The topic of the paper will be the biomedical and/or psychosocial treatments indicated for a specific disorder. The paper will explore and explain why at least TWO specific biomedical and/or psychosocial treatments are indicated for the disorder under discussion.
You may select a topic of your choice from the disorders under consideration in this course. If you have any doubts or questions, please consult with me.
Do not waste time describing the disorder in detail unless such a description is essential for the understanding of the treatments you will discuss. Assume that we all know the signs and symptoms of the disorder and do not need a two-page description of it. Rather, in your own words, provide a brief overview of the diagnosis including the diagnostic code (citing any sources used) along with the prevalence and prognosis of the disorder.
Review the peer-reviewed evidence such as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and/or randomized controlled trials, or other acceptable evidence that demonstrates efficacy/effectiveness of the treatment approaches. This includes a brief description of the participant population, study design (or in the case of a meta-analysis, the number of studies included), and the treatment outcome. The treatment outcome may be explained in terms of the change in an average score on a particular psychometric instrument that measures symptoms of the disorder or effect size (with an explanation of what the number means). Cite at least 5 peer-reviewed journal articles published within the last 10 years as a part of your "evidence" that demonstrates treatment efficacy/effectiveness.
Further, special considerations in the application of pharmacologic (e.g., side effects) and/or general psychosocial treatment approaches (e.g., family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, etc.) should be discussed and explained.
Finally, the paper must contain a discussion of the cultural appropriateness of at least one on the treatments discussed to a specific ethnic group (African American, Native American, Latino, etc.). This discussion will indicate any evidence that would indicate differential therapeutic efficacy for a specific ethnic group and/or how the treatment in question has been modified to make it more culturally appropriate.