midyear+exam

Psychology Final Exam: You are the Therapist

This is the culmination of our semester together, your exam asks you to synthesize a lot of different material that we have explored; the brain, learning theories, mental illnesses, and therapies.

You will be given a case study for your final exam. This includes some key details about a client’s diagnosis, history, family, and their goals. The premise is that you have been sitting with them for hours learning all about their history and experiences. You have diagnosed them and are going to explain the diagnosis to them clearly and answer all the questions in a dialogue. You, as their therapist have the challenge of helping them to make :

1. Determine (research to understand and share **causality and prevalence**) of what they are suffering from. **10%** Points are deducted if you don't include and explain all of these factual components. 2. Explain their diagnosis to them clearly and then create and answer **six** questions (8 for honors) that they have about their diagnosis. **60%** (you will come up with and answer the questions) 3. Create a therapeutic plan for your client based on a type of therapy. **10%** (Pick 1: cognitive, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, family/group, psychoanalytic) These are covered in our mental illness ppt or explained here. 4. Use the internet to find resources that will help them to plan steps to reach their goals. **15%** (you will need to select a specific location to work with like Amherst, MA or New York, NY, pick where you might go to college, where you want to live later in life, Burlington, MA, or I can give you a random location if you like.) 5. Go through the Global Assessment of Functioning **5%** and determine what you think their score is, not a range, write on the GAF why you think this is their score. Turn the GAF in or clear photos if you are submitting digitally.

For those who come in to take the exam, y ou will have an hour and a half of writing time, hopefully with internet access. Please use your time wisely. For those doing this at home on your own time, it is expected that your exam will take a bit longer and that you will be able to demonstrate more critical thinking and creativity than would be available in 1.5hrs. If you are not coming in it must be in my hands before the start of the exam. If it isn't, your name will be given to the assistant principals as skipping. Please email me rather than sharing it so that you know I have it. gould@bpsk12.org Or better yet, hand it to me ahead of time :)


 * Part 1 and 2: ** You have a small idea what is going on, you might need to more fully flesh out some details of their life and do research to learn more about the condition you think they have. Then begin to write out how you, as their therapist will explain the condition to them. You can write this in dialogue (or screenplay) form if you wish. You will be making up details __ about your client __ in order to fully explain the situation. Be creative, but sensitive and above all accurate about the disorder. Please do this entire assignment in a respectful manner. Failure to do so will result in a less than stellar grade, but more importantly, will reflect poorly on your character.

Things to include: **Part 1:** Full explanation of the diagnosis in clear language that is appropriate and understandable to your client. Your client will ask questions, you need to make them up: -**one** should be about how the diagnosis was reached, explain why you diagnosed them with this condition. -**two** should be about the condition, if there is anything genetic or that they did to cause this condition -depending upon the diagnosis there might not be anything, but you need to explain this clearly. Please include any relevant brain information here: neurotransmitters, architecture, hormones, etc. -**three** can be any relevant question that you generate that this person could have asked that you then answer in detail. Honors level final requires a minimum of 8 questions and answers in the dialogue. CP you need to create and answer a min of 6. Explain to your client what their therapy would be like with one of these major types of psychotherapy. The more detail you use, the better. Your job is to de-mystify the therapy process. Would your client go to a hospital for treatment? Would they see a psychiatrist (who has an MD and can prescribe medications) or social worker (who is a therapist that they could see regularly)? How long would treatment last? What is typically the outcome? Give details. (No need to give them a specific prescription, you aren't in medical school yet, but do get as specific about the treatment as you can (ex: weekly or monthly appointments with a social worker) Think about prevalence [|NIMH link]
 * Part 2 + 3: ** According to **one** of the schools of thought regarding therapy explain what the client can anticipate in treatment. Choose from cognitive, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, family/group, or psychoanalytic. You can of course throw in a side of bio-medical (meds) in addition to any of the kinds of talk therapy.


 * Part 4 ** : You will pick or be given a location in the US where your client lives. I suggest going to NAMI click on your state and peruse the highly reputable resources that they have listed. If that doesn't work, then google away! Take all factors into consideration, if your client is a veteran, what Veterans Administration resources can you get for him or her? If your client is a child, what about the school, what can colleges or schools provide? You are going to be providing specific resources for them. Think creatively and work to address all of their needs. You would want your therapist or a family member's therapist to do the same for you.

**Part 5:** The Global Assessment of Functioning needs a numeric score and please write all over it to make your thinking process clear.

Please remember to cite your sources in APA format! No need for in text citation, but do keep a bibliography sheet at the end of your project. No project will be accepted without a bibliography.