Instructor: Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D.                                                                                                                            Office hours: M,W,F: 1:00-2:00pm
Office:                                                                                                                                            
Phone:
email:
 

I encourage you to take advantage of office hours, to ask questions about the course material and/or discuss your progress in this course.   If you are unable to make any of the office hours, please feel free to contact me and make an appointment.   I am also happy to answer questions via email.  In fact, I check my email several times a day, and this is often the best way to get a quick response.
 

Required Texts:

     Assigned readings for each week will be distributed in class the previous Thursday.
 

Texts on Reserve:

     Behavioral Assessment of Childhood Disorders.  (1988).  Eric J. Mash and Leif G. Terdal, Eds.  New York: Guilford Press.

     Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology.  (1990).  Michael Lewis and Suzanne M. Miller, Eds.  New York: Plenum Press.
 
 

This seminar provides students with the opportunity for in-depth study of the nature, causes, and treatment of child and adolescent mental disorders, including ADHD, conduct disorder, autism, and emotional disorders.  Primary materials (e.g., journal articles), as well as videos, lectures, case-studies, and student presentations will be used to explore critical issues and controversies in this field.  In general, Tuesdays will consist of some kind of presentation by either the instructor (e.g., lecture, video) or a group of students, while Thursdays will comprise of questions and discussion that arises from the students’ contributions.  Please note that, if you are a person who is uncomfortable with ambiguity, learns best in highly structured contexts, and believes that your learning is best evaluated by in-class examinations — this particular seminar may not be the best option of meeting your educational needs. Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and PSYC 102 (1) and either PSYC 321 (abnormal) or PSYC 342 (clinical). Enrollment limited.
 

Class attendance and participation
Given the seminar format of this course, each of you is only slightly less responsible than me in making this course interesting and informative, perhaps even, at times, inspiring.  Although I will not take attendance formally, you absence will be noticed and your presence will be missed by both your classmates and myself.  Furthermore, it is not possible to get “contribution” credit (see below) for any day that you are not present.  I do realize that there may arise situations (legitimate and otherwise) that prevent you from being in class on any given day.  If that happens, I expect that you will contact me in advance to inform me that you will be unable to make it, just as I assume you would contact your employer if you needed to miss a day of work.  Please note that I am not interested in the reason for your absence and will not make distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate reasons.  Indeed, I assume that any time you make a decision not to come to class, it is for a reason that you consider to be legitimate.  However, as I mentioned, you cannot receive credit for “contributions” if you are not in class that day.

Contributions (70 points)
Every Thursday, you are expected to submit a written contribution based on that week’s topic.  Each contribution should emerge from your attempt to understand something from the readings related to the week’s topic, and, when appropriate, to resolve discrepancies in the various readings, relevant prior class lecture and discussion, and/or your own life experiencing.  They should demonstrate “critical analysis/thinking” regarding text material.  Please note that although I expect that comments made by myself and others in the class will also be critically reviewed and evaluated, a contribution that only comments on past remarks made in class without linking them to the readings will not receive any points.  There is no length requirement.  However, it is very difficult to provide sufficient information necessary for an adequate contribution, for example, the theoretical and empirical support for one or both sides of an “argument” or the theoretical perspectives and research findings that lead to a complex comment/question, in less than 200-300 words (i.e., approximately one typewritten page).  Each contribution must also include necessary and attributed quotes from the relevant readings and class sources.  Each student is expected to write, be prepared to discuss, and hand-in fourteen contributions; one for each topic.  The contributions should be typed.  At the top of the page, please include your name, the date, and the following phrase: “Contribution for Topic ________”

Examinations
There will not be a Final Exam or any other examinations.

Written/oral assignments (150 points)
All students are required to submit two written assignments.  The first will consist of a critique of a published research article and should be approximately 1000 words (about 4 typed pages).  The second, which will also have on oral presentation component, will be a research proposal on one of the topics covered in the course.  Specific guidelines and requirements for both writing assignments will be distributed separately in class.  Any assignment that is not handed in on the due date will be marked down 25% of the allotted points for each class period that the assignment is outstanding.  Late means anytime past the beginning of the class period that the assignment is due.  Thus, a paper handed in two class periods after it is due is marked down 50%.
 

The final grade for this course will be based on the total number of points the student earns on the following assignments.  There are 200 total possible points, which break down as follows: