Lesson Plan – Detecting the Mood Disorder

Review and Apply Knowledge of the different Types of Mood Disorders

Instructor: Elise Juraschek

Prior to Class:

Review Chapters 3 and 7 in Barlow, D. H., & Durand, V. M. (2015). Abnormal psychology: An
integrated approach. (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth.

Learning Objectives
● Knowledge Base in Psychology
○ Students will be able to differentiate between the different mood disorders based
on the symptoms associated with them.
● Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking
○ Students will be able to apply their knowledge of different mood disorders to
gather the information necessary to generate a diagnosis from the case study.
● Ethical and Social Responsibility in a Diverse World
○ Students will question and think critically about how an individual’s culture and
background may impact information used to make a diagnosis.
● Communication
○ Students will expand their ability to listen to different opinions and apply those
towards building consensus.
○ Students will enhance their ability to work as part of a team to collaboratively
discover what the mood disorder is in the case studies.
● Professional Development
○ Students will be able to speak clearly, concisely and accurately about mood
disorders.

Class Break-Down (approx. 75 minutes)

● Set up Learning objectives and give class overview (2 min)

● Break into small groups to review and map different mood disorders on the board (7 min)
○ Example of mood disorder continuum in slides
○ Groups (depending on class size): Major Depressive Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder
with seasonal pattern specifier, Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia), Persistent Depressive
Disorder with MDEs (Double Depression), Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD),
Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, Cyclothymic Disorder, Rapid Cycling in Bipolar Disorder
● Groups present their graphs to refresh class on mood disorders with class providing
feedback as necessary (10-12 min)
● Introduce the case study 1: Bipolar 1 (3 minutes)
● T(W)PS: Students will jot down one or two thoughts and reactions they had to the case
study and share them with their partner. Partners will identify important information
needed to diagnose and questions they may still have (4 minutes)
 ● Class will come back together as a group to discuss important information in the case
study. Instructor will provide additional information to answer questions generated by
students (10 minutes)
● Have class vote on diagnosis by eliminating different disorders (5-7 minutes)
○ Ask for suggestions for elimination and why
■ Have the whole class vote after each using show of hands
■ Ask students who may have disagreed to share why
■ If the vast majority of the class agrees cross off the disorder; if not come
back and review after eliminating other options
○ Review important information on Depression and Manic episodes in slides as
necessary to help class come to a decision
○ Reveal Diagnosis
● Refocus class and provide additional cultural considerations that were not present to
begin with (the power point slides provide this in the note section for the case study 1
slide)
○ T(W)PS: Students will jot down one or two thoughts and reactions they had to
this new information and if/how it might change their interpretation of events. (3
minutes)
○ Larger class discussion on issues with culture, stigma, and diagnosis (7 min)
● Case study 2: MD episode (estimated less time than case study one but class wrap up is
designed to shrink if needed)
○ Present case and jot down initial thoughts (3 minutes)
○ Round Robin to discuss important information in the case study. Instructor will
provide additional information to answer questions generated by students. (4
minutes)
○ Have class vote on eliminating different disorders following the same pattern as
before (3-5 minutes)
● Class wrap up discussion (time dependent)
○ Processing questions on how it felt to try and diagnose someone
○ What was hard? How did you go about making your decisions? What information
was most helpful? Lingering questions
○ Connect to case study project with fictional character? How can you apply what
we did today to help with that project? Questions about intake form assignment
due in several classes

Tools:
● Case Study Slides
● Polling software + access to a laptop or clickers can be used instead of voting by hand if
desired