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Week 15 · Module overview

Week 15 — Psychological Disorders & Treatment

Introduction to Psychology Free sample edition

Welcome to your Week 15 Start Here page.

Why this matters

Mental health shows up in a nurse's shift and in a coach's locker room. This week you learn how disorders are judged, named, and treated without labeling anyone.

In plain language

Everyone has hard weeks, and some people have struggles that last for months and get in the way of daily life. A psychological disorder is a lasting pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that causes real suffering or trouble in daily life and is unusual for the person's culture. This week you will learn how psychologists decide when a struggle may be a disorder, how they name conditions without labeling people, and why some people develop a disorder while others in the same situation do not. You will also meet the main kinds of treatment and see how researchers test whether a treatment works. Finally, you will look at stigma, which means the negative beliefs and unfair treatment that keep many people from getting help.

  • Already covered: Weeks 1 to 14 built every lens, from methods to stress.
  • This week: the three D's, the DSM-5-TR, therapies, and stigma.
  • How they connect: stress and the six perspectives return to explain disorders and care.

Focus

When does a struggle become a disorder, and what helps?

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

  • [ ] judge a pattern with the three D's, always in context
  • [ ] describe six categories in person-first language
  • [ ] explain the diathesis–stress model
  • [ ] match five therapies to their ideas and say how we know they work

To-do

Plan your week

  1. Read Chapter 15 (about 45 minutes), then the lecture and slides.
  2. Work the tutorial (60–90 minutes) and practice set (about 20 minutes).
  3. Do the Analysis Workshop (about 90 minutes), the discussion, and the assignment.
  4. Take the quiz. Next comes finals week.

This week's checkpoint: check the three scenes for the three D's and say why only one may be a disorder.

Support and next steps

Struggling? Campus counseling or a health professional you trust can help; in the US, call or text 988.

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