BEHV3002: Abnormal Psychology

Assignment 1: Literature Review

Team/Individual task: Indvidual

Word/time limit: 1500 words (+/- 10%)

Weighting: 40%

After you have read this information, go to the Assignment 1 Q&A discussion board to ask any questions and see what your peers are saying about this assignment.

Assignment overview

This assignment is a mandatory submission, which means that in order to pass this subject of study, you must submit this assignment. 

For this assignment, you are required to write a narrative review article that describes TWO current psychological treatments for ONE of the conditions listed in the DSM-5-TR outlined in the unit, describing how the chosen psychological treatments may aid in the management of the condition.

The review article should assess recent (within the last 10 years) quality, peer-reviewed research articles regarding the chosen area of focus (population and condition). The review should provide a summary of the research findings in relation to the chosen psychological interventions, describe how they assist in managing the condition and how effective they are, note any limitations, and then make further suggestions for future research. See the marking criteria for specific areas that should be covered.

This assignment supports Subject Learning Outcomes 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Use of generative artificial intelligence

In this assessment task, you will not be able to meet the learning outcomes related to a satisfactory demonstration of understanding of the learning materials by using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Working with another person or technology in order to gain an unfair advantage in assessment or improperly obtaining answers from a third party, including generative AI, to questions in an examination or other form of assessment may lead to sanctions under the Student Misconduct Rule (Western Sydney University, 2023). Use of generative AI tools may be detected. More information is available on the Library web page Turnitin's AI writing detector (Library Study Smart, 2023). 

Assignment details

Read through the following steps to understand and meet the requirements of this assignment.

Step 1: Choose one of the following population groups: Adults, Older Adults, Children, Adolescents, First Nations peoples, Refugee populations, University students.

Step 2: Describe the condition being assessed and detail the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria required for diagnosis (eg. Social Anxiety Disorder, Schizophrenia), considering your chosen population group (eg Adults, Children).

Step 3: Review and briefly describe the research evidence supporting the use of two different types of psychological therapies that have been researched in treating the condition in your population group.

Examples of psychological therapies include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Behavioral Activation, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, Eye-Movement Desensitiation Reprocessing (EMDR), Solution Focussed Brief Therapy or another psychological therapy that has been researched in your chosen condition.

Note: You must include a brief description of your therapies in your assignment. Your review must consider TWO psychological interventions and these should be clearly defined within your review, along with your population and condition.

Step 4: Summarise the research indicating the effectiveness of the treatments overall and suggest new directions for research, based on gaps in the knowledge noting any limitations.

In your review, you should cite a minimum of 6 research articles; however, it is likely that more may be required. You may use the DSM as a reference to describe the condition you have chosen. Examples of quality research articles include systematic reviews, meta-analyses and randomised-controlled trials. Please see the marking criteria for more details on how you will be marked for this assignment. Please note that your review must consider ONE specific disorder from the DSM (eg Social Anxiety Disorder) NOT a broad topic generally (eg Anxiety Disorders). Please use DSM criteria not ICD for this assignment.

Specific examples of topics include:

Psychological interventions for Adults living with Schizophrenia - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT);

Psychological interventions for Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders - Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy;

Psychological interventions to treat Depression in University Student populations - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy;

Psychological interventions to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in refugee populations - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Eye-Movement Desensitiation Reprocessing (EMDR).

The following are some examples of research articles:

State of the Art: The Therapeutic Approaches to Bulimia Nervosa (Hagan & Walsh, 2021).

Insomnia disorder in adolescence: Diagnosis, impact, and treatment (De Zambotti et. al, 2018).

Assessment and treatment of substance use in adults with ADHD: a psychological approach (Young & Woodhouse, 2021).

Step 5: Your paper must be presented in APA style, with references presented in accurate APA 7th. All references must include a DOI link in line with this style.

Note: the reference list is not included in the word count.

Assignment tip

View the marking guide under 'Assignment criteria' to see a detailed breakdown of how your work will be assessed. This is an excellent place to start your preparations for this assignment.

Refer back to the marking guide frequently to make sure you are meeting the requirements.

Supporting documents

Supporting resources

American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style guide (PDF 756 KB) (Western Sydney University Library, 2020).

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)

Library Study Smart—a library resource that will assist you in completing your assignments (Western Sydney University Library, 2021). 

Western Sydney University Library has further information about referencing on their Referencing and citation page.

Submission details overview

This assignment will be submitted through Canvas. When you are ready to submit your assignment, select the 'Start Assignment' button at the top of this page. You will be taken to the 'File Upload' tab where you can choose your file or submit your URL.