WELCOME TO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Summer 2026 May 26 - August 17

Ponzio, N. (Photographer). EclipseSeries2015-09 [Photograph]. Private collection.

"If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia."

--Thomas S. Szasz, M.D.,

Dissident psychiatrist and author, The Myth of Mental Illness

Course Instructor: Robert Mandatta robert.mandatta@ccv.edu

This section of Psychopathology focuses on Vermont at a time when its mental health, correctional, and juvenile systems are in crisis. Thus it's relevant to every Vermont community, and especially to those Vermonters with serious personal challenges, their families, and the professionals who serve them. Due to America's fascination with psychology, you already bring a wealth of knowledge to this timely subject, making you well equipped to learn more as you share what you already know about mental and emotional distress and disease, psychological theory, treatments and healing approaches.

Much of the learning will stem directly from you and your student colleagues. I follow a teaching model that is based upon the old adage, "The best way to learn something is to teach it." So each week you'll be asked to teach us what you have learned about the assigned topic, using a variety of approaches that include applying psychological theory to case studies and your own experience. If you find this challenging at first, very quickly you'll become an expert at it. You'll also experiment with various learning styles and strategies, including using mixed media to enhance your text.

NEW TO ONLINE LEARNING? Several of you will be returning to college after a long break or taking your first online college course. This can be both exciting and intimidating, especially when coupled with learning how to navigate Canvas. So if you're feeling anxious, you are not alone. Many of your course colleagues are feeling the same way, as did most of us at the start of our first online course. I know I certainly did!

The good news is that online learning is quickly mastered, as you'll soon see. The key is to read my instructions carefully and to follow the lead of your more experienced course colleagues. In short, don't let any anxiety you may feel now get the better of you, for soon you'll feel comfortable and confident in this powerful learning medium.

Be sure to review the early announcement "In-Depth Intro to this Course" at the top of this page on personal computers and in Announcements on all devices. "In-Depth Intro to this Course" is also inside the "Course Resources Module" in Modules. Pay particular attention to the section that asks "IS THIS THE RIGHT COURSE FOR YOU?"

"In-Depth Intro to this Course" offers a detailed description to help you understand how this course works at Canvas. It's especially important for those who are new to online learning, or to my psychology courses in particular, which are non-traditional and experimental in design.

Study carefully this detailed description of how the course works and what you must do each week to succeed. After that, exploring and navigating the course should be both self-explanatory and intuitive.

REVIEW THE COURSE RESOURCES MODULE: Familiarize yourself with each of the documents in the "Course Resources Module" in Modules. You'll use these documents throughout the term since they contain important information about things like "Free Week & Late Passes," as well as guides to embedding media and using AI, along with video tutorials about posting at Canvas.

Even though I've kept it to a minimum, there is a lot of information to retain, so you may want to print some of the documents (e.g., "Online Writing and Posting Tips") to have on hand when drafting your work and posting at our weekly Discussions.

CONSIDER HOW THEY DIFFER--PERSONAL REFLECTION v. CASE STUDY REPORT: Each week begins by posting a personal reflection in which you'll share your own experiences or your observations of others as they relate to the week's overall topic. What do you already know about it, either from an experiential or an observational perspective? References are optional, not required.

Each week you'll also post a formal case study report that focuses on assigned case studies while using different required references that I provide for you each week. Many of our case studies originally appeared in Counterpoint, a news & arts quarterly primarily by psych-labeled Vermonters.

Counterpoint – Volume XI Number 1 Spring 1995

We will not be using a textbook for this course. Instead, you'll rely on a variety of free online sources, including scholarly journal articles, instructional videos and lectures, podcasts, and other relevant media. These are the Required References, which are located within the week's module at Modules.

The case study report is academic with specific requirements, while the personal reflection is more informal with no word requirement, yet both are key to your learning in this course, as is the Q&A at the Discussion, which is where our digital seminar takes place:

POST AT THE DISCUSSION: Plan on posting each week as early as Tuesday mornings and no later than 11:59 PM on the four deadline days:

Thursday: Personal reflection
Saturday: Case study report
Sunday: Q&A Part 1: Responses to others’ posts
Monday: Q&A Part 2: Replies to ?s/comments about your posts

TIP: You don't need to wait until the due day to post that assignment, but may post it at any time between Tuesday morning and when it's due.

As you'll soon see, by posting your own work at the Discussion, you'll shape and stimulate the week's Q&A. Then by interacting with each other about that work, everyone's learning will be enhanced and more deeply embedded into memory. Obviously, this peer-based, interactive process ends when the week does. For that reason, missed assignments cannot be made up, and you must move on to the new week.

WARNING: While you're welcome to work ahead, do not post ahead. This is NOT a FLEX course, it's an asynchronous Online course, and as such it has set start/end days each week. Thus no early posting before Tuesday morning of the new week (or late posting after Monday)!

PRACTICE APA CITATION STYLE: Some of you will be familiar with other citation systems (like MLA), but because this is a psychology course, you must include correct American Psychological Association (APA) citations and follow its writing style in your weekly case study reports. If you are new to APA, or need a refresher, go to "APA Citation & Style" in the Course Resources Module in Modules.

CHECK YOUR CCV EMAIL: All email messages -- including course announcements, evaluation notices, and personal emails from me to you -- will be sent to your CCV email address. Please start checking this regularly online, or you can download the Outlook app to your devices for ready access.

READ THE COURSE ANNOUNCEMENTS: Each week I'll post one or more announcements to the class, which will be sent individually to your CCV email address. You'll also find them posted at the top of this Home page on personal computers, and in Announcements on all devices.

ADD A PERSONAL IMAGE: If you haven't done so yet, before class starts please add a personal image (a photo, icon, or avatar of your choosing). Seeing an image next to your name will help me and your colleagues remember you more readily. Follow these instructions for adding a personal image.

CREATE YOUR OWN CALENDAR: I don't use the Canvas Calendar for several reasons, but if you need reminders about when to post (or even for personal appointments), you can create your own calendar reminders. This brief video explains how:

DAZED AND CONFUSED? There's a lot of information to absorb when the course starts, and it's not unusual for students new to Canvas to feel overwhelmed. If that's you, let me hear from you with your questions, concerns, confusions. I'm here to help. I often reply the same day, and no later than the next day.

So join the Discussion and let me know about your challenges, personal or academic. Do these things, and no matter where you start the course in terms of skill level, by the end you will have enriched your knowledge of psychopathology while improving your academic, professional, and life skills.

See you at our Week One Discussion!

--Robert