330.617.01
Psychopathology for Public Health

Location
East Baltimore
Term
1st Term
Department
Mental Health
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2024 - 2025
Instruction Method
In-person
Class Time(s)
Thursday, 1:30 - 3:20pm
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
Yes
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Adam Spira
Contact Name
Adam Spira
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Prerequisite
Description
Examines the major mental disorders, emphasizing the current thinking regarding their essential features and their assessment in public health research. Includes lectures by the instructor and by experts in particular disorders. Reviews best-practice non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches to the treatment of disorders, and commonly-utilized measures in public health and clinical contexts, including self- and informant-report measures, clinician-administered scales, and structured interviews.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Describe the history, structure, and limitations of current systems for classification of mental disorders, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), and alternative approaches
  2. Describe the presentations and key features of major psychiatric syndromes, including anxiety and mood disorders, schizophrenia, and others
  3. Describe current etiological perspectives for major mental disorders and explain how these disorders can co-occur with or reciprocally influence other health conditions in populations
  4. Identify best-practice non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches to the treatment of disorders
  5. Identify appropriate measures for the assessment of particular disorders in public mental health research
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
  • 24% Quizzes
  • 26% Participation
  • 50% Final Exam
Instructor Consent
Consent required for some students
Consent Note
Consent is required for undergraduate students.
Consent Contact
aspira@jhu.edu
Special Comments

This course blends traditional classroom time and outside-of-class
activities with a corresponding reduction in class sessions. Students are expected to spend 8 hours a week on class work in addition to regular homework.
Student evaluation is based on: • 4 online quizzes (6% each; 24% in total) • Participation (13%) • Attendance (13%) • Take-home final exam (50%) Letter grades are based on the following cut-offs: A = 90% or higher B = 80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% F = less than 60% Students taking the class as Pass/Fail must obtain a C or higher to earn a Pass.