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  • Berkeley Global

Clinical Psychopharmacology

PSYCH X403

5718211
Delivery Options Online

In a time when prescription drugs and their uses are in the headlines, explore the range of medications used in mental health practice as well as recognize their side effects and interactions. What can medications offer in the treatment of depression, anxiety, psychosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other mental health conditions? What are the limitations of these medications? You also will explore complementary and alternative medicines (CAM), with sensitivity to diversity and multicultural issues, and discuss referral and consultation requirements as part of a team approach to clinical practice.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites, but a basic knowledge of Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, or Neuropsychology is recommended.

Course Outline

Expand or collapse section

Course Objectives

  • Identify the mechanisms and uses of psychotropic medications
  • Have a foundation for differential diagnoses and standards of treatment and symptom monitoring with focus on drug interactions, co-morbid medical conditions and client empowerment
  • Be prepared to collaborate in client care with other health care professionals who prescribe psychotropic medications in an integrative foundation in biopsychosocial treatment
  • Recognize advantages and disadvantages of pharmacological treatment for mental illness, and better assess which patients are likely to benefit from pharmacotherapy
  • Explain general principles of brain organization and neurochemistry and how psychoactive medications influence the nervous system
  • Discuss pharmacologic principles affecting individual variability based on biological factors such as age, gender and ethnicity
  • Incorporate knowledge of a range of psychoactive medications to understand cases representing the major psychological disorders
  • Identify and research adverse effects and drug interactions
  • Describe the complexity of working with individuals with both substance use disorders and mental health conditions
  • Discuss collaborating with prescribing health care professionals and treatment teams, and gain awareness of when and how to make clinical consultations and referrals
  • Identify reliable sources for up-to-date psychopharmacology information and treatment guidelines to stay current in this field
  • Explain methods to educate clients on medication adherence, efficacy and side effects to maximize treatment outcomes
  • Describe how to empower clients to take an active part in their own treatment, including the importance of combining pharmacology approaches with other treatment modalities such as counseling, physical activity, spiritual approaches and psychotherapy

What You Learn

  • How to perform online information searches
  • Neurobiology review
  • Principles of pharmacology
  • Depression
  • Antidepressant medications
  • Medications for anxiety as related to OCD, insomnia and PTSD
  • Mood stabilizers for bipolar disorders
  • Antipsychotic medications for psychotic disorders
  • Psychopharmacology of children and adolescents and ADHD
  • Comorbidity: substance use disorders
  • Group issues such as for women (pregnancy) and the elderly (dementia)
  • Individual differences in genetics and ethnopsychopharmacology
  • Complementary and alternative medicines
  • Issues in psychopharmacology such as overprescription
  • Collaboration and referral

How You Learn

  • Canvas learning management system
  • Reading assignments
  • Discussion posts
  • Quizzes
  • Midterm exams
  • Slide presentations
  • Proctored final exam

Is This Course Right for Me?

This course is intended for both pre-licensure mental health students and mental health professionals who seek an up-to-date review of psychoactive drugs and their use in client care. There are no prerequisites for this course.

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Sections

Section 011

Start Anytime

Type: Online, Start Anytime

Instructor:

  • Melvin Shawn Bates

Cost: $910.00

See section 011 Details

Type Online, Start Anytime

Dates
Start Now, you have 180 days to complete this course once enrolled.

Delivery Options

Online

Available for Credit

3 semester units

Section Notes

Online, enroll anytime. This continuous enrollment course begins when you enroll. You have a minimum of 90 days and a maximum of 180 days to complete the course. 

Students must score 70% or higher on the final exam to pass this course.

Section Materials

  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists by Preston, J. D., O'Neal, J. H, Talaga, M. C., and Moore, B. A.

    New Harbinger 9th/ 2021 edition

Summer 2025 enrollment opens on March 17!

Notes

Departmental contact: extension-counspsych@berkeley.edu 

Instructional Types

Live Online
Live Online courses provide an interactive learning experience with scheduled synchronous online sessions held via Zoom video conferencing (Pacific Time). Learn more about the Live Online format.
Online, Start Anytime
Continuous enrollment course begins when you enroll. You have a minimum of 90 days and a maximum of 180 days to complete the course.
Online, Fixed Date
Enroll in this course by its start date and complete it by its specified end date. There are no live sessions, but plenty of opportunities to collaborate with your classmates and instructor.
Classroom
Take classes in-person at one of our buildings or partner locations.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

All of our courses are taught in English. If English is not your first language, please use the following test scores as guides in order to be successful:

  • TOEFL: 90
  • IELTS Academic Format: 7
  • DAAD: C1
  • TEM-4 or TEM-8: Level 70
  • Duolingo: 125

Note: You do not need to submit test scores.

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Course Fee

Melvin Shawn Bates

Dr. Bates received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Texas A&M University, his M.A. in Experimental Psychology at CSU, San Marcos, and his B.A. in Psychology at CSU, Long Beach. HE was a Postdoctoral Fellow for Academic Diversity at CHOP, where he worked in Dr. Seema Bhatnagar’s lab in the Stress Neurobiology Group. He has taught at a variety of institutions including CSU, Chico, Bryn Mawr College, Community College of Philadelphia, and Texas A&M. He has previously taught Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychopharmacology, Neuroscience, and Drugs of Abuse. He also performs research focused on addiction in adolescents, and supervises students in this pursuit. He is excited to serve as your instructor and to learn with you.

 

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