Course Objectives
Course Objectives
Course Objectives:
In this course students will:
1) Develop a framework for clinical practice with children and adolescents that is informed by cognitive, developmental, cultural, and ecological perspectives.
2) Learn about and develop skills in assessment approaches, including history taking, structured and unstructured clinical assessments, family assessments, diagnostic nomenclature, and psychological testing.
3) Develop a working understanding of the four major clinical intervention modalities for this population: individual therapy, family therapy, group therapy, and ecological interventions.
4) Begin to develop an understanding of the technical issues encountered within the four major intervention modalities, and the indications for and limits of each modality.
5) Develop an awareness of the cognitive, emotional, and cultural factors behind school failure and learning disabilities, and some intervention approaches specific to this population.
6) Examine the various types of trauma encountered by children and its developmental impact.
7) Develop a working familiarity with the concept of resiliency and how this concept can inform clinical practice with children and adolescents. .
8) Critically analyze prevailing assessment and intervention approaches used in clinical work with children and adolescents in terms of their relevance to minority and economically disadvantaged populations.
9) Explore the issues of sexuality, drug and alcohol experimentation and abuse, and
violence, frequently encountered in clinical work with adolescents.
10) Develop an understanding of depression and melancholia, and anxiety, and how they manifest in
children and adolescents, along with differential diagnostic issues.