Week 9: Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders   Trauma from war and from other types of disasters and everyday life events are grouped together in the DSM-5 as trauma and stressor-related disorders. It is important to remember that trauma responses can take many other diagnostic forms besides the well-known posttraumatic stress disorder. Such responses include, but…

Week 8: Feeding and Eating Disorders, Somatic Symptom Disorders, and Other Related Disorders Both eating disorders and somatic symptom disorders involve a mind-body relationship. However, those living with somatic disorders tend to be highly sensitized to their body experiences in a different way than those with eating disorders. While eating disorders can cause individuals to…

Discussion: The Complexity of Eating Disorder Recovery in the Digital Age Through this week’s Learning Resources, you become aware not only of the prevalence of factors involved in the treatment of eating disorders, but also the societal, medical, and cultural influences that help individuals develop and sustain the unhealthy behaviors related to an eating disorder.…

Assignment: Schizophrenia Over Time: Experiences Living With the Illness Experiences of schizophrenia are not homogeneous; there is wide variety in onset, course of illness, and combinations of symptoms. Social workers need to be able to understand the different manifestations and pathways of the illness to plan interventions. Social work services play a key role in…

Discussion: Video Report of Your Case Consultation: Presenting and Validating Diagnosis In this Discussion, you first present to your peers the case collaboration begun in Week 4. Note: You make this presentation individually—you do not present with your partner. Your colleagues then review your diagnosis for validity, recommending an evidence-based tool to use in your…

Discussion: Applying Differential Diagnosis to Depressive and Bipolar Disorders What is it truly like to have a mental illness? By considering clients’ lived experiences, a social worker becomes more empathetic and therefore better equipped to treat them. In this Discussion, you analyze a case study focused on a depressive disorder or bipolar disorder using the…

Discussion: Diagnosis of Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders Social workers take particular care when diagnosing anxiety due to its similarity to other conditions. In this Discussion, you carefully assess a client with anxiety disorder using the steps of differential diagnosis. You also recommend an intervention for treating the disorder.   To prepare: Read…

Week 6: Diagnosing Depressive and Bipolar Disorders Diagnosing a depression is one of the most common—and yet most complex—differential diagnoses a social worker may make. The word itself covers a wide range of variations of the illness from normal sadness to serious clinical depressions that might not present the same way. Clinical depression disorders can…

Discussion: Applying Differential Diagnosis to Neurodevelopmental Disorders Social work clinicians keep a wide focus on several potential syndromes, analyzing patterns of symptoms, risks, and environmental factors. Narrowing down from that wider focus happens naturally as they match the individual symptoms, behaviors, and risk factors against criteria A–E and other baseline information in the DSM-5.  …

Week 5: Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders, and Cultural Idioms of Illness Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) have a devastating impact on an individual’s ability to live, work, and conduct relationships. These disorders are often harder to identify than other conditions. Difficulty in diagnosis is compounded by the fact that expressions of…