Syllabus
Topics for medical psychology:
1. Social cognition (attributions, stereotyping ) and the ways how they affect doctor-patient interaction and communication
2. Doctor - patient interaction and communication within patient -centered approach. Empathy in patient care.
3. Burn-out syndrome and stress management
4. Emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses to acute and chronic illnesses. Adaptive and maladaptive coping responses.
5. Life threatening illness. Death, dying and bereavement.
6. Patients with physical and mental disabilities.
7. Interaction and communication with older patients.
8. Psychological interventions to improve adaptation to illness and to improve coping with illness. Crises intervention. Topics for psychopathology part of the course:
1. Avoidant personality pattern and problems with low self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, assertiveness.
2. Schizoid personality pattern and problems with autonomy and empathy -
3. Dependent personality pattern and helplessness.
4. Obsessive-compulsive personality pattern and perfectionism.
5. Narcissistic personality pattern and superiority beliefs, arrogance, entitlement.
6. Paranoid personality and trust problems.
7. Passive aggressive personality patterns and problems with control and anger.
8. Histrionic personality pattern and problems with emotional expressiveness.
9. Borderline personality pattern and problems with validation.
10. Antisocial personality pattern and problems of low frustration tolerance, aggressiveness, manipulation.
Annotation
The course is designed for students to get the opportunity to examine the role of basic psychological and behavioral processes in physical health and disease(emotional, cognitive, behavioural, personality, interpersonal factors...)and to get the opportunity to improve empathy and communication skills with the patients.