Psychiatry

 

Unit of study descriptions

BMRI5001 Neuroethics

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Cynthia Forlini Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x 2-hr lecture/week Assessment: Class discussions (5%), open peer commentary (10%), abstract (5%), position paper 1 (40%), position paper 2 (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Note: This is a capstone unit of study for the Master in Brain and Mind Sciences and Master of Medicine (Psychiatry).
This unit of study synthesizes and critically scruitinizes our models and concepts of brain and mind through a neuroethics lens. Neuroethics is sub-field of bioethics that is concerned with the ethical, legal and social impact of the neurosciences. Beginning with a module on the historical development of modern neuroscience, students will learn about the beliefs, experiements and discoveries that have led us to recognise how the brain contributes to the human experience in unique ways. Throughout this unit, students will examine how advances in neuroscience have shaped how we conduct research, treat clinical conditions, make individual and collective decisions, and live together as a society. During the class discussions and assessments, students will grapple with the issues that arise when we intervene in the brain and how those interventions modify our concepts of health, illness, identity and morality. The scope of these issues is enormous and speaks to the importance of students developing a clear framework to contextualize developments in neuroscience within the scientific, ethical, cultural, social and legal environments in which they arise.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5003 Clinical Psychiatry I

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Sonia Kumar Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x 2-hr lecture/week Assessment: Online assessments (30%), Case history (35%), EMQ exam (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides psychiatry trainees with an opportunity to develop effective clinical skills including the psychiatric interview, mental state examination and biopsychosocial formulation. The management of psychiatric emergencies, risk assessment and the use of mental health legislation, as well as the relevance of diagnostic neuroimaging, are explored. This unit of study is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of how genetic and environmental risk factors affect the developing individual to generate the clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Students will examine all aspects of psychotic and mood disorders including aetiology, phenomenology and epidemiology. Students learn to develop management plans for these disorders according to a biopsychosocial framework with an emphasis on psychosocial care and recovery principles. The principles of neuropsychopharmacology with a focus on antipsychotic medication, mood stabilisers, antidepressants and their potential adverse consequences are covered in depth, as well as practical aspects of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT).
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5012 Brain Ageing

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Professor Michael Valenzuela and Dr Jacqueline Huber Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week Assessment: Extended response questions (40%), case study analysis (40%), oral presentation (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
This unit of study provides an introduction to two important aspects of brain and mind ageing science, neurodegenerative disorders and opportunities for neuroplasticity and human flourishing. Students will learn about the clinical presentation and pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia. Psychogeriatrics and late-life depression will also be covered, and counterbalanced with new insights about what determines successful ageing and how we can use lifestyle interventions to keep people's brains and minds fit and well throughout late life. This unit will use case studies to reinforce learning, focusing on common neuropsychological assessment methods and research methods. Students will also be introduced to the social and ethical aspects of brain and mind ageing.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5017 Genetics of Brain and Mind Disorders

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Marina Kennerson Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr seminar week 2, one day workshop week 5, 9 and 11 Assessment: Lab report (40%), journal article (60%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This is a capstone unit of study.
This unit of study provides a comprehensive introduction to the research methods that can be used in the identification and characterisation of genetic variants underlying neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. The first part of the unit will focus on the statistical methods to quantify the contribution of genetic factors to complex genetic disorders in the population. The principles of genetic association will be discussed, using examples of neurodegenerative disorders. The course will then discuss concepts of gene mapping for Mendelian diseases using linkage analysis and the identification of causative variants using filtering strategies of next generation sequencing data. Students will learn to use a suite of bioinformatics tools and resources. This is a capstone unit of study that will require students to develop over the semester a scholarly piece of work using advanced bioinformatics skills. Over the assessments in this unit, students will identify genetic variants associated with a neurodegeneration-related trait, map and identify possible causative genes for a Mendelian neurodegenerative disease, examine the suitability of gene DNA variants as disease candidates using bioinformatics, and propose future laboratory research that would confirm the role of this gene in disease.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5020 Research Inquiry

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Eryn Werry Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week Assumed knowledge: Basic understanding of statistics Assessment: Journal club and online tasks (20%), extended response questions (35%), exam (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Note: This is a core unit of study for the Masters degree only.
Doctors and researchers depend on the latest scientific literature published week by week in countless different journals, but not every study can be trusted. Scientific studies are fraught with complications that can threaten their reliability, or the extent to which their results can be applied very widely. This unit will help you develop the skills necessary to critically appraise the research literature and identify sources of bias and confounding. Students will learn how cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort studies and clinical trials are more or less vulnerable to these problems. Similarly, students will look at the basic design of laboratory research, and what are the different types of questions that can be asked from studies on humans, rats or brain tissue. All classes will be based on published examples of research literature and students will learn how to navigate different methods and data types. This unit will give students the confidence to read widely across the mental health field, and judge for yourself which findings can be relied upon to inform future research or medical practice.
Textbooks
Prince, Martin (2003) Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology, Oxford University Press.
BMRI5027 Leadership and Policy in Mental Health 1

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor John Mendoza Session: Semester 2 Classes: 9am-5pm Friday and Saturday 9am-12.30pm weeks 2 and 7, 9am-5pm Friday week 12 Assessment: Leadership assessment and self development plan (30%), scenario analysis (20%), change management and implementation plan (40%), participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This is a capstone unit of study
This unit is designed to provide participants with an introduction to the key constructs of leadership, leadership development and change management with specific reference to mental health reform in Australia. The unit will provide an overview of concepts and models of leadership and change management and an opportunity to apply these to a personal leadership development plan to embark on a service-level reform initiative. In this unit participants will gain an understanding of, their own leadership attributes and developmental needs and an insight into the development of strategy, organisational level policy and governance for achieving change. These elements will provide the foundations for self-development as a leader and the development of service level change/reform initiatives.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5050 Clinical Psychiatry II

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Sonia Kumar Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 3hr seminar/week Assessment: Attachment Formulation (40%) Reflective journal Essay (25%) and oral presentation (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides an overview of normal development, the formation of relational attachments, and psychological sequelae of trauma and loss. Students will examine anxiety, trauma and personality disorders in-depth, including the epidemiology, aetiology, phenomenology and management of these disorders. In addition, there will be a focus on developing trainees' clinical skills towards a broader, well-rounded approach that involves psychosocial techniques, and working collaboratively with consumers and families in multidisciplinary and community settings. The unit will provide psychiatry trainees with foundational knowledge and skills in psychotherapeutic techniques including psychodynamic theory, supportive psychotherapy, building a therapeutic alliance and cognitive behavioural therapy. Principles of recovery-oriented practice and trauma-informed care, psychiatric ethics, history of psychiatry, rural and indigenous mental health will be studied.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning.
BMRI5052 Child and Youth Mental Health

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Trudy Stone Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr seminar / week Prohibitions: BMRI5011 or BMRI5010 Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050 Assessment: Research analysis (35%) oral presentation (30%) essay (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
This unit of study focuses on the subspecialty of child and adolescent psychiatry. The key approach will be in developing the capacity to understand child and family psychopathology from the molecular level to the societal. This unit provides an understanding of child development from conception through adolescence, looking at key genetic and environmental factors that contribute to clinical disorder, particularly the role of the family environment. The different phases of brain development will be studied, from the formation of new connections in childhood to the pruning of connections in adolescence and changes to the frontal and temporal lobes. Major psychopathologies such as mood and anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) learning disorders and autism spectrum disorders will be examined. The effects of puberty and gene-environment interactions will be explored with respect to the development of emerging adolescent psychiatric disorders, such as early psychosis. Students will learn about psychological and pharmacological management of mental disorders in children and adolescents, as well as the importance of working with families, carers and wider systems including multidisciplinary teams, education and welfare sectors.
Textbooks
Readings and other resources will be available online
BMRI5053 Bodies, Brains and Minds in Connection

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Trudy Stone Session: Semester 2 Classes: (2hr seminar/week) and on-line activities Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050. Knowledge and skills at the level of completion of Stage 1 Psychiatry training. Assessment: Case study oral presentation (30%); professional oral presentation (30%); essay 3000 words (40%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Relevant clinical experience and current clinical placement necessary.
This unit of study provides Stage 2 psychiatry trainees and other select clinicians with an opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes in biopsychosociocultural approaches, Consultation-Liaison (C-L) Psychiatry and integrative medicine, by exploring psychiatry at the interface with medicine and society. The unit's approach will emphasise the interconnectedness of body, brain and mind in individuals and surrounding systems. What's different about C-L will be explored in this unit, grounded in an understanding of the normal and dysregulated responses to stress, trauma and medical illness, including pain, expanding Stage 1 concepts of formulation, multimodal and tailor-made management. Principles of containment, stigma and models of care in medical settings will be studied as will disorders of basic regulation: sleep, eating and sexual disorders. We will examine psychiatry in particular settings: the Perinatal period; Intellectual and Developmental Disability; Pain; Oncology; Spinal; Burns; Neuropsychiatry. This unit will also deepen knowledge of ECT and introduce the newer biological treatments such as TMS. This unit aims to enrich the trainee psychiatrist's approaches to working collaboratively with consumers, families, treatment teams and care systems in multidisciplinary hospital and community settings. Seminars will emphasise an enquiring approach, based on evidence and engagement with the background medical and general communities.
Textbooks
Readings and other resources will be available online
BMRI5054 Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Care

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr seminar/week and on-line activities Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050 Knowledge and skills at the level of completion of Stage 1 Psychiatry training Assessment: Case assessment, formulation and plan (20%); presentation (40%), case study (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Relevant clinical experience and current clinical placement necessary.
This unit of study will foster the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to understand, evaluate and apply a wide range of evidence-based psychotherapeutic and psychosocial interventions, including integrated service delivery systems, for individuals with mental health disorders and their families. This unit will build on the psychosocial foundations and concepts of integrated formulation and care established in the first year courses to support trainees to understand the role of the major modalities of psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions which have been shown to significantly contribute to recovery and improved outcomes in mental health. The unit offers an overview of assessment and the historical context of the development of theories and evidence, moving to frameworks of human development across the life span, expanding applied knowledge of attachment and exploring theories of learning and personality. Participants will then examine a range of specific psychological interventions aimed at different aspects of individual and systemic functioning including psychodynamic approaches, DBT, structured brief therapies, more advanced applications of CBT and group, couples, family and systems of care interventions. Teaching methods will focus on research-enhanced and case-based learning with an integrative approach, supplemented by e-learning and audiovisual resources.
Textbooks
Readings and other resources will be available online
BMRI5055 Research Project in Psychiatry

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050 Assessment: Oral presentation (10%) theis 4000 words (40%), final oral presentation (10%) supervisor evaluation (40%) Practical field work: 3.5-7 hr placement per week Mode of delivery: Supervision
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This practically- based elective unit of study aims to provide a capstone experience for those psychiatry trainees wishing to gain experience in empirical research (quantitative or qualitative) relevant to the field of Psychiatry. This unit is to be taken over 1 semester or may be extended over 2 semesters with 3.5 hours per week field placement expected per semester over 2 semesters, or 7 hours per week over 1 semester. Students will learn a variety of skills for acquisition, analysis and presentation of data particular to their field of interest and will write up their project as a draft research publication. Potential projects can be reviewed by students in the semester prior to commencement so that they can familiarize themselves with research conducted at the Brain and Mind Centre, including placements in clinical research groups and basic neuroscience laboratories, depending on student skills and supervisor availability. Alternatively students may consult their local training networks and propose a supervised project well prior to the commencement of the unit. Projects may contribute to the Scholarly Project for the RANZCP CBFP. Acceptance to a given project will be selective, requiring departmental approval.
CEPI5100 Introduction to Clinical Epidemiology

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Fiona Stanaway Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Offered online and face-to-face (daytime tutorials) Prohibitions: PUBH5010 Assessment: Completion of online quizzes (15%), tutorial participation (10%), assignment 1 (15%), assignment 2 (60%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
This unit introduces the concept of clinical epidemiology and provides students with core skills in clinical epidemiology at an introductory level. Topics covered include asking and answering clinical questions; basic and accessible literature searching techniques; study designs used in clinical epidemiological research; confounding and effect modification; sources of bias; interpretation of results including odds ratios, relative risks, confidence intervals and p values; applicability of results to individual patients; critical appraisal of clinical epidemiological research literature used to answer questions of therapy (RCTs and systematic reviews), harm, prognosis, diagnosis, screening and clinical guidelines.
Textbooks
Online readings and resources to be provided on the eLearning website.