SOWK 506

Course Overview: Assessment and Psychopathology

This course provides an in-depth examination of the assessment and diagnosis of mental health concerns, with attention to both individual and systemic contexts. Students will explore how psychopathology is defined, classified, and understood across clinical, cultural, and theoretical frameworks. Emphasis is placed on developing thoughtful, ethical, and critically informed assessment practices rather than rote diagnostic labeling.

Throughout the semester, we will engage with major systems of classification (DSM-5-TR and ICD-11), core diagnostic categories, and ongoing controversies related to diagnosis, normality, power, and stigma. The course integrates psychodynamic, biopsychosocial, and multicultural perspectives, highlighting how diagnosis functions in real-world clinical practice.

Learning in this course is collaborative and reflective. Students are encouraged to draw from practicum experiences, course readings, and class discussions to deepen clinical reasoning and diagnostic humility. We will regularly consider how theory translates into practice and how clinicians navigate uncertainty, bias, and complexity in assessment work.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Critically evaluate diagnostic frameworks and their limitations

• Apply DSM-5-TR criteria thoughtfully and developmentally

• Consider cultural, gendered, and systemic influences on diagnosis

• Integrate theory, research, and clinical observation in assessment

• Reflect on the ethical and relational implications of diagnostic decisions

Required Texts

Please ensure you have access to the following texts for the semester:

• Berzoff, J., Flanagan, L., & Hertz, P. (2021).
  Inside Out and Outside In: Psychodynamic Clinical Theory and Psychopathology in Contemporary Multicultural Contexts. (Available electronically via Tripod)

• Barnhill, J. W. (Ed.). (2013).
  DSM-5-TR® Clinical Cases. American Psychiatric Publishing.
  (Available electronically via Tripod.)

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR).
  Required for weekly review of diagnostic criteria.
  (Available electronically via Tripod.)

Additional required and recommended readings will be posted weekly on Moodle.