Course Syllabus

European Clinical Psychology C

Semester & Location:	Spring 2018 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Core - 3 credits
Core Course Study Tours:	Vienna
Major Disciplines:	Human Development, Pre-Medicine/Health Science, Psychology
Faculty Members:	Veronika Leonova
Program Director:	Carla Caetano - cca@dis.dk
Program Assistant	Alexandra Fischbach - alfi@dis.dk
Time & Place:	Monday & Thursday 11:40-13:00, N7-A21

Description of Course

A course in Psychology at the university level. In this clinical psychology course we will focus on the way the field of clinical psychology is approached within a European context. We will start with the study of historical and cultural issues, and as the semester unfolds, we will study different psychotherapeutic schools and their view on the etiology of psychological problems. The main focus will be on adult mental health.

Throughout the course, we will discuss controversial issues in the field and consider differences in American and European approaches to treatment. One goal of the course is to make these theoretical discussions concrete and applicable to real-life scenarios as experienced on field trips and study tours and via case studies. Aside from lectures, other methods of instruction will be group discussion, student papers, and illustrative videos.

Although we will apply what we learn, this is primarily a theoretical course.

Learning Objectives

In this course, you will learn to reflect critically on theory, application and research within the field of clinical psychology. You will be asked to evaluate different perspectives, concepts and practices throughout the semester. This course is designed to help you begin thinking about specific approaches to treating a variety of clients. The field of clinical psychology is rapidly moving toward a theory of differential treatment; rather than asking ‘What is the best theory of counselling and psychotherapy?’ we are increasingly asking ‘What treatment, by whom, is most effective for this individual, with that specific problem, and under what set of circumstances?

During our field studies and study trips you will also see how clinical psychology is applied in real world settings, where you will be able to analyse, compare and contrast different perspectives in selected European clinical contexts. 

More specifically, you will: 

•  Become familiar with important concepts and issues surrounding the field of clinical psychology in Europe.
• Become familiar with some of the most prevalent treatment approaches and understand the link between these different approaches and their potential impact on clients.
• Become more knowledgeable about the controversial issues in clinical psychology.
• Describe, understand, and begin to use the major foundational ideas in psychotherapy. These skills include empathy, active listening, and recognising different worldviews.
• Define, understand and use the terminology of the major psychotherapeutic schools.
• Think divergently about a single phenomenon.
• Be able to reflect on what we learn during lectures and during study tours and synthesise these two experiences by using the overarching themes of therapeutic environments and therapeutic 

Faculty

 

Veronika Leonova

M.A. in Clinical Psychology (Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2011). Jungian Analytical Psychotherapy education (Moscow Association for Analytical Psychology, 2012). Worked as a clinical psychologist in various institutions and taught as an external lecturer at “The Higher School of Psychology” in Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology. In Denmark since 2015. I work with children, adolescents and adults, conducting individual and group therapy in private practice, in collaboration with “Cool Kids” clinic and as a volunteer in NEFOS. With DIS since 2017.

Readings

Required Textbook (Provided to students by DIS Library):

• Pomerantz, A.M. (2013). Clinical psychology. Science, practice, and culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Required Articles and Other Media on Canvas:

• Blom V., et al (2018) “Stress in paid and unpaid work as related to cortisol and subjective health complaints in women working in the public health care sector” International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 10(4), pp.286-299
• Butler, et. Al (2006) The empirical status of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: a review of meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review 26, pp 17-31
• Donn, Jessica E. et al. (2000) Leipzig to Luxembourg (via Boulder and Vail): A History of Clinical Psychology Training in Europe and the United States Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31(4), pp.423-428
• Enache-Tonoiu, A. (2013) Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. A Troubled Relationship, Europe's Journal of Psychology, 2013, 9(4)
• Eysenck, Michael W. and Martin, G. Neil (2001) How do European and US psychology differ? The Psychologist, 14(7). pp. 352-355
• Fonagy, P. (2015). The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies: an update. World Psychiatry, 14, pp 137–150
• Freud, S. (1910) The origins and development of Psychoanalysis, American Journal of Psychology, 21, pp 181-218
• Grenson J.M. (2008) Mindfulness research update. Complementary Health Practice Review, 14(1) pp 10-18
• Kumar S.M. (2002) An introduction to Buddhism for the cognitive-behavioral therapist Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9, pp. 40-43
• Rhodes P., Conti J. (2011), Why Clinical Psychologists Should Read Philosophy: An Introduction, Australian Clinical Psychologist, 2(1)
• Shedler, J. (2015) Where is the Evidence for “Evidence-Based” Therapy? The Journal of Psychological Therapies in Primary Care, 4: pp. 47–59.
• Essay “Lad os sætte os ned" from “Her går det godt, send flere penge” by Anne Knudsens - translation
• Mekacci, Freudian slips
• Sitting in the Fire: Large Group Transformation Using Conflict and Diversity by Arnold Mindell
• Yalom, Existential therapy
• Fordman, M. Jungian Psychotherapy: A Study in Analytical Psychology
• Normality Does Not Equal Mental Health The Need to Look Elsewhere for Standards of Good Psychological Health by Steven James Bartlett

Field Studies

Date: Core Course Week “Rest your head here - Therapeutical rooms and spaces”  

Snoezelen or controlled multisensory environment (MSE) is a therapy for people with autism and other developmental disabilities, dementia or brain injury. It consists of placing the person in a soothing and stimulating environment, called the "Snoezelen room". These rooms are specially designed to deliver stimuli to various senses, using lighting effects, color, sounds, music, scents, etc. The combination of different materials on a wall may be explored using tactile senses, and the floor may be adjusted to stimulate the sense of balance. The person is usually accompanied by an aid or therapist. 

We visit for a tour of the house and a talk on this multimodal form of therapy which is also used in traditional in-hospital psychiatry.

 

Cool kids. You are in charge - also when you are afraid”

“Cool kids” is an internationally used program aiming to help children and teenagers with anxiety. It is a manualized group therapy program for children and their parents, based on CBT ideas and techniques. We will visit a private clinic situated in an old apartment in the heart of Copenhagen and talk about anxiety, ways to address it in therapy and try some of the techniques on ourselves.

Study Tour

Core Course Week with Short Study Tour 

Date: February 5th - February 10th 

Theme: Treatment and service in the welfare state – experiences and perspectives from the daily life of clients and practitioners 

Purpose: This study tour provides you with the opportunity to explore the field of clinical psychology and various practices in Denmark. Academic visits on tour will include meeting with psychological consultants and visiting healthcare institutions. 

In addition to the academic activities on study tour, the study tour program is supplemented with cultural visits and events. In the past, cultural visits have included touring castles, museum visits, and experiencing traditional Danish food at a local restaurant.

Long Study tour

Date: April 15th - April 20th 

Themes: The Roots of Clinical European Psychology and Therapeutic Interventions 

Purpose: On the tour to Vienna, you will be able to explore the roots of clinical psychology, ranging from Freudian to present-day techniques. The tour will also allow you to explore the culture of the city more thoroughly by attending performances, visiting museum exhibitions, and exploring how the past influences todays European clinical psychologists. 

Orientation: The study tour activities will be presented to you in the week before departure and the booklet will be made available on Canvas the day before departure.

 

Guest Lecturers

1. Heidi Rose

Date: 

 Working with children, adolescents and young adults in Milieu-Therapeutic Organizations

 Milieu-therapy is usually associated with long-term treatment in all-encompassing organizations. It can also be applied to schools, day-care and in psychiatric care. I will present some theory, history, and discuss the role of the psychologist in the organizations and as a consultant to the organizations.

2. Pending

Approach to Teaching

I focus on creating an open and challenging learning environment, where there’s room for questions, discussions, group work, and case studies. It is important for me to motivate and inspire my students to develop their own critical thinking skills by engaging them in the learning process as active collaborators. In class I expect you to be present, ask questions and participate in discussions. All opinions and points of view are welcome within the context of constructive discussion. I also believe that in studying psychology personal growth and change is as important, as learning theory and strive to create a safe room for everyone to express their personal response to our material.

You can always ask me additional questions before and after class or via e-mail, which I ‘ll do my best to answer within 24 hours.

Expectations of the Students

As a student your are expected to participate actively during class and field studies. It is also highly important that you read the articles and other material given to you before every class.

Apart from asking questions, participating in discussions and offering critical reflections on the topics, students are expected to consider how their contributions affect the overall work climate in class.

Be punctual for class and field studies.

Show respect for and attempt to understand other people’s viewpoints and experiences, whether this be other students or guest lecturers and people encountered on field studies.

 

Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on active participation in the class and showing personal investment in activities as well as during presentations. Critical academic reflection is highly valued both in class, where there will be a number of open questions, group work assignments and short presentations, as well as in your written work.

In order to be allegeable for grades above a B+ you are expected to exceed what is required, ie. analysing cases from multiple angles, critically analysing and discussing research, pointing out problems and contradictions in theory and practice at a high academic level, that goes beyond mere reproduction and reiteration. Thus creativity and independent thinking in combination as fundamental academic expertise is rewarded.

Grading

 

Assignment	Form of evaluation	Due date	Percent
Attendance and participation	Individual	Ongoing	10 %
Core course week reflection paper	Individual	Feb, 16th	10 %
Midterm test	Individual	March, 15th	15 %
Research paper	Individual	March, 27th	20 %
Case formulation	Individual	April, 13th	15 %
Study tour presentation in groups	In groups	April, 26th	10 %
Final exam	Individual	During the finals week	20 %
Total			100%

 

General formating guidelines:

All written assignments must apply these formats:

• 5 spacing
• Font: Arial, 12

 

Attendance and participation (10%):

You must attend every class. Excused absence includes illness and participation in religious holidays. If you must miss a class, please contact me as soon as possible. In case of unexplained absence, the DIS Teaching and learning office will be notified.

Participation in class includes reading required materials, asking questions in class and contributing to discussions.

 

Core course week reflection paper (10%): 

 In Core Course reflection paper you choose one (or more) activities from our week and analyse it’s content and your impressions in relation to our lectures and relevant papers. The paper should be 1-2 pages. More details will be available on Canvas.

 

Midterm test (15%):

 This test will cover the topics we have discussed in class and will consist of:

• Multiple choice questions from the textbook
• Reflection questions/case studies

 

Research Paper (20%):

 In this assignment your task is to investigate and compare how one and the same condition is understood and addressed in different schools of thought. I suggest, that we choose depression as the topic of our investigation. Depression is one of the most common mental conditions, recognised and treated in all of the psychological schools. But the way depression and its inner mechanisms are understood and addressed vary significantly from one school to another.

You will be asked to choose 2 approaches from those we’ve been discussing during our classes and compare their understanding of depression, basing on and referring to the articles you find and relevant research results. You should use at least 5 articles.

 Your research paper should include:

•  Introduction (ca. 0,5 page)

Epidemiology of depression: it’s forms, patterns and prevalence. 

• Presentation (ca. 2-3 pages)

School 1

How is depression understood in this school? What psychological mechanisms are thought to underlie depression? What terms and concepts are used to describe it? How is depression addressed in therapy? Are there any techniques in treating depression, specific to this approach? Present relevant research about the efficacy of this approach in treating depression.

School 2

How is depression understood in this school? What psychological mechanisms are thought to underlie depression? What terms and concepts are used to describe it? How is depression addressed in therapy? Are there any techniques in treating depression, specific to this approach? Present relevant research about the efficacy of this approach in treating depression. 

• Discussion (ca.1 page)

Compare the two approaches. What is different between them and where do you see similarities? How well are the two approaches supported by research? Critically analyse the research results you presented (think about methods used, level of evidence and content validity).

• Conclusion (ca. 0,5-1 page)

What conclusion can you draw from the discussion? Is one approach more preferable than another? Is it hard to make a conclusion (if yes - why)?

The paper should be around 4-5 pages, excluding front page and references.

 

Case formulation (15%):

            After learning about different psychological schools and approaches, you’ll try your hand at applying the theory. The purpose of the case formulation is to train yourself to identify psychological problems outside of the textbook. In this paper you concentrate on one of the psychological schools of your own choice and formulate the case using terminology, theoretical basis, and traditions of case formulating from it.

            We will watch a movie, where you will be asked to concentrate on the main character. Unfolding of the characters’ personality and life story in a movie is quite similar to the way the story of a client unfolds in front of your eyes in therapy: you don’t receive it in a timeline format with all the important events, relationships and conflicts marked red, but rather you witness an on-going processing of day-to-day life experiences mixed with flashbacks and flashforwards.

            It is your task as a psychologist to detangle the story, using your theoretical knowledge, as well as your own senses and reactions to transform it into a clinical case, that you can work with.

 

The case formulation should include:

• Objective information about the client (max. 0,5 page)

(Name, age, sex, information about his/hers marital status, etc.)

• Client’s symptoms and problems (ca. 0,5 page)

(In this section your task is to describe the observed symptoms and problems, that are affecting the client’s life, please note, that you are not required to find a diagnoses)

• Stressors and events that could have triggered the problem’s manifestation (ca.0,5 page)

(Identify and investigate the trigger situations: what is it about them, that is provoking the symptom’s manifestation? What situations are hard for the client to handle, why?)

• Psychological mechanisms behind the client’s problems (ca. 1 - 2 pages)

(Combine your observations with the theory from our lectures, readings and the research paper you wrote. How would you translate client’s problems into the language of the psychological school you chose? What psychological mechanisms are involved?)

• Preliminary therapy plan and your prognoses. (ca. 1-2 pages)

(Which problems would you address first and which later? Why? And how? What kinds of obstacles can arise during therapy? Do you think it would have been an easy or a hard case and why? While watching the movie try to pay close attention to your own feelings - what is your reaction to the client and his/hers problems? This could give you an insight into the possible difficulties, that can arise during therapy.)

 

The paper should be around 3-4 pages.

 

Long study tour presentation in groups (10%):

 In the end of the study tour in Vienna you will divide yourselves into groups of 3-4 people, each group choosing the visit or the impression from the tour that was the most interesting and touching for them.

The groups will prepare and present in class short presentations (10 minutes), concentrating on

• Why did they choose this visit - what was special about it?
• What did they learned from it?
• How was it relevant to our course?

Presentations will be followed by a discussion with the audience.

 

Final exam (20%):

 The exam will be based on the information from after the midterm test, including assigned readings. It will consist of:

• Multiple choice questions from the textbook
• Reflection questions about the issues discussed in class, field studies and study tour visits

Policies

You are expected to attend all classes, guest lectures, workshops and field studies. If you must miss a class for religious holidays, medical reasons, or other valid reasons, you must let us know as far in advance as possible of the absence and obtain information about the work you must do to keep up in class. If you miss a class for any other reason (sudden illness, family emergency, etc.), you should get in touch with us as soon as possible and arrange to make up the work missed.

 

Academic Honesty

DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their own work and credit all work or thought taken from others.   

Academic dishonesty will result in a final course grade of “F” and can result in dismissal. The students’ home universities will be notified. DIS reserves the right to request that written student assignments be turned in electronic form for submission to plagiarism detection software. See the Academic Handbook for more information, or ask your instructor if you have questions.

 

Policy on late papers: Late papers will be accepted for up to 3 days after the deadline, but the grade for the paper will be reduced by half a grade.

 

Policy for students who arrive late to class: Come in quietly :) Students who are repeatedly late for class will receive a lower participation grade.

 

Use of laptops or phones in class: Students, who use their laptop for reasons not related to class, will have their class participation grade reduced significantly. Use of telephone is not allowed outside of breaks. For some lessons, laptop use may be banned completely.  

 

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

• Course Enrollment and Grading
• Attendance
• Coursework, Exams, and Final Grade Reports

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.disabroad.org