Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
- refer to and describe basic models and explanatory approaches to the development of mental disorders in childhood.
- explain terms from developmental psychopathology in the context of mental disorders and health.
- use and explain diagnostic approaches to mental disorders.
- to name typical mental disorders of childhood and adolescence and to be able to describe their courses.
- to name and describe therapeutic procedures for the treatment of different mental disorders of childhood and adolescence.
| Teaching content |
- Developmental psychopathology
- Definition, basic concepts, historical aspects
- Biopsychosocial model of developmental psychopathology
- Risk and protective factors (prenatal, perinatal and postpartum with special emphasis on attachment factors, child abuse and neglect, and parental parenting behavior), Family Adversity Index
- Vulnerability, resilience and resources
- General models of the development of mental disorders (developmental tasks model, transactional stress model)
- Specific models of the development of mental disorders (Triparite model, developmental pathway models, etc.)-definition, basic concepts, historical aspects
- Biopsychosocial model of developmental psychopathology
- Risk and protective factors (prenatal, perinatal and postpartum with special emphasis on attachment factors, child abuse and neglect and parental parenting behavior), Family Adversity Index
- Vulnerability, resilience and resources
- General models of the development of mental disorders (developmental tasks model, transactional stress model)
- Specific models of the development of mental disorders (Triparite model, developmental pathway models, etc.)
- Diagnostic and Indication
- Epidemiology (prevalence of different disorder patterns, disorder burden and persistence, comorbidity).
- Gender differences
- Multiaxial and multimethod diagnostics (inclusion of different perspectives in the assessment, cross-informant correlation, interview procedures: e.g. child DIPS, MEI – Mannheim Parent Interview; classification systems: Multiaxial Classification Scheme for Mental Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence – MAS of the WHO, Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostics in Childhood and Adolescence – OPD-KJ-2, ZERO-TO-THREE classification system, special aspects of interviewing younger children, adolescents and parents)
- Etiology, diagnosis and therapy of disorders with onset in infancy and early childhood.
- Early infant regulation disorders (excessive crying, early infant sleep-onset and sleep-through disorders, feeding and failure to thrive)
- Attachment disorders
- Reduced intelligence
- Etiology, diagnostics and therapy of disorders with onset in childhood
- Circumscribed developmental disorders of speech and language, school skills, and motor functions.
- Profound developmental disorders (autism spectrum disorders)
- Excretory disorders (enuresis, functional urinary incontinence, encopresis)
- Mutism
- Anxiety disorders (emotional disorder with separation anxiety, phobic disorder of childhood, generalized disorder of childhood)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder and tic disorders
- ADHD and social behavior disorders
- Etiology, diagnostics and therapy of disorders with onset in adolescence
- Substance abuse (alcohol, cannabis abuse, computer/internet addiction, and “pathological gaming”).
- Self-injurious behavior
- Depression and suicidality
- Eating disorders
- Schizophrenia (hebephrenic form)
| Teaching and learning methods |
Attendance study: Seminar-like lecture, interactive development of the contents as well as exercises in the form of case studies, group work, casuistics, role plays, testing of clinical-psychological diagnosis and intervention methods.
Self-study: Accompanying literature study, learning videos, online self-tests to check one’s own learning progress, learning tasks as individual or group tasks, exercises as part of media-supported self-study
| Participation requirements |
It is recommended to have successfully completed the following module:
- Developmental Psychology (B-PW 6.1)
- Biological Psychology (B-PW 5.3)
- Basic Application Subject: Introduction to Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (B-PWAB 1)
| Requirements for the award of credits (all performances and forms of examination incl. their weighting for the module grade) |
Written exam
Students complete this module with an examination lasting 90 minutes. Prerequisite for the award of credit points is the passing of the written exam with a module grade of at least 4.0.
| Usability oft he module |
The application specialization Clinical Psychology is a compulsory elective module of the study program Psychology (B.Sc.). This specialization can also be used for the degree program in Business Psychology (B.Sc.).
This module is closely related to the modules Fundamentals of Test Theory and Psychological Diagnostics (B-PW 4.1), Diagnostic Procedures (B-PW 4.2), General Psychology I (B-PW 5.1) and II (B-PW 5.2), Biological Psychology (B-PW 5. 3), Developmental Psychology (B-PW 6.1), Personality and Differential Psychology (B-PW 6.2), Social Psychology (B-PW 6.3), and Application Subject Basic Introduction to Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (B-PWAB 1).
| Weight of the module grade for the final grade |
5/169 ECTS- Points in the Psychology program (B.Sc.)