Psychiatric Diagnosis

For this assignment, students will investigate and propose a psychiatric diagnosis based on the case study from the Gorenstein and Comer (2015) textbook Case Studies in Abnormal Psychology, chosen in the Week One “Initial Call” discussion CASE STUDY ATTACHED, PLEASE SEE ATTACHMENT. This paper will include an in-depth overview of the disorder(s) within the diagnosis, treatment options for the diagnosis, and a sound rationale that explains why this diagnosis was made. Note that the diagnosis may include more than one psychiatric disorder.

The paper must present a thorough overview of each disorder within the diagnosis. Assume the audience has no prior knowledge of the disorder(s) within the diagnosis, and provide relevant and easy to understand explanations of each for the readers. When writing the paper, it is critical to convey all the necessary information in a straightforward manner using non-technical language. (Reference the Professional Voice and Writing (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. resource provided by the Ashford Writing Center for assistance.) Support the analysis with at least five peer-reviewed sources published within the last ten years in addition to the course text.

The Psychiatric Diagnosis topical paper must include the following:

Explain psychological concepts in the patient’s presentation using professional terminology.
Identify symptoms and behaviors exhibited by the patient in the chosen case study.
Match the identified symptoms to potential disorders in a diagnostic manual.
Propose a diagnosis based on the patient’s symptoms and the criteria listed for the disorder(s) in the diagnostic manual.
Analyze and explain how the patient meets criteria for the disorder(s) according to the patient’s symptoms and the criteria outlined in the diagnostic manual.
Justify the use of the chosen diagnostic manual (i.e., Why was this manual chosen over others?).
Summarize general views of the diagnosis from multiple theoretical orientations and historical perspectives. Include a discussion on comorbidity if the diagnosis includes more than one disorder.
Evaluate symptoms within the context of an appropriate theoretical orientation for this diagnosis.
Use at least two peer-reviewed articles to assess the validity of this diagnosis, and describe who is most likely to have the diagnosis with regard to age, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. Provide a brief evaluation of the scientific merit of these peer-reviewed sources in the validity assessment.
Summarize the risk factors (i.e., biological, psychological, and/or social) for the diagnosis. If one of the categories is not relevant, address this within the summary.
Compare evidence-based and non-evidence-based treatment options for the diagnosis.
Evaluate well-established treatments for the diagnosis, and describe the likelihood of success or possible outcomes for each treatment.
Create an annotated bibliography of five peer-reviewed references published within the last ten years to inform the diagnosis and treatment recommendations. In the annotated bibliography, write a two- to three-sentence evaluation of the scientific merit of each of these references. For additional assistance with this portion of the assignment, access the Ashford Writing Center’s Sample Annotated Bibliography (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Attention Students: The Masters of Arts in Psychology program is utilizing the Pathbrite portfolio tool as a repository for student scholarly work in the form of signature assignments completed within the program. After receiving feedback for this Psychiatric Diagnosis topical paper, please implement any changes recommended by the instructor, go to Pathbrite and upload the revised Psychiatric Diagnosis topical paper to the portfolio. (Use the Pathbrite Quick-Start Guide to create an account if you do not already have one.) The upload of signature assignments will take place after completing each course. Be certain to upload revised signature assignments throughout the program as the portfolio and its contents will be used in other courses and may be used by individual students as a professional resource tool. See the Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website for information and further instructions on using this portfolio tool.

The Psychiatric Diagnosis

Must be 8 to 15 double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must use at least five peer-reviewed sources published within the last 10 years in addition to the course text.
Must include a separate annotated bibliography page.
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)
Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation
Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality
Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes
I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy
For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.