Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 in the course text and view the videos Depression and Its Treatments (Links to an external site.), OCD: One Patient’s Story (Links to an external site.), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Links to an external site.)(5th ed.) (if this link does not provide access, read instructions on How to Access the DSM-5 Download How to Access the DSM-5through the Library) and The DSM-5 (Links to an external site.) screencast on how to access and use this resource and how to cite and reference the DSM-5. Utilize the American Psychiatric Association’s (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Links to an external site.) (5th ed) to support your analysis. Note that, in keeping with the focus of this class, the emphasis of your paper should be on the pathological aspects of the disorder you select to analyze.
To successfully complete this writing assignment,
- Select a psychological disorder for comprehensive analysis from the following list (Choose only one.):
- Major depressive disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Anxiety
- Focus on only one of the anxiety disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder or social anxiety disorder).
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Substance use disorder (substance abuse and addiction)
- Provide both an overview of this topic plus a focus on a single drug of your choice.
- Your selection of topic should be based on your personal or professional experience or your own academic or personal interest in the topic. Be sure to use current terminology from the American Psychiatric Association’s (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5).
- Provide both an overview of this topic plus a focus on a single drug of your choice.
- To best set up your paper for this assignment, start with an outline (Links to an external site.) of what you will include, based on the following requirements. The outline is NOT your assignment, but it helps to set up your paper for success to help identify all of the content areas and resources for your paper you will turn in. Use this outline to determine the appropriate APA headings to be applied to your paper. Do not upload an outline to Waypoint. To see APA guidelines for headings, visit APA Style Elements (Links to an external site.) in the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center.
Include the following in your paper:
- Overview of the diagnosis
- Explanation of at least one theory of etiology (causes) of the disorder
- Explanation of the associated factors in development of the disorder (genetic, environmental, familial, lifestyle)
- A summary of the diagnostic and research technologies employed in clinical diagnosis, clinical and behavioral healthcare, and clinical interventions
- Discussion of treatment options of the disorder
- An analysis of the predominance of the disorder in our current society
- Conclusion
- Next, research your topic and obtain a minimum of two scholarly and/or peer-reviewed sources published within the last five years. These sources should provide evidence-based information regarding the psychological features of the disorder. Be sure to cite these sources accurately in your paper and include them on your references page. Consider the following for this step:
- You may utilize required or recommended course materials in your work, but these will not count toward the reference requirements; however, you may cite and reference the DSM-5 as one of your sources used for the grading credit.
- For support formatting your paper in APA, visit the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) and Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.).
- Write your assignment.
- Suggestion: Complete your paper by the weekend to also take advantage of running a Paper Review (Links to an external site.) in the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center to support your success.
- Access the rubric (Links to an external site.) to confirm all required components have been addressed.


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