the material outside of the class, both in future psychology classes and in aspects of your everyday lives. I am dedicated to helping each and every person that I teach succeed in class, both in terms of your grade but also what you take away from the course at the end. The policies that I have developed for the course reflect my commitment to student learning, and I hope you will find that my style and methods of teaching do the same. I also believe that you must earn your grade in my course. Being a student involves being attentive in class, completing work outside of class to ensure that material is learned, and asking for help when necessary. Therefore, the grade that you receive in the class should be an accurate reflection of your understanding of course material and effort put forth. My course policies reflect my expectations of you as a student. I believe that being a student involves a give and take relationship with the professor. Therefore, I expect that you will adhere to the course policies. In return, I will do everything in my power to keep the course intellectually stimulating and to help you to succeed. Course Operation Classroom Format Sessions: Class sessions will consist of lectures, multimedia presentations, and in-class assignments (see “Course Requirements and Grading” for more information). Please read the articles and chapters before coming to class; the lecture will assume familiarity with the material presented in the readings. A PDF copy of PowerPoint slides will be posted to myCourses before the lecture in order to facilitate note taking. Slides posted before class may not represent the final version of the slides; in this case, final slides will be posted after class. Please note that slides represent an outline of the material to be covered. In order to do well in the class, it is necessary for you to attend each lecture and take detailed notes. Simply studying the information on the slides will not be sufficient to do well on the exams. Audio and Video Recording: Lectures will be audio and video recorded and made available on myCourses. Please note that recorded lectures will be available for streaming only. It is not possible to enable downloading of lectures due to inclusion of copyrighted material in lecture notes. Please note that there may be occasional technical difficulties that result in recordings of particular lectures not being available. For this reason, please

PSYC 408 Page 3 have an alternative plan for obtaining lecture notes if you plan to be absent from class. I suggest that you get another student’s contact information to obtain notes, as I will not provide you with any additional notes. Attendance: I believe that it is your choice whether or not you come to class. However, I will do my best to ensure that classes are informative, interesting, and worth your time to attend. You are more likely to learn the material by asking and answering questions in class and by interacting with your classmates and with me during in-class assignments. In general, class attendance correlates with improved learning and higher final grades. However, I understand that students have different learning styles and that sometimes life happens and you are not able to attend class. For this reason, lectures will be recorded (see above) and you will have the opportunity to receive points for in-class assignments submitted within 48 hours of being assigned (see below). Course Communication: Communication regarding the course will occur through myCourses and McGill email. You are expected to regularly (i.e., every day) check your myCourses and email for important course materials, information, and updates. If you have questions about the course, please begin by consulting the syllabus to see if you can find the answer to your question. If the answer cannot be found in the syllabus, please email the TA, Sarah Schell, or the Tomlinson mentor, Hennessey Chartier Ford. They will forward me any emails that they cannot answer. Our policy is to try to respond to your email in 48 hours on weekdays and by 11 am on Tuesday if you send an email over the weekend. For questions we feel are best answered in person, we will ask you to attend office hours or set up an alternative meeting time. Thus, you should allow adequate time for a meeting to occur if you have questions about an upcoming exam. I expect that emails will be drafted in a careful, considerate manner, such that they reflect an email to a professor and not to a friend. I will also respond in this same professional manner. This is very good practice for future professional communications. Classroom Behaviour: I encourage each of you to ask questions or share comments when they come up during lecture. It is helpful for me to see what material is not sufficiently clear or what material is particularly interesting, and it helps the other students because it is likely that someone else had the same question! If we are running low on time or if I am in the middle of covering essential material, I will kindly ask you to hold your question until later or after class. I ask you to respect your fellow classmates when you ask questions, when classmates make comments, or during group discussions. Everyone is entitled to a different opinion. If you would like to express a dissenting opinion, please do so in a polite, courteous manner. I will interrupt and remind you of the class guidelines if I feel that you are not treating your classmates or me with respect. Please refrain from sending text messages, chatting online, or using social networking sites during class. If you would prefer to spend your time doing these things, please do not come to class. I will not forbid laptops, as I realize they are a quick and efficient way to take notes for many people. However, out of respect for me and the class, please use laptops solely for taking notes. It is also the best way to focus your attention so you understand and learn. If I see you using your cell phone or learn that you are using a laptop for a purpose other than note taking, I will publicly ask that you put away your device or laptop. It is typical that students are drawn to a class on a topic related to clinical psychology because of a personal experience or an experience of a close friend/family member who has suffered from a psychological disorder. I ask that you refrain from sharing any personal details about your experience in class. You may feel comfortable sharing in the moment, but later have regrets about your disclosures. If you would like to share information about another person’s experience, please keep details to a minimum and do not use any identifying information i.e., person’s name, relationship to you. This is in order to protect you and that person’s privacy. If I notice that you are not adhering to this policy, I will interrupt you and remind you of the class guidelines. If you have concerns about your own psychological health, I encourage you to contact McGill Student Wellness Hub (514398-6017 or [email protected]). Ethically, I cannot engage in any kind of therapeutic relationship with you given that I am your professor. The same is true for the TA.

PSYC 408 Page 4 Course Requirements and Grading In-Class Assignments (10% total): In-class assignments will occur throughout the semester and will be worth a total of 10% of your grade. The purpose of these assignments is to increase opportunities for active learning; that is, application of the material that you learn in lectures and readings to your own life or to hypothetical examples. You will work with your classmates for several of these assignments and may be asked to share your responses with the class. In-class assignments will be available on myCourses at the beginning of class and will be completed and submitted electronically in class. Paper copies will be available for students who do not bring a laptop to class; you must hand in the completed paper assignment by the end of class. Students who are not in class for any reason on the day of an in-class assignment will have 48 hours to submit the completed assignment electronically via myCourses. You will need to listen to the corresponding lecture in order to complete the assignment, and lecture recordings may take up to 24 hours to become available. I personally believe that you will benefit most from the in-class assignments when completing them along with your peers and when having the opportunity to discuss them in class. However, the 48-hour policy will help ensure that those who miss class for an emergency have the opportunity to complete the assignment and those who do not regularly attend class are still keeping up with the course material. In-Class Exams (20% each): You will have two in-class exams. The first in-class exam will occur on Tuesday, February 4th and will cover lectures and readings from January 7th to January 30th. The second in-class exam will occur on Thursday, March 12th and will cover the lectures and readings from February 6th to February 27th. Both in-class exams will be approximately 50 questions that will primarily consist of multiple choice as well as some definitions, fill-in-the-blanks, and short answers. Both exams count towards your final grade. Review the objectives and example exam questions at the beginning of the syllabus to get an idea as to what will be on the exams. Final Exam (50%): The final exam will be cumulative. The final exam will be scheduled by the university during the winter final exam period. The final exam will be approximately 100 questions that will similarly consist of mostly multiple-choice as well as some definitions, fill-in-the-blanks, and short answers. Optional 2% Psychology Department Participant Pool: You may earn up to 2% extra credit by participating in the McGill Psychology Department Participant Pool. Participation is entirely voluntary and is between you and the Participant Pool Teaching Assistant who will indicate to me at the end of the semester who participated and for how much credit. Please see https://www.mcgill.ca/psychology/files/psychology/student_faq.pdf for further information. All questions/concerns about the participant pool should be sent to the pool TA at: [email protected] Grading-Requirements: In-class Assignments In-class Exam #1 In-class Exam #2 Final Exam Grading Scale: 85 – 100% 80 – 84% 75 – 79% 70 – 74% 65 – 69%

=A = A= B+ =B = B-

= 10% = 20% = 20% = 50% 60 – 64% 55 – 59% 50 – 54% 0 – 49%

= C+ =C =D =F

PSYC 408 Page 5 Grades in the class are based on a straight percentage of points earned in the class. There is no curve in this class. If your grade is at the .5 mark, I will round up (i.e., 84.5 will be rounded to 85). I will not adjust your grade in any other way. Please do not ask.

Additional Course Policies Exams: Review Sessions: The TA and Tomlinson mentor will each hold a one-hour review session before each exam. These review sessions will held in a General Chat session on myCourses. Dates and times of the review sessions will be announced at least one week prior to each exam. Use of Notes: No books or notes will be allowed at any time during the exam. You may have a translation dictionary; however, the individual(s) administering the exam reserve(s) the right to inspect your dictionary. Laptops, cell phones, and electronic devices must be stowed and remain off during the exam. If you need to ask a question, please stay in your seat and raise your hand, and I or a teaching assistant will come and assist you. Scoring of Exams: Based on the % of students who respond correctly to each item and the correlation between each item and overall scores on the exam, I will exclude multiple-choice questions that did not perform well in evaluating knowledge of the material. I will review the results of the exam and any item exclusions with you in class. Exam Review Procedure: If you would like to review your exam, you must make an appointment with the TA or Tomlinson mentor, preferably during their regularly scheduled office hours. They will provide you with your exam and the answer key. Exam reviews are useful opportunities to learn about the types of questions and correct responses in this course and to learn from your mistakes for future exams. If you believe that an answer other than the correct answer should be counted for a particular question, you must submit a Question Reconsideration Form. You must provide empirical evidence supporting your claim, such as the citation and page number of an article or reference to a particular lecture slide. Question Reconsideration forms must be submitted within two weeks of exam grades being posted. Missed In-Class Exam: There are very few valid reasons for missing an in-class exam and, without a valid reason and accompanying documentation, you will receive a 0 for the exam. If you miss an exam because of an emergency situation (e.g., illness, injury, death in the family) or because of a sanctioned university activity (e.g., concert or sports competition), please contact me prior to the exam or, at the latest, 24 hours after the exam and be prepared to provide official documentation to corroborate the emergency situation or university activity. A missed in-class exam with accompanying documentation will result in the cumulative final exam being worth 70% (instead of 50%) of your final grade. Missed Final Exam: If you have a valid, officially documented reason to miss the final exam, you must receive permission to apply for a deferred exam. Permission is only granted by the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) of your faculty. Supplemental Exam: A supplemental exam will be available to students who earn a final grade of D, F, or J in the course. The supplemental exam will count for 100% of the supplemental mark. The supplemental exam will consist of several essay questions. Please note that both the course and the supplemental grades will appear on your transcript and will be included in the calculation of your cumulative GPA. Please also note that a large proportion of students who fail the course also fail the supplemental exam.

PSYC 408 Page 6 Administrative and University Policies Academic Integrity: McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequence of cheating, plagiarism, and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (http://www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/) Cases of suspected cheating will be reported to the Disciplinary Officer for your faculty and may result in a score of 0 on the exam or assignment, failure of the course, or suspension or expulsion from the university. Language of Submission: In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded. This does not apply to courses in which acquiring proficiency in a language is one of the objectives. Accommodations: Any student who suspects (s)he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Students with Disabilities at 514-398-6009 or [email protected]. All accommodations for the course will be handled directly through the Office of Students with Disabilities. Extraordinary Circumstances: In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University’s, Department’s, and/or Instructor’s control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change. Copyright: All materials presented are the property of ...